Tell us a little bit about your background
My name is Seejune Sung and I am the Art Director of Vitabrid C12 who helped the brand launch. Since my college days as an art student, I have always dreamed of an opportunity to create a unique and valuable brand that didn’t exist. Vitabrid C12 was the perfect brand for me to achieve my dream as it is the only pure vitamin C that can be continuously delivered for over 12 hours to the skin. I was asked to join the launch of Vitabrid C12 in 2013 and have established a visual identity of Vitabrid C12 in terms of BI and product packaging.
As the brand’s art director, I’m in charge of new product designs and packaging, advertising materials, and other promotional aspects like the Cosmoprof North America participation.
Tell us a little bit about Vitabrid and how the company started?
Vitabrid C12 is the cosmeceutical brand of Hyundai Bioscience, a biotechnology company that has developed and commercialized innovative bio technologies that enable delivering active ingredients safely and efficiently to targeted areas of the body and skin.
Our skin, including the scalp, faces challenges daily from free radicals and other skin stresses that can cause premature skin aging. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and highly potent skincare ingredient that helps neutralize free radicals which contribute to structural and cellular damage, supports collagen synthesis, and helps inhibit hyperpigmentation. However, it is very unstable and easily destroyed once exposed to air, water, or heat. On top of that, only 1% of ingested Vitamin C supplements reach the skin, unable to prevent its aging as the person grows older.
Vitamin C is the key to combat skin aging and Vitabrid C12 was born to make this potent ingredient possible to provide everyone healthy and younger skin. It all started when Dr. Jin-ho Choy, a renowned researcher in the field of drug delivery technology, realized the potential of the latest technological development, LDH technology (Layered Double Hydroxide technology). He used this technology to encapsulate pure vitamin C in layers of bio-friendly minerals to store and preserve it, and then, once applied topically, to deliver it effectively and continuously to the skin for over 12 hours. Called Vitabrid CG, this proprietary complex safely delivers pure vitamin C to the skin to help the skin become healthier 24/7. The advanced biotechnology that gave birth to Vitabrid CG was selected as one of the eight most promising technologies in the world (2001 MRS Highlight Innovations).
Vitabrid C12 is built on this biotechnology foundation and constantly strives to produce effective skincare and scalp care products that can safely deliver the power of vitamin C to your skin and scalp.
What makes your brand different from other beauty brands?
We are NOT just a beauty brand, but an innovative skincare brand based on advanced science focusing on solutions for anti-aging. We know the importance of vitamin C in skincare, one of the most potent and safest antioxidants. The collagen starts to decrease in our mid-20s and our skin is exposed to free radicals daily which causes premature skin aging. However, if taken orally, it hardly reaches the skin. We made this possible by developing our 12-hour vitamin C which delivers pure and active vitamin C to the skin and scalp. The rest is taken care of by vitamin C – fighting free radicals off and triggering collagen reproduction, so you may experience anti-aging and protection from skin damage.
All our products are carefully and proudly developed and presented so that they can provide real benefits and changes to the skin.
Describe your brand in three words.
Biotechnology. Delivery. 12-hour Vitamin C.
Without giving away too many of your secrets, what do you anticipate your growth to be this year and what is the direction for the future of the brand?
We want to help everyone regain healthier and younger skin and hope you can further benefit from antioxidant vitamin C for your skin. Vitabrid C12 received huge popularity in Japan since its launch. Our main products such as FACE Brightening and HAIR Professional have proved their real benefits by sellingover 6.4 million bottles worldwide.
With the expiration of the exclusivity contract with Barneys New York, we have recently changed our business model from a B2B to a D2C. 2021 will be our jump start to expand our presence in the US market, particularly through our digital platforms. As a global company, we expect to shift our focus to the US market and establish a strong brand identity as the leader in safe, 12-hour vitamin C for your skin.
What is the best piece of advice someone gave you? What advice would you give a budding entrepreneur?
A creation of a brand has to mean the creation of new and innovative values that did not exist before. You have to invest all of your time and commitment in the new brand.
I believe ‘trust’ is the essence. In other words, it is the faith in your brand. Brand sells trust. The depth of a brand is manifested by the trust from its customers. We must not forget it to the end. Do your best in your brand and all its products the same way as you first started it.
What did your Cosmoprof North America experience mean to you?
Vitabrid C12 received the Cosmoprof North America’s first ever “Trendsetter” award in 2016. Cosmoprof North America is a place where the most creative brands are welcomed and introduced. This has proved that creativity will always be recognized.
Vitabrid C12 also received huge interest and business offers from major companies in the US and worldwide after presenting the brand at the show. We have attended the show multiple times and Vitabrid C12 has never failed to amaze.
Finally, what’s an interesting fact about you people would be surprised to hear?
Since 2013, I have been using Vitabrid C12‘s skincare and scalp care products for myself, specifically FACE Brightening and HAIR Professional. People have been surprised by how I still maintain my full hair and youthful skin at my age. Most people don’t recognize my real age. I’m a real fan of Vitabrid C12 not just because I have created the brand’s identity but have truly experienced the real benefits on my skin.
Before having to use Vitabrid C12, I could not experience the full benefits of vitamin C for the skin because vitamin C that I intake orally as a supplement does not fully reach the skin. When taking vitamin C orally as a supplement, free radicals are removed from the body which causes aging. This is the reason why people are taking vitamin C supplements. However, orally taken vitamin C doesn’t give the full benefits to the skin as they hardly reach the skin once applied due to the nature of body metabolism. Our Skin, including the scalp, is being exposed to free radicals from UV exposure, pollution, and lifestyle choices which fast-track the natural decline of structural collagen. Our skin needs vitamin C every day and that’s why I cannot go a day using Vitabrid C12’s products. I hope everyone can experience the pure 12-hour vitamin C for their skin like I do.
ABOUT HYUNDAI BIOSCIENCE
Seejune Sung, Brand Art Director of Vitabrid C12
HYUNDAI BIOSCIENCE is a biotechnology company that develops and commercializes bio technology with the purpose of delivering active ingredients safely and efficiently to targeted areas of the body. Using this same technology to stabilize vitamin C, Hyundai Bioscience expanded its business scope to cosmeceuticals, knowing the importance of vitamin C for skin. Our skin, including the scalp, faces challenges daily from free radicals and other skin stresses that can cause premature skin ageing. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and highly potent skincare ingredient that helps neutralize free radicals which contribute to structural and cellular damage, supports collagen synthesis and helps inhibit hyperpigmentation. Based on Vitabrid CG, a new biomaterial that binds vitamin C with bio-friendly mineral layers to stabilize it and allow for superior skin permeation for over 12 hours, Hyundai Bioscience launched its skincare and scalpcare brand Vitabrid C 12 to help make everyone’s skin healthier and youthful.
To learn more about Vitabrid C12, Click Here.
Categorized in: Spotlights