This Former Glossier Exec And New Mom Started A Healthy Oral Care Brand During The Pandemic

Self-care has come to the oral care category. Ojook, a brand created by Youn Chang, formerly executive director at Glossier and global supply chain manager at Apple, launched last month with toothpaste containing 13 ingredients that’s intended to motivate twice-daily meditative moments rather than be hastily smeared on and spit out. “The sector needs disruption,” says Chang. “When I looked at the market, a lot of brands are expanding their storytelling and flavors, but not really focusing on the self-journey, the ritual of it and truly clean, minimal ingredients.” Ojook isn’t the only brand aiming to disrupt oral care. It joins Bite, Davids, Moon, Spotlight, Alka-White, Wildist, Risewell, Popwhite and Terra & Co. in attempting to do so within the beauty industry. Beauty Independent talked to Chang about how her take on mouth merchandise is different, the role her daughter played in her entrepreneur pursuit, the advantages Ojook has had during the pandemic and relying on peers as mentors.

What led to your brand?

I moved here from Korea 12 years ago. Prior to having my daughter, I worked in finance and operations at larger companies like Apple and Glossier. Once I had my daughter, every minute I spent away from her, I really needed to make worth it. I realized I wanted to do something for her, about her heritage, infusing Eastern philosophy and wellness, something approachable, something I can pass down to her. I wanted to highlight daily rituals, focus on the preventative, not fixing something after it’s already happened.

Growing up, I learned that bodily health, fitness and diet, it’s not always about six-pack abs and Pilates. For me, the wellness culture emphasizes harmony in nature, what you do consistently. To be happy and confident, wearing a wrinkle is a badge of honor, possessing generational knowledge, bringing my roots from Korea. I want to make my daughter proud.

Why start with oral care?

I’ve always been interested in skincare and makeup. I had a beauty blog at one point and worked for a company that was popular in the space, but I was graduating from that world. I decided to dive deep into wellness, and the mouth is the gateway to controlling the inputs to your body. It’s proven in recent research that oral health is related to heart and brain function. It summarizes your holistic health. I believe using a clean product to maintain that environment fosters a better immune system. In Korea, having your natural teeth into your 80s and 90s is a symbol of true wellness. The mouth is simply the beginning, so why not begin there? We will slowly potentially go into products like supplements, herbal teas for body and mind, but oral care is the starting point.

What differentiates Ojook?

The ingredient story really sets us apart. Both of the core ingredients, nano-hydroxyapatite and baked bamboo salts, are used widely in Asia and help us make that bridge from Eastern medicine to the Western world. Nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) is the gold standard in Japanese and European fluoride alternatives and remineralizes the teeth from the inside. It’s really an all-star ingredient. Then, the Korean baked bamboo salt has been used medicinally for over a thousand years, yet it’s not very common in the mainstream. This version is nine times baked and has very alkaline properties, so the whole microbiome is amplified in this ideal environment for the mouth to thrive. It’s unique the way these two very strong ingredients work in tandem to support the enamel and chemistry of a very clean and healthy mouth. It’s a real sensorial experience.

How did the pandemic affect the launch?

I happened to be working closely with vendors in Korea. They warned it was going to happen, but no one knew it would have this force. Even with the ups and downs, I do think there are things we did well. First, we spent our time educating consumers on our value proposition. We’re not only providing personal hygiene, but emotional care. We tried to raise the bar. In addition to self-care, we saw that mindfulness and rituals got a huge boost. People were trying to find normalcy, make sure they’re centered and honing in on their awareness. That messaging is very in line with who we are.

Second, big brands and small brands alike had to go digital, so it leveled the playing field. We didn’t have to spend resources throwing an offline event and inviting people around the world to one physical location. We doubled down on making relevant content that spoke to both influencers and consumers.

Lastly, we discovered there are so many talented freelancers out there from the fashion and food industries. I found so much quality talent to work with for our brand. Connecting over Zoom, those people are very capable and willing to work on small brands because their careers and personal lives were so deeply affected.

How do you balance your personal and professional responsibilities as a working mother?

