From lockdowns to skyscrapers: Dermorepubliq opens new office

IT’S NOT easy to find good skincare at P500: all the new acids and proteins and vitamins do cost money. Dermorepubliq does all that, and at and at just over P200.

We’ll let you in on a little secret: we used Dermorepubliq’s Clarifying Toner, at P189 for a 100 mL bottle, after we ran out of a more expensive brand and couldn’t get it immediately. After a week of using the cheaper product, we decided not to go back — the local product did the job of the American brand just as well. However, we went back to our old brand after about five months, because the Dermorepubliq toner’s bottle managed to twist off its atomizer cap in our suitcase, and left a wet, medicinal-smelling film all over our cosmetic pouch. We told Keith Sta. Barbara, President and Founder of Dermorepubliq, about this incident during our interview on July 30 at their new corporate offices in Eastwood (they’re working on it).

Mr. Sta. Barbara had been just like us: he started out by looking for new, more affordable products. The thing is, he kicked off a brand in the middle of a global pandemic.

“During the pandemic, we were cooped up at home. I still had my corporate job. I worked as a corporate trainer for a B2B company based in the US,” he said. “It was very stressful right? You’re always at home, you’re also puyat (up late at night). I did really break out a lot,” he said.

To cure himself of his acne back in the lockdowns of 2020, he resorted to using expensive products from a well-known brand, which back then cost upwards of P1,000 for a bottle of serum. He found just two local brands that also did the job and cost less, and figured he could fill a gap.

He took an online cosmetic formulation course from Australia for about a year, and then made his own formulas (the first one was a dupe of the expensive serum he bought), then presented it to manufacturers. He then made two more products and started filling orders with his partner and two other people out of his Marikina condominium. After six months on the Shopee online platform, he expanded his store to Lazada. To fund their own laboratory in Rizal, he borrowed money from his mother, dipped into his savings, and sold his car. “Blood, sweat and tears,” he told us. “I put everything in it.”

The gamble paid off: their serums are bestsellers on TikTok, and their Hyaluronic and Snail Mucin Serum, meanwhile, is No. 1 on Shopee for that category. The price, well below the P500 mark, plays a role in it.

They also have FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval, and they test their products according to FDA and ASEAN directives. Their lab in Rizal is populated with scientists, chemists, chemical technicians, and microbiologists (their dermatology consultation is done by a third party).

“Our edge from other local competitors is we manufacture everything in-house,” he said. “At the end of the day, everyone deserves quality skincare. That’s always been our motto.”

The products are also formulated according to Filipino skin needs. While the active ingredients are based on products we see in other more expensive lines, there are significant differences. Mr. Sta. Barbara says, “Personally, it’s because of the climate. It’s very humid [here]. I think that’s one of the reasons why most of our products don’t contain oil. Oil does not really cooperate well with our climate.”

They only have stalls in SM Masinag, SM Tanza, and recently, at SM Fairview, and Riverbanks as their physical presence, and the venture focuses primarily on their online sales. That’s a result of starting online during the pandemic, which jumpstarted many online businesses. He’s not in a hurry to build in the real world though: “There’s also the economic side of things. It’s a lot cheaper to set up an online presence rather than putting up a kiosk.”

They’re releasing a new hydrating ampoule later this year, and putting the finishing touches on their new office. “Right now, my gauge of success are my employees. As long as we continue to provide jobs, that’s my measure of success,” he said. Still, he said, “We want to be a household name… that’s always going to be a dream for me.”

Mr. Sta. Barbara was once behind a coffee venture that failed: “I’m glad it didn’t work out. I used the learning,” he said. To potential entrepreneurs looking into starting their own ventures, he says, “If you believe in the product, you have to go big or go home.”

Dermorepubliq is available on Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok. — Joseph L. Garcia