Norie Skincare Is the New K-Beauty Brand You Need to Know
December 13, 2023
Korean skincare routines are famous for being elaborate — 10, maybe even 12 steps — which makes it even more interesting that beauty industry veteran Susan Kim Tsui launched her new brand Norie with just one product: a facial cleanser. Of course, when you launch with just one product, that product better be pretty fantastic, and this cleanser hits the mark. It’s gentle and nourishing yet deeply cleans and fights breakouts with a revolutionary probiotic ingredient.
Here’s the story that led to its creation.
What inspired you to create Norie?
My daughter Natalie, a competitive fencer, was 12 when she started to get breakouts. I attributed it to all the sweating and wearing the fencing helmet — like most sports equipment, it accumulates dirt and bacteria. I, too, was experiencing breakouts but for very different reasons: At the age of 50, mine were triggered by stress, travel and hormonal changes from perimenopause. I wanted to develop a brand and products based on my love for probiotic Korean ingredients and products that were ultra clean, gentle but effective. As head of marketing, I had launched/scaled some of the largest K-beauty brands at Sephora and other retailers so I knew I could do this!
It's so unique to launch with only one product; tell us about that choice...
Like many self-funded brand owners, it was a practical decision. I was planning to launch two products, but the cost of goods for one product skyrocketed as a result of supply chain issues during COVID.
I do think it’s an exciting time for indie brands in the beauty and wellness space. Consumers are seeking cleaner, healthier, more unique products with authentic stories behind them. The barriers to entry are lower now than ever before, and you don’t have to launch with a collection of products to be noticed.
Is the cleanser best for certain skin types or conditions?
I think most people have normal or combination skin that breakout on occasion whether it's from hormones, lack of sleep, stress or diet. Active people who sweat more often and/or come into contact with sports equipment also tend to break out. Our hero ingredient fermented white radish with Probiotic L. Kimchii is an antimicrobial that inhibits the growth and spread of C. Acnes bacteria and reduces yeast and mold by 99.9%.
What do you think people get wrong about Korean skincare?
Korean skincare is well known for its 10-step or multi-step skincare routine with countless options for each step. That can be challenging for most people! However, K-beauty also has products that address these steps with multitasking products. It was important to me and the brand that I honor Korean skincare and also make it approachable for consumers who know nothing about it. I chose a cleanser because not only is it the “first step” in a Korean skincare, but it’s also the most critical for skin health because of the bacteria that lives naturally or triggered by activity (from sweat, environmental toxins and exposure to other harmful bacteria etc) on the skin. Our multitasking Kimchii Cleanser exfoliates and brightens as well as helps to prevent and treat breakouts when they happen.
What's next for the brand?
It's been a little over seven months since we launched Norie. It's been amazing to see the response from customers, editors and content creators. We will continue to focus on connecting with our customers, driving awareness and growing our community. We’re excited to start having conversations with smaller, specialty beauty retailers early 2024. My dream would be to enter retailers whose customer base is health, wellness and active-obsessed, which we are too.
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