Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast exploring the topics of business, education,
technology and design.
I'm your host, Mr. Jason.
Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting.
Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories
with an international flavor.
This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International
Community School of Bangkok.
Hello again and welcome back to the podcast.
I'm your host, Mr. Jason.
And today I'll be joined by several student co-hosts.
In this episode, we have the privilege of talking with Ms. Cherry, the founder and CEO
of Herb, one of Thailand's leading spa and wellness brands.
We'll get to hear her journey as an entrepreneur and get some advice along the way.
If you are an inspiring entrepreneur or just like to listen to inspirational stories, you
are in the right place, so stay tuned.
Before we jump into our first guest segment, let's get the quote of the day and hear some
headline news.
Our quote of the day comes from the Roman poet Virgil.
He said,
The greatest wealth is health.
This quote emphasizes the significance of good health as the most valuable possession
one can have.
No amount of material wealth can compare to the benefits and joy brought by a healthy
body and mind.
Without good health, even the wealthiest individuals may find it difficult to enjoy the riches
or pursue their dreams efficiently.
And that's our quote of the day.
And here's our headline news.
The Thailand Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has recently
announced a research program to enhance access to social services through digital technology
for the elderly.
The NBTC recognizes the growing disparity between Thailand's older population and
the new age of technology and has been taking strides to reduce this divide through a project
named Thailand Smart Living Lab.
This program aims to increase the social services that the elderly receive and enhance their
quality of life with technology.
With the full support of industry experts and the government, this program has a positive
outlook.
With the growing use of AI technology in recent years, it's no surprise that it has expanded
to the healthcare industry.
A joint collaboration between the Department of Mental Health and Chulalakorn University's
Faculty of Engineering resulted in the creation of the Detection and Monitoring Intelligence
Network for depression, a new AI system intended to assist psychiatrists and therapists with
diagnosing patients with depression.
This technology features a chatbot, a camera and a microphone which are used for facial
and vocal screening purposes.
With the rise in depression among the population, this new system will be a positive addition
in helping combat the mental health issues many are facing, especially among the younger
generation.
And finally, the African nation of Cameroon announced that it would be implementing routine
malaria vaccinations.
It's the first country to ever do so.
The main focus of the initiative targets children who are exceptionally vulnerable, and it will
be across 42 districts in the country.
The country's implementation of the vaccine has inspired other African nations to do the
same.
The malaria vaccines had arrived last year as part of a larger initiative to immunize
a large part of Africa.
So far this effort has reached 2 million children across several nations.
And that ends our headline news.
In this episode, we welcome Mrs. Cherry, the founder and CEO of Herb, one of Thailand's
leading spa and wellness brands with multiple outlets and locations throughout Bangkok.
I'm joined by co-host Premi and HiLight.
Premi will get us started with our first question.
We're so honored that you can join us today, Mrs. Cherry.
Could you please introduce yourself and talk a little bit about what you do?
I'm Sherry.
I'm a managing director and founder of Herb.
It's a luxury skincare and home program.
And on the topic of Herb, what is your favorite scent for health care and beauty products?
Actually I love every scent, but the first scent that I work with is jasmine.
Jasmine represents Thailand.
So the first scent is jasmine.
I love the most.
Yeah I love that.
And I love how that also, like what you said, like it does represent Thailand.
And it's also so refreshing.
Now if you could recommend an herb product to everyone, what would it be?
Our best seller now is, it's called Dry Oil.
And it's like, you know, quite famous in the market.
So I can recommend, I would recommend wine and rose for the oil.
It's quite new and in the market.
And it's like our best seller.
Could you please tell us more about your journey from college to your first career?
I graduated in marketing from Richmont College.
And then I was an intern in the advertising agency called the OpenNet.
And after that I became a graphic designer at the OpenNet.
Then I became a fashion designer at Greyhound.
During I was a fashion designer, I found Herb about 25 years ago.
Now we're curious, what was your first job and what was it like working there?
I was a graphic designer.
I worked at the OpenNet.
It's quite a famous advertising agency.
So the atmosphere was quite like international standard.
Like everybody is so talented.
It's quite a teamwork.
And we share a lot of ideas and everything.
I started with the environment and colleagues that grew me to be a creative person there.
You mentioned working at Greyhound, a global advertising company within the fashion industry.
What was the experience like?
I was quite happy there.
I found that when people wear my clothes, the clothes that I designed, I find it so happy.
As a designer, when you find someone wearing your clothes, it's quite fulfilling.
Yeah.
