Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team I handle product development within the Grooming Brand Team. As a brand manager, I was responsible for planning and implementing a brand that was suitable for Daiso’s market environment. The Prep by B.READY project commenced urgently, so I focused on facilitating swift and smooth collaboration with key players from each department to complete everything, from design to production, within a short timeframe.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team During the Prep by B.READY project, I developed a new wordmark to ensure the product would have a strong presence in the Daiso channel. I applied a differentiated graphic concept throughout the product design.

Jaemin Lee, Retail MBS Sales 2 Team I’m in charge of Daiso project sales. I primarily handle communication and negotiations with distributors and work on advanced sales strategies and proposal-based selling to drive better future revenue.

Juwon Oh, Beauty Development 2 Team I’m responsible for primary packaging development. I search for and propose suitable packaging materials, considering reasonable pricing, then develop packaging that incorporates design while maintaining functionality and post-processing quality for the finalized materials.

Chaewoo Lim, Makeup 2 Lab As a formulation researcher, I developed the Healthy Tone Cover Lotion among the Prep products. I had to create a texture that customers would love while meeting Daiso’s target price point. It was a challenging project, as we needed to verify stability, safety, and container compatibility on a tight timeline.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team As Amorepacific Group began entering Daiso with brands like ETUDE’s Play101 and Mamonde’s MIMO by MAMONDE, I prepared by conceptualizing B.READY’s potential naming, concept, and lineup in advance, knowing a project might emerge at any time. At the end of 2024, Daiso specifically expressed interest in bringing in B.READY, which had been making a distinctive mark in the market. Therefore, we planned to launch Prep by B.READY as a sub-brand of B.READY.

Jaemin Lee, Retail MBS Sales 2 Team I started researching Daiso in December 2022, and I was pretty surprised to learn that they had one million daily visitors at the time. I thought there was no better promotional platform than having brand exposure where so many customers gather. When MIMO by MAMONDE became the first Amorepacific brand to enter Daiso, we realized that the men’s category was relatively underrepresented there. With 750,000 male customers visiting Daiso in 2024 alone, I thought it would be worth trying to increase brand experience rates through this channel, which led me to pave the way for Prep’s entry.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team “Prep” is a term that refers to the basic preparation process, similar to when chefs prepare ingredients before opening their restaurants. I’ve often thought, “Just five minutes invested in grooming could make someone look so much better.” We chose Prep as our brand name because we wanted to create products that could easily support this kind of preparation. We developed Prep with the aesthetic concept of the “effortlessly cool guy” – someone who might seem somewhat indifferent to beauty but executes basic grooming perfectly.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team When defining Prep by B.READY’s design concept, our primary focus was maintaining the connection with existing B.READY while building Prep’s unique worldview. To achieve this, we positioned B.READY as a developer for men already familiar with styling, while Prep serves as a guide for men just entering the styling world. We then proceeded with the design based on these roles.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team Three key elements that hadn’t been seen in Daiso’s existing men’s category: concept, product quality, and design. We made the idea easy and engaging to match Daiso’s male customers’ age range, behaviors, and involvement levels. For product quality, we were meticulous enough to test 500 to 600 samples to ensure effects that exceed what you’d expect at such a reasonable consumer price. The design was crafted to be sophisticated and eye-catching on Daiso shelves, while maintaining a connection to B.READY.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team Our primary consideration was securing Prep by B.READY’s unique presence within the Daiso channel. We aimed for a masculine yet distinctive tone and manner that would achieve distinct design differentiation within Daiso’s men’s category. Considering the in-store display environment, we enhanced visibility so product names would be clearly seen regardless of whether they had individual boxes, and we designed an information delivery structure that beginners could easily understand by prominently featuring ingredient and function information.

Jaemin Lee, Retail MBS Sales 2 Team I focused heavily on finalizing products and negotiating supply prices. This required me to concentrate on communication, figuring out how to effectively convey our opinions, and putting effort into accepting Daiso’s feedback and reaching agreements.

Chaewoo Lim, Makeup 2 Lab The process of verifying products created and analyzed in the lab at the factory is called a “pilot.” Typically, researchers go through pilots once or twice, but for Prep by B.READY products, we conducted pilots weekly for a total of four times. That’s how much effort we put into product quality.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team We drew inspiration from brands like Uniqlo, Musinsa Standard, and Muji. These brands have clear philosophies and directions, and I believe they help level up lifestyles in a more sophisticated way. From a similar perspective, since Prep is a cosmetic line that contains only essential elements at a very reasonable price, I hope it helps many men level up their skin and appearance.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team We drew inspiration from digital UX/UI elements to visualize our styling introduction guide graphics. We visually borrowed folder structures, icons, and other elements that male consumers frequently encounter in digital interfaces. We designed each product category using a “foldering” concept, allowing you to understand at a glance the role each product plays in its category. Throughout this process, I gained inspiration from meeting and consulting with many related departments and team members. We held design proposal votes and sought extensive advice. Thanks to this, we could quickly reach conclusions even when presenting multiple directions at once.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team We deliberated extensively about how much to incorporate blue, which is B.READY’s core color. After careful consideration, we adopted a strategy of prioritizing body colors in our skincare product line to better highlight the product’s attributes, using blue as a secondary color. For the makeup product line, we distinguished it by applying blue color comprehensively to express B.READY’s identity more strongly.

Juwon Oh, Beauty Development 2 Team The development timeline was significantly shorter than for typical products, so we needed intense focus within a short period. Packaging materials changed midway through the process, and we had to search for and develop packaging that matched the product types, volumes, and price points within a tight timeframe. Through on-site supervision, we minimized the schedule as much as possible. After extensive communication and trials with each supplier to match colors, we successfully completed the project.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team The appeal is that we’ve compressed only the essential elements of men’s beauty, so you can look great at a very reasonable price using just Prep products.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team I think the appeal lies in being easy to purchase, yet not lightweight in impression. Since this is a line for beginners, we maintained an overall friendly and intuitive tone and manner while fine-tuning details to convey the brand identity definitively.

