Words by: Tanya Singh
Photo Credit: Kuoca

A refreshing take on skincare, Kuoca is creating its own path in the beauty industry.

A story of two very different worlds colliding in a beautiful way, Kuoca is a skincare brand based in South Korea created by co-founders and friends, Benjamin Yu and Jisu Kim. While Jisu handles the creative side of things working with fresh ingredients to come up with effective skincare solutions, Benjamin takes care of the business front. Together, they are on a mission to disrupt the way beauty products are made. 

Kuoca Co-founders, Benjamin Yu and Jisu Kim

With experience in working in the musical production industry, Jisu often encountered actors and actresses struggling with skin problems due to stage make-up and bright lights. "As an ardent consumer of beauty products, I was the go-to person when people wanted recommendations for skincare regimes. However, even for me, it was a tough job to find the right products for my actor colleagues," she shared. The only solution she could come up with when faced with the challenge was to make her own products with which she could guarantee results. This led her on a journey into learning from formulation masters and studying ingredients, eventually leading up to the inception of Kuoca.

On a parallel note, Benjamin, who was in the finance industry, would often bring Korean skincare products for his clients overseas. "Slowly, I started realizing that my ideas were much better received when they were accompanied with the little gifts I brought. It was quite funny, but at the same time, got me interested in the skincare business," he said. His newfound interest turned into a full-fledged business when Jisu shared her adventures with skincare recipes with him. Benjamin saw, through his experience, the brilliance of the idea behind Kuoca and knew Jisu well enough to understand the opportunity to do something special in the beauty industry.

  The Cream Blend and Repair Blend by Kuoca.

Before Benjamin and Jisu launched the brand in 2019, Jisu had already been experimenting with recipes, which were all freshly prepared and received well by her actor colleagues. "It is actually one of the basics when you study formulation – the fresher the ingredients, the more potent and effective they are," explained Jisu. In order to leverage the benefits of active ingredients, the founders of the company decided to continue on the same path. Going against the grain and refusing to compromise on the product for the sake of efficiency and quantities, Kuoca is headed on a unique journey. "It might be quite a stupid decision if you look at how the beauty industry actually works, but we have made a bold choice to make skincare better for customers and are willing to see it through," added Benjamin.

The word "Kuoca" translates to "fine dining chef" in Italian, which is precisely what the brand aims to offer consumers – a skincare regime resembling a fine dining experience, from the freshest and most luxurious ingredients to a lasting feeling of satisfaction. In fact, each Kuoca product is produced in small batches at the brand's boutique and is sold within 30 days of production while it is still fresh and at its highest potency. "When I first started learning how to produce skincare products, I was surprised to learn how similar it was to cooking, from preparing the ingredients to cooking and resting them. This gave me the idea to make products that resemble the values of fine dining with an emphasis on delicate yet complex tastes created by a chef's devotion. I wanted to recreate the experience of pleasing all the senses that fine dining offers," shared Jisu. 

The Kuoca store in Seoul, South Korea.

With recipes and techniques that cannot be used for mass-produced products, the Kuoca skincare creation process begins with the ingredients, including chaga mushroom, squalane, oriental tea, cactus, argan, premium white truffle, and more. Each ingredient has its own benefits, like anti-ageing and moisturizing properties, and is carefully blended to create effective and powerful concoctions for all skin types. "Compared to other beauty products, our production process has been very different from the beginning. In a traditional product, chemical stabilizers and preservatives make up more than half of the content, whereas Kuoca products contain no such additives and emphasize on the potency and freshness of the ingredients. The products may not last long, but they are guaranteed to do wonders for your skin," explained Jisu. "In order to offer fresh products, in-house manufacturing was a must, which is why we set up our own boutique where recipes are put together as orders come in. Leveraging the most from active ingredients has always been our main aim," added Benjamin. Kuoca is all set to open an additional flagship fine-dining concept store at the end of the year where skincare products will be 'served' in a unique experiential setting.

The journey Kuoca is on has just begun, but the brand has already made its mark in the skincare industry. A favorite among Korean celebrities, the products provide a refreshing new avenue for users not just in terms of skincare but also with philanthropy. Kuoca encourages all consumers to donate a part of the product cost to charities of their choice. "We believe that genuine beauty is one that is within. While we provide products that keep users beautiful, we also allow them to use their inner beauty to make the world a better place," said Benjamin.