“Dare to escape your comfort zone”
IO – “My motto is, ‘We may fail, we may be wrong but we must get up quickly’”. This was the beginning of the Independent Observer’s conversation with Dyah Prastiti, the founder of Alatté, in her comfortable office in the Tebet area, South Jakarta. Alatté is under the banner of PT Aurora Cantika Globalindo and Gayo Capital.
Dyah (her nickname) tells of her initial interest in starting a business in the cosmetics sector. “I was first interested because I had a daughter who was growing up. From grade 3 junior high school, she said, ‘Mom, I want to have cosmetic products’. At that time, many local cosmetic products were coming out. My kid loved them, so I liked local cosmetic products too. I explored cosmetics with my daughter Keshia,” said Dyah excitedly.
Not only exploring, but Dyah has also started to get serious in the process of producing cosmetic products since March 2020. “We began to determine the brand name to the formulation of the products we make. The time was not short, because from not knowing anything, I continue to learn a little bit, not to become an expert but to know a little better. And without realizing it, there was already a circle going that way. We have lots of links to learn more deeply,” said Dyah.
Carrying the concept of quality products that have been registered with the Indonesian Food and Drugs Administration (BPOM), the product that was launched for the first time by Alatté on April 21 was a lip veil with 6 color variations with the advantage of velvet lip which has soft colors that match Asian skin tones, especially Indonesian, and eyebrow pencils with 3 color variants. Alatté was born amid a pandemic as a cosmetic that brings new technology to answer the needs of makeup that promotes its slogan “Say no to dryness”, namely by having good and safe ingredients for maintaining healthy skin & lips to be moisturized all day long.
There is a special reason why Alatté launched these 2 products. “Reflecting on myself, I honestly don’t feel confident leaving the house without using an eyebrow pencil and wearing lipstick. So, I saw this as what every woman needs. People are fine without using blush powder and eye shadow, but without eyebrows and lipstick, maybe they don’t dare to come out. So we put out the most-needed cosmetic products for women,” explained Dyah, smiling.
Dyah is grateful that the 2 products released are praised by a lot of women. “Our lip veils are praised for their good quality, they even become their favorite item,” said Dyah, who plans to release a new cosmetic product by the end of this year.
Dyah acknowledged how local cosmetic brands have mushroomed. Even so, Dyah believes Alatté will be able to compete in the market. “Creating a brand is a challenge for us. We see people buying cosmetic brands because they are big names, regardless of the formula for the product. From there, we prioritize the lipstick formula that we create ourselves. Indeed, a lip veil with a velvet texture is that of Alatté’s is not the first in Indonesia: some have preceded it by saying theirs was a velvet product, but I can guarantee that our velvet product is the real liquid lipstick with a velvet texture that is indeed velvet. So it’s not just a designation. Because velvet is a bit tricky, not a matte lipstick, nor glossy, but combining the two. So the lipstick remains steady on the lips and also softens and moisturizes,” explained Dyah. “We may come out later because the product has gone through a long process of development and we have also analyzed the trend. Hopefully, with the features of our product, it can be comparable to its predecessors,” she continued.
Dyah’s courage in building a cosmetics business must be admired; how could it not, she dared to leave her secure career as a sales director for a multinational IT company. “This was an inner turmoil, going back and forth also took time. When I started working on this cosmetic product, I thought that someone would do it, so I can monitor it from afar because, with my position at that time, I took a lot of business trips, not only locally but abroad as well. Finally, I talked to myself and knew I had to choose, whether I wanted to stay in an IT company as I had been doing for two decades or start something new. I decided to start anew. Sure it would be better. God willing, even though I was nervous when I had to decide for myself whether I want to go forward or not, whether I want to gain or lose, it’s all based on my decision. In the past, I worked for other people. The responsibility is heavier now because I am the owner. I was grateful to have met Indah Warsetio; we share our burdens based on our respective abilities. I am also still in the process of learning to build this. We complement each other to keep getting better,” said Dyah, smiling.
Ending the conversation that afternoon, Dyah explained, Alatté has a vision not only to become a well-known cosmetic brand but also to embrace Indonesian women who want to grow together. Along with the birth of Alatté, we want to invite every Indonesian woman and open up great business opportunities in the cosmetics industry with a Beautypreneurship program, where every person across Indonesia can join and start a joint venture equipped with knowledge about marketing and business in the cosmetic world.
In line with Alatté’s tagline, ‘beauty rises on your command’, Dyah wants to equip young women to realize their potential and strength, to work hard and smart, to love and respect themselves. (Dessy)