More than Skin Deep

Metta Murdaya said goodbye to her comfort zone of home to seek business success in the hard-as-nails U.S. cosmetics market. So will hard work and determination help her Indonesian-inspired cosmetics sell in Peoria, asks Harumu Supit.

Flanked by studio lights and Aqua bottles filled with floral props, Jakarta-born Metta Murdaya and business partner Jill Sung wave large leafy stalks at each other, alternating jungle poses with straight talk about the product images popping up on the photographer’s screen.

“It’s crooked,” says Murdaya after a moment, staring at the bottle of scrub on the computer. They take the shot again.

According to their CVs, Murdaya holds an MBA from NYU and Sung is a practicing dentist who specializes in root canals. In real life, along with two other friends, they have spent the last three years in New York starting a skincare company, Juara, premised on Indonesian botanicals.

“[Right now] there’s a huge focus toward nature and Asia. Japan’s been done, China and India are being done, and Indonesia is the next thing,” says Murdaya. According to Murdaya, at present there is just one other Indonesian-branded skincare company in the United States, and that was founded by a non-Indonesian.

It begs the question: why is it that so few Indonesian entrepreneurs have planted the national flag abroad?

For one thing, Indonesians with an entrepreneurial bent often prefer to stay at home.

“It’s easier to make money here,” is one sentiment widely echoed by local businesspeople. Labyrinthine tax and business regulations aside, the capital cost of starting a business, which Murdaya describes as her biggest issue, is typically lower in Indonesia than in developed countries, and the growing Indonesian market is receptive to new ideas. Tight social networks provide guidance and capital along the way for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Had Murdaya elected to start a business in Jakarta, the ride would have surely been smoother. Instead, the four partners wound up operating the company out of a cramped New York apartment, supplying brute labor and prevailing upon helpful friends. A chemist acquaintance helped concoct the initial formula. Murdaya drew on her architecture background and high school photography experience to create designs and marketing photograph, while. Sung labeled thousands of products by hand, sitting in front of the television night after night.

“You have to be tenacious,” says Murdaya. “Get your hands dirty, unlike here [in Jakarta].”

In many ways Murdaya’s decision to go into business is typical of her background. Born to business-owner parents, she, like most of her siblings, was under pressure to join various family companies. She opted for the alternative of starting her own business — but in the United States, away from her family.

“I do try to separate myself from my parents,” says Murdaya of her company.

Murdaya’s independent streak was cultivated from an early age. The eldest of four children, she went to live with relatives in California at the age of seven, ahead of her siblings. She later studied architecture at UC Berkeley and business at NYU, and worked at various companies, including Home Depot, before deciding to start Juara.

Despite reasonable success — in its third year now, Juara is sold in more than 100 stores across North America and has just entered Japan -- the business takes its toll. “There are times when I want to walk away,” says the 32-year-old. Still, as she notes, she’s in it for the long haul.

Is she thinking of entering the Indonesian market? The answer is no. Murdaya cites competition from established giants like Martha Tilaar and Mustika Ratu as one of the main reasons.

What advice would she give other Indonesian entrepreneurs aiming for overseas markets?

“Product quality is of the utmost importance. Know your market. Choose your partners carefully and be clear about expectations.” And finally, “You have to be hands on. You can’t live in a cocoon. You won’t have people to do things for you.”

Pass the hand cream, please.

Home