And with that inspiration or fulfillment, as you mentioned before, what gave you the
inspiration to start Herb?
I wanted to do the brand that's based on Thai beliefs or Thai remedies, things like that.
When I was a fashion designer, I traveled a lot and I found that the healthy beauty trend
in Europe is quite famous there.
So I think why should I do the healthy beauty brand but in an Eastern kind of way?
So I came back and I found that a lot of Thai herbs is quite interesting.
I do think too that there's a lot of beauty in Thainess itself, Thai products, Thai herbs
and medicines and all the things that can be made into products.
And now with Herb and with it starting, what did Herb look like in its early days?
It looks more like a minimalist style because I have to do modern style with Thai remedy.
I cannot do Thai style with Thai remedy.
Yeah, that makes sense.
It's like a lot of assimilation and blending.
Thank you.
And that ends our first segment.
We'll be right back with segment two, right after this short PSA announcement.
There's an international art exhibition being hosted in the Northern province of Chiang
Rai from now through April of this year.
It's under the theme, the open world.
The event will feature artworks by 60 artists from 21 countries.
There will be various venues in and around Chiang Rai city, including the Black House,
the White Temple and Singapore.
More venues can be found at Chiang San on the banks of the Mekong River just north of Chiang
Rai.
The contemporary artwork will address a range of issues, including cultural diversity, history,
nature and ecology.
We are back with part two.
In this segment, we'll be hearing more about Mrs. Cherry's journey from Herb and she'll
also be sharing some insight into the things she has learned along the way as an entrepreneur
and successful business owner.
Premi will get us started again.
All right.
Last time we left off at with Herb in its early days.
So from the early beginnings, how has Herb progressed into what it is now today?
I think it becomes more and more internationally well-known.
And it's quite, it feels like being that I can create a lot of product that I love and,
you know, I can introduce Thai remedies and Thai recipes, all Thai, Thai-ness, Thai things
to make it more trendy, more fashionable and in the world now.
Yeah, that sounds super fascinating.
I could truly see the fashionable sense of Herb's products shine through its products.
And I think this cultural syncretism aspect of Herb, it has very shone through, shined
through when I interned at Herb.
So what were some of the struggles you had with starting and operating Herb?
I think for in term of teamwork, I think in term of building the team, you know, it's
very hard to find a team that has that can build into like a dream team or a DNA team,
things like that.
For me, it's quite difficult for me.
It's quite hard for me to find the right person for Herb.
Yeah, that makes sense.
And so like, we're curious, how did you overcome these challenges and what lessons can you
share with us?
Now I found that I spent a lot more time with creativity with product and trying to build
the teamwork or build the DNA in the team of production, of IMD, of graphic design,
things like that, through the creativity part.
But for the back office part, now I joined with a bigger company, you know, for them
to take care of the back office, things like that, all the resources, all the accounts,
accounts and all the finance, everything, IT, all the back office stuff that I never
ever understand.
So now I'm working with a big company, so I can't focus on product.
We'd like to ask you a quick question before we move on.
So through this major transition or collaboration, how has Herb changed?
So you've mentioned how like, it has eliminated the chaotic aspect of it, but are there any
other aspects that you've seen changed through this collaboration?
For me, I think for the marketing part, when we go to the big company, I think the tools
and all the facilities to support all the marketing part is going to be a lot bigger.
So we can have a synergy about the marketing part and all the business part.
It's going to be better as well.
Thank you for your response to that question.
So moving on, we're just out of curiosity.
What does a day-to-day schedule look like for you at Herb?
Mostly, I overlook every issue of the company.
But the important thing is I have to follow all the plans that we set in the early of
the years.
So we have all the plans, all the products that we've got to launch during the year,
all the marketing plans.
The important thing is to follow the plan.
You mentioned earlier about the creativity to try out new products.
How often do you get the opportunity to do that?
How does that fit in with the plan, as you mentioned?
Actually it's all the time.
Because I'm more like an artist.
I'm not a business woman.
So it's in my head all the time about new things.
All the new scent, all the new colors, all the new prospect, all the new vision, everything.
Even though that creativity flourishes and then it happens in your head all the time,
on the flip side, you also have a business to overlook and manage.
So how much time can you carve out of that to actually think about that and do that?
In a day, how much time on average would you be able to do that?
Actually, it's not a lot.
When you do the thing you like, it's got to be very fast.
Right?
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah.
Do the thing that you don't like.
It's got to take you.
Now, what would you say is the most special thing about Herb, its mission and what it
strives to do?
I create Herb for myself and for my best friend.