Jaemin Lee, Retail MBS Sales 2 Team Prep by B.READY’s appeal point is the concept of being “in-between.” It serves as a preparation stage for becoming a true grooming enthusiast, straddling the midpoint between skincare and makeup, offering the significant advantage of making self-care approachable and comfortable for all men.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team Prep by B.READY launch includes a total of six products: three easy-to-use skincare products and three makeup products that help with daily beauty styling. The skincare line uses hyaluronic acid for hydration and caffeine for firmness. Among these, the ‘Oil-Cut All-in-One’ for oily skin contains houttuynia cordata for sebum care benefits. In contrast, the ‘Moist All-in-One’ for dry skin includes adenosine for anti-wrinkle. The ‘Skin Toner’ contains 10,000 ppm of hinoki cypress water to enhance soothing effects after shaving. For the makeup line, we added hyaluronic acid to the ‘Cover Lotion’ to function as a moisturizing lotion. We included shea butter, murumuru butter, and jojoba oil in the two ‘Lip Balm’ varieties for reliable hydration.

Chaewoo Lim, Makeup 2 Lab As a company with over 80 years of history and technological expertise, Amorepacific possesses rich data on men’s skin as well. To explain a few points: due to hormonal influences, men have significantly higher sebum production and faster secretion speeds compared to women. That’s why we created the ‘Oil-Cut All-in-One’ for men concerned about oiliness and sebum. Additionally, men’s skin tends to experience significant moisture loss with age, so we developed the ‘Moist All-in-One’ to address these concerns. Most importantly, men’s skin experiences rapid loss of elasticity starting in their twenties. To address this, we added caffeine to all three skincare products to provide firming and tightening effects.

Chaewoo Lim, Makeup 2 Lab Men’s skin tones are generally darker than women’s, more red due to developed blood vessels, and more yellow due to high carotene content. We formulated the Healthy Tone Cover Lotion’s color accordingly. Men’s lip colors vary individually, but they’re typically darker than women’s—dark red, purple, and other deeper shades. That’s why we applied pH-customized color technology to create natural-level pigmentation that matches each person’s lip color. Along with a moisturizing type that smooths unsightly lip flakes, we also launched a matte finish product for men who find dewy looks too bold.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team We designed the skincare line targeting men in their thirties so they could easily pick up products offline without hesitation, creating significant differentiation to encourage repeat purchases. The makeup line targets teens and twentysomethings with good product quality at affordable prices, designed to generate word-of-mouth among this demographic. I’m personally fascinated by youth culture, so rather than just being a corporate guy mimicking young people, I spend my own money purchasing and trying many items to truly understand the brand elements that Gen Z and Alpha genuinely prefers.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team When doing design work, I think it’s essential to understand the perspectives and sensibilities of different generations. I regularly follow various brands and content accounts on my social media accounts for work, constantly archiving trend flows and applying them to my work.

Jaemin Lee, Retail MBS Sales 2 Team We’ve negotiated VMD placement strategies to capture customers’ visual attention and plan to expand experience rates among shy male customers through e-commerce enhancement. For lip balm specifically, we designed dual displays to make them easily visible and accessible to customers anywhere. Since Daiso began opening large stores exceeding 700 pyeong last year, we plan to enter large store showrooms in the future, allowing customers to experience Prep within a grand-scale setting.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team I believe most male customers don’t seek bold individuality through cosmetics, but instead want to become a better version of themselves. I think New Beauty means becoming a better version of yourself in any way—mentally, physically, or appearance-wise. I hope Prep helps clumsy, indifferent men who want to improve take their first steps into beauty.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team Prep by B.READY is a brand designed to enable even those just starting with styling to begin easily at their own pace. Just one lip balm or a straightforward skincare product can create sufficient ‘authentic personal change.’ For these small but meaningful transformations, we designed the brand to appeal to male customers who are unfamiliar with styling themselves naturally and comfortably.

Jaemin Lee, Retail MBS Sales 2 Team With friends who don’t use cosmetics much, we describe skincare as ‘splashing on water.’ And they ask about the price most often. I think lower prices increase experience rates. In that sense, I believe Daiso is the channel closest to realizing New Beauty for men who weren’t interested in beauty. I hope people experience all of Prep’s products and then expand their experience to our leading brand, B.READY.

Chaewoo Lim, Makeup 2 Lab Since we’ve been researching men’s cosmetics development from the company’s early days, we developed these products with confidence, so please give them a try. Although reasonably priced, we worked diligently to achieve good efficacy by incorporating key ingredients that are effective.

Juwon Oh, Beauty Development 2 Team These products contain only truly essential functions at reasonable prices, so I think you’ll be satisfied once you purchase and try them. If you want to care for yourself but find it somewhat burdensome, I recommend starting with Prep lightly. For those unfamiliar with cosmetics or who have only used skin toner and lotion, I hope Prep becomes a natural gateway into grooming.

Jeonghoon Lee, Grooming Brand Team For those who find using cosmetics bothersome or awkward, since buying all our products doesn’t cost much, I want to encourage them to try applying Prep products without even reading the descriptions. You have to use them first to move to the next stage, and through that process, you can achieve New Beauty and become a better version of yourself.

Yunjeong Ahn, Brand Creative 3 Team Many existing B.READY products are great for female customers too, but in this Prep line, Healthy Tone Lip Balm especially seems like a product I can recommend regardless of gender. When applied, it naturally brings out healthy color and creates a lively impression.