I’m really lucky that we are all together as a family, what I do, my daughter sees it. It’s definitely hard to maintain a balance, it’s never divided evenly, but I don’t have to commute or travel and that gives me a sense of being grounded.

How much money did it take to launch Ojook, and how did you finance it?

It cost me about $50,000 to purchase inventory for the launch, and we were very lucky to have investors provide a small seed amount. We’re definitely not a venture-backed operation, more angel, and family and friends. It was very important to me, having a background in finance, that we use resources very smartly, pouring it into things that really matter like scientific research on the dental side, owning our recipe, sourcing quality ingredients, sustainable packaging design and working with very talented manufacturers that believe in our philosophy.

When do you expect the brand to reach profitability?

As soon as possible. Again, we are using our resources smartly. With the small round of investment, I could have hired a team, but this is the first brand I’ve launched from scratch and making sustainable products is not easy. The industry is designed for fast and disposable. We use aluminum tubes because we’re doing it genuinely with an earnest approach, all of the components are not cheap. We don’t have a set plan to get to x point by y date, but we’re more focused proving ourselves in the market. Once it catches on we’ll consider larger volumes, but right now the focus is making the product right and stand out.

Besides yourself, who is key to making Ojook work?

So far, it’s still pretty much just me. I do social media, brand strategy, sales, oversee manufacturing. I would say our two dentist partners [Soohyung Kim and Albert Lam] are the key because, when we were making this brand, I really wanted to differentiate from all the fluoride-free brands out there. Therefore, this product needed to work and be proven. They definitely help navigate the scientific information, education and content creation. We don’t take that lightly. We vet everything through the dental experts. I’m providing the Eastern wellness aspect while they provide the professional dental expertise.

Where is the brand sold now? What’s a dream retail partner for it?

So far, we are direct-to-consumer. We’ve only been out in the market for three weeks. As for who would be the best partner, I want to approach it mindfully. It would have to be someone equally invested in sustainability who can amplify our voice and heritage, be able to explain why simple yet quality ingredients matter, why incremental daily rituals matter. There are a lot I can think of, but I’m only looking in from the outside. It it has to be a mutual fit. Even if it was a mass retailer, if they’re trying to focus on what we present for their future growth engine, I’m open to it. Some clean beauty operations have cult followings, but it’s all about the intention. I’m not ruling anyone out for what they have done in the past. [I’m interested in] how they plan to move forward. As for now, we need to prove ourselves with our core customers and our own personal voice. Once we do, it will all come very naturally to get us to the next level.

Do you have mentors? If so, what’s the best advice you’ve received from them?

My mentors have changed a lot over the years, when I was working in finance or operations, I learned from people who were in the factories who have 30 years of experience and helped me understand what it takes to make a beautiful product. Now that I’m a mamaprenuer, it’s my peer group. I talk to them on a daily basis, and they are accessible when I need them. More than half of them are also entrepreneurs or heading that way. Bouncing around ideas has been super helpful. The best advice I’ve gotten is knowing you’re not alone, especially in this pandemic. You only get that from a special camaraderie. So many others are having this same experience, talk about the struggles and seek feedback.

What brands other than your own would we find in your medicine cabinet?

I used to have super complicated skincare and makeup rituals. Two or three years ago, my cabinets were filled with everything a blogger could own, but, with this venture, it’s about being conscious of the environment and ingredients, it’s changed a lot. For body and hair, I use a sustainable line called Ethique that comes in a bar soap form. For the face, I use Krave Beauty and Therapi Honey Skincare. I love her ethos in sourcing from her own bees. I also really like Kjaer Weis. They have gorgeous refillable packaging and RMS, it doesn’t create much waste. And now I make it a point to TerraCycle any waste that I do make and research beforehand so my error rate goes down.

What’s your biggest fear as an entrepreneur?

I don’t know enough to know what to be afraid of. Every single day is new for me. I think rather my biggest fear in life is to be stale and not learning anything, so I’m soaking in so much from anyone and everyone. I’m more excited than afraid. I’m a very curious person. I don’t ever want to be bored.