So I believe that is if I love the product, my best friend is going to love the product.
And the friend of my best friend is going to love the product.
And the friend of the friend is going to love the product.
That's my marketing concept.
I love that.
That's really touching and that's so powerful.
You've mentioned earlier how your creativity runs through very naturally on a daily basis.
So I was just wondering, did the Herb shop at Emsphere also derived from these moments
of creativity?
The Emsphere concept is bliss.
Because the motto, the slogan of Herb is daily bliss for your body and soul.
Like a little thing that makes you happy.
So it's like daily bliss.
And for Emsphere, the bliss is the concept of the shop.
So we use the cloud as the bliss.
The cloud is represent bliss.
That's the concept of Emsphere.
So that's the creativity.
We have a concept, a slogan, a belief that if you use it, you've got a daily bliss for
your body and your soul.
We use the word bliss as a concept of Emsphere.
Yes, that's very clear.
And that's like truly amazing to see because I could truly like sense the blissfulness
when visiting the shop.
So Wichumayama asked, how has the beauty or healthcare industry changed over the years?
What are your thoughts on such transitions?
When I was young, you know, like the only trend in the world is it's dominated by
Eurofit or USA.
But now the trend is so much more than that.
Now there's a Korean trend, there's a Thai trend, you know, there's a European trend.
So it's mixed, you know, a lot of trends in the beauty today.
So now people have more individual style, individual preference.
And but you know what?
But one thing that I find is the natural beauty is always last long, never out.
So natural product, natural cosmetic is going to be forever.
Everybody wants to look young and natural forever.
So natural beauty and natural cosmetic is going to be forever.
I love that.
And yeah, absolutely agree.
Like, like all the nature and natural products, they are the best.
And also I love how you like mentioned like in the past, maybe we haven't done it as much,
but like as we're approaching like the present, we've embraced like individuality more.
Yeah, and shown like expressing thoughts and like feelings, emotions through like whether
clothing or like, like herbal products in the past, a lot of like these fashion trends
or like what's considered trendy is dictated by like maybe like European or the Western
world.
Right.
And so but like with the rise of like, like maybe Korean culture, too, trends and other
Asian trends, I think Thailand, we can definitely have it be up there as one of the trends and
show like the beauty in Thai culture.
But what are some future trends that you would like to see happen or that you would expect
to see happen in the future and why?
I still believe in natural beauty.
But you know what, for me, it's like I want to be more like synergy with new technology.
Yeah, new technology.
I think that's what I aim for.
So raw, rich, rare, but synergy with new technology.
That's very cool to like hear your insights on that.
So I would like to ask, how do you find the right balance between technology and authenticity
or naturalness?
Because as we can see in the contemporary society, it's like very hard to find the balance.
Sometimes it's overly like new, sometimes it's how do you manage to like preserve the
tiniest in it while integrating like new up to date trends?
My concept is to be natural as much as possible, extremely, you know, like 99.5, things like
that, natural, but with, you know, all the technology.
So no compromise.
That's what I aim for.
I love that goal.
So we can see that the natural beauty trend is one of the most sustainable trends, as
you've mentioned earlier.
So as a party advice, what advice would you give to future entrepreneurs or young people
interested in the healthcare or beauty industry?
I think you have to believe in what you are good at.
If you really know what you like, or if you really know what to believe, or if you really
know what are you good at, it's gotta be easier for you to reach the goal.
Yeah, absolutely.
And when you're doing what you love to the creativity fosters and it comes naturally
to, right?
So like doing what you love and doing what you're good at.
That is powerful and inspiring advice.
Thank you so much again for joining us on and carving some time out of your busy schedule.
We're very sure.
So thank you so much.
We're super honored to have you here on the podcast.
Thank you so much again.
And that ends our last segment with Mr. Cherry with some great advice.
Hopefully you have seen that success can look very different from one business to another
and it never is a straight line.
We can all learn from listening to the stories and advice from those who have come before
us.
If you live in Bangkok, go check out one of Herb's retail locations and or you can find
them online at herbasia.com.
It's spelled E R B A S I A dot com.
As we end this episode, I'd like to say thank you again to our guest, Mrs. Cherry for joining
us for the show and to our guest co-host highlight from source of success.
Going back to our quote of the day, our greatest wealth is our health.
Herb is one such business that focuses on this idea and the value that having proper
health can add to your life.
And as always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work and support of our international
student production team.
All music and sound effects are courtesy of pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives
sharing copyright free images, videos, and music.
And we are signing off until next time.
Be your students incorporated because your voice matters.