In the beauty industry, where fierce competition and ever-evolving consumer trends create a relentless battleground for market share, Koko Hayashi has successfully carved a niche, distinguishing herself with a unique blend of face yoga and beauty wellness.
Koko is a beauty expert and the visionary behind beauty companies Koko Face Yoga, focusing on utilizing yoga or face exercise to achieve a natural youth appearance, and Mirai Clinical, which crafts all-natural ingredients such as persimmon extract to treat Nonenal or body odor caused by aging.
In an interview with LA Weekly, Koko provides a glimpse into her rise to prominence, answering questions on entrepreneurship, success, and vision for her brand’s future.
Can you walk us through the initial stages of your entrepreneurial journey? What inspired you to delve into the beauty and wellness industry?
In my first consulting business, I’ve always been interested in beauty and health, so I wanted to do business in the field. First, I tried a beauty consulting business, which quickly failed, just because I started the company without any demand for it. I just did something I am interested in. It doesn’t work like that. You have to offer something you’re interested in or good at, and there is demand from society.
That made me start Mirai Clinical, my second eCommerce business, to offer deodorizing soaps to eliminate body odor associated with aging. This is something I’m interested in, and also the demand was proven in Japan. So, I started importing the soap from Japan and selling them in the US. But again, I made another mistake: you can’t just make something popular in another market to sell in different markets. If the market is different, the demand is different too. Unless you have a huge marketing budget, you can’t quickly educate the public about the issue that your solution is solving. That’s why it has taken more than ten years for Mirai Clinical to be a multi-million dollar business.
As I learned from the two businesses’ mistakes, the third business, Koko Face Yoga, was launched out of public demand. It was my passion, and I started showing face yoga tutorials on YouTube for fun. Then, followers grew, making me realize this could be a business.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in the early days of Koko Face Yoga and Mirai Clinical, and how did you overcome them?
For Mirai Clinical, which helps eliminate nonenal body odor associated with aging, people don’t know that body odor changes with age. Therefore, we used to get many hate comments that we were insulting the elderly. We still get such statements regularly, but now we try to explain that it is just a science. At first, I didn’t know how to talk to Americans, as I didn’t grow up in the U.S., and I was still learning English back then. Now, our team fully uses AI to harness negative comments and use them as an opportunity to explain that what we’re doing is based on science.
For Koko Face Yoga, the word “Face Yoga” was allegedly trademarked by another European company, and we were attacked. Our app on iPhone was taken down because Apple’s legal department believed we were infringing the trademark. Unfortunately, we were one of the few face yoga businesses attacked. Thankfully, Android’s legal department did not believe the claim was valid, so our app did not get taken down from their system.
We’re taking legal action against this challenge, which is ongoing, but I learned that some can do such things to smaller businesses as long as they have money. I don’t believe this is fair game for the face yoga businesses, and as a face yoga business leader, I’m still fighting.
Even if you think certain words are too generic to be trademarked, it’s always good to check. A stranger in China already trademarks Koko Face Yoga. I learned that a trademark is like a game.
Your brands have a unique approach, emphasizing natural solutions. How did you identify this niche, and what drove you to pursue it?
For Mirai Clinical, our unique difference is that we offer solutions to body odor associated with aging, and its key ingredient is Japanese persimmon. This has been a proven concept in Japan multiple decades ago, so Americans are catching up with the idea slowly.
For Koko Face Yoga, we offer natural solutions to regain your youthful appearance. I had a plastic surgery failure at the age of 27, which made me realize that I should have pursued natural solutions, such as face yoga.
Can you share a pivotal moment in your entrepreneurial journey that you believe was a turning point for your brands?
Mirai Clinical is an eCommerce business, so when I found good eCommerce mentors, I believed that if I followed their steps, the company would succeed. I always believed in learning from others. Now, those eCommerce mentors give me practical step-by-step guidance that sparked my interest to start the journey.
For Koko Face Yoga, I haven’t had a pivotal moment as a business owner yet. Like any other venture, we’re still struggling as a business, although I’m well-known as an expert or influencer. It’s my goal to build it as big as Mirai Clinical, so we work hard every day to reach that pivotal moment.
How do you handle competition, especially from larger, more established brands in the industry?
Faster growth would reduce the challenge from established companies. Mirai Clinical was growing too slowly, and since I found good mentors in 2022, I finally know how to optimise the business. It is my duty to grow faster.
The same applies to Koko Face Yoga, but my goal is to study Face Posture® (how to move facial muscles for daily facial activities, such as resting, eating, speaking, etc) at the clinical level to do it from a medical standpoint. I’m very excited about this upcoming clinical study.
This is how I rise to competition: innovation.
How do you stay motivated and inspired, especially during challenging times?
Businesses are long-term marathons, so it’s essential to take breaks and try to make mistakes to learn instead of aiming to be a perfectionist. Although entrepreneurs are not physical athletes, overall health is necessary for our brains to think positively.
Can you share advice for budding entrepreneurs looking to make their mark in the beauty and wellness industry?
First, your business should be something you’re passionate about. Second, your business has to be something you are good at. And third, your business has to meet a demand from society. Those three have to be met in the business you are doing. Otherwise, you won’t succeed.
How do you balance staying true to your brand's core values while adapting to market demands and trends?
We must listen to our customers and followers to learn the market trends. For example, at the beginning of Koko Face Yoga, I was mainly doing face yoga exercises only. But my followers started teaching me about Mewing Tongue Posture®, and now I’m one of the few Mewing Tongue Posture® influencers.
The beauty and wellness industry is constantly evolving. How do you plan to keep your brands relevant and ahead of the curve?
TikTok or social media is not just for fun but also for learning about businesses. I find new ad trends, product trends, etc, all the time there.
Where do you see Koko Face Yoga and Mirai Clinical in the next five years? Are there any innovations or expansions on the horizon?
I want to sell Mirai Clinical as it doesn't need my face, and I’ve been in the business for over ten years. Ending a business is something I’ve never done, so I am excited to learn the process.
For Koko Face Yoga, we have to use technologies to grow actively. There will be no such occupation as instructors in the future, so we aim to use more technologies instead of humans.
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