What Next Gen Founders Revealed at the Allure Beauty Congress

Where businesses are often dominated by bottom-line thinking, panelists in the Beauty with Purpose: The Power of Filipino Visionaries conversation prove that there’s still space for creative voices to lead and drive meaningful innovation.

Next generation visionaries Joel Andrade of Issy, Rachelle Bravo of New Lounge, Margaux Arambulo-Lucena of Dermtropics, Ava Diaz Daza of Jellytime, and moderator Cleo Loque of Hiraya Pilipina share how brand building today means being anchored on the values of identity, creativity, and purpose.

Purpose versus profit: A false choice

From educating a broader consumer base to weighing profit and purpose, our panelists reflect on the challenges of building a business today.

Certain markets, for one, deal with subjects that are considered “taboo,” which is especially true for sexual wellness brand Jellytime. “I feel [that] in the context of Jellytime or sexual health, not everyone’s going to agree with what you’re doing,” co-founder Ava Diaz Daza shares.

Kieran Punay

That’s why education matters. For Dermtropics, a skin-care brand that has Philippine coconuts as its key ingredient, founder and CEO Margaux Arambulo-Lucena says that their customers must be properly informed. “Filipinos are so used to mabula and mabango, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s always an individual preference, but in our case, we’re the total opposite—so it’s something new to introduce to the Filipino market,” she shares. “[That’s why] we continuously inform them and educate them.”

There are also often debates on what a business owner must prioritize. But in a world where passion is seen as an opposition to profit, Issy co-founder and creative director Joel Andrade believes that both must go hand-in-hand for a brand to truly be a success.

“Those two things are not competing. Those two things are complementary. People who succeed are people who understand that you can make profit out of something with purpose,” says Andrade. “And if you feel like what you’re doing has no purpose, why do it? If what you’re doing is not profitable, why do it?”

Kieran Punay

All founders also agreed that brand building is ultimately a test of resilience. “You have to learn to embrace failure as part of the process. And to know that failure is the stepping stone for tomorrow’s success,” says Andrade.

Elevating local identity to the global stage

After opening a branch of homegrown beauty and wellness space New Lounge in Beverly Hills, founder and CEO Rachelle Bravo emphasizes the importance of celebrating Filipino identity globally. “We always get intimidated when we are thrown into a room of different experts. But the truth is that there’s so much interest in the natural resources that [the Philippines] has,” shares Bravo. “So that is something that we have to change: our confidence, because we tend to look down on ourselves.”

“We do have the best natural resources,” agrees Lucena. “Filipino beauty can compete and be as good as global brands. We can also be sustainable, organic, and science-backed.”

Global success doesn’t have to come at the cost of shedding Filipino identity. Cleo Loque, panel moderator and founder of inner wear brand Hiraya Pilipina, challenges this traditional mindset. “If I want to make a global brand, does it have to not look Filipino? I think that’s one misconception I want to change,” she argues. “You can be proudly Filipino and still be a successful global brand.”

Kieran Punay

Redefining beauty with purpose

Beauty has a deeper purpose, but this purpose won’t be possible if the founders themselves aren’t clear with their own purpose—not just as brands, but as individuals.

“Beauty with purpose is about confidence without shame,” says Daza, who attributes Jellytime’s success to their mission of lessening the stigma around sexual wellness. “If you want to get into this industry, you have to be very clear about your ‘why.’ We’re helping people explore their bodies because growing up, you’re so unsure about yourself, and you don’t know where to turn to.”

For Andrade, purpose in beauty means encouraging audiences to experience the spectrum of the word “beauty.” “There’s beauty in edgy. There’s beauty in futuristic. There’s beauty in weird. Beauty is such a beautiful word kasi it can mean so many things.”

Purpose also lies in product development—and for Lucena, that means a community-based and sustainable approach. “We’re not just making trendy products or pretty products that sit on shelves,” she says. “We’re investing in quality and efficacy as well, because this creates a positive impact towards consumers.”

Ed Simon

Our saturated market can even be the local scene’s biggest strength, Bravo shares. “What’s really important, especially in this uncertain time, is for the business community to take the leadership forward,” she says, stressing the importance of being purposeful through collaboration. “There is a call to action for us founders, builders, creators, and business owners to collectively put our strengths together.”

Ed Simon

What these founders reveal is a future where homegrown brands thrive not by chasing global validation, but by leading with community and purpose. By embracing what is uniquely ours, Filipino beauty is not just ready to compete on the world stage. It can set new standards entirely.