ⓒ LILLYCOVER

Now it’s time to take a look at a Korean business bringing about changes in the global economy with some new ideas. 

Today, we’re going to introduce you to a beauty tech startup named Lillycover. Let’s hear from company CEO Ahn Sun-hee (안선희). 

Based on big data and AI algorithms, Lillycover provides an online subscription service of skin care products tailored to individual users. The company was established in December 2016. 

“Lilly” in Lillycover reminds people of the pure image of the flower. People all have different skin and their skin may change. We hope to offer solutions designed to help people diagnose their skin conveniently and see their skin recovered to the original, pure conditions. That’s what the company name Lillycover means. 

Ms. Ahn studied computer engineering in college. When she worked as the head of the clinical support team at Kyungpook National University Hospital, she developed a medical device to treat burns. In the process, she found that people had confidence or felt frustrated, depending on their skin’s condition. That is, beautiful and healthy skin is very important. 

In reality, however, she discovered that people did not really know which cosmetics products would suit their skin and how to manage their skin properly. They were using mass-produced skin care products every day, although they all had different skin and their skin changed from moment to moment. 

Lillycover was created to resolve this problem. The company uses smart technology to inform individuals of how to understand and manage their skin. 

Our personalized cosmetics subscription service measures users’ facial skin precisely, based on big data and AI algorithms, explains the result to the users and delivers customized skin care products such as toner, serum and emulsion to them every two weeks. 

Skin varies slightly from person to person, depending on skin types and thickness. But most skin care products are produced in large quantities and kept in storage before reaching consumers. Your skin keeps changing, influenced by various factors including the weather, what you have eaten, how much stress you have and what your lifestyle is like. We hope to provide skin care solutions that would be consumed right away. Our application called DangBu, meaning “your skin” in Korean, connects customers with specialists who run skin care shops. The specialists give advice to the customers, based on their skin data provided by us. 

DangBu is Lillycover’s signature solution. Users can subscribe for their own personalized skin care products and seek advice from skin management experts conveniently at home in this contact-free era. 

First, a skin-diagnosis device developed by Lilllycover analyzes the users’ skin conditions. Users can get their skin diagnosed also by answering some questions on the app. Skin can be divided into 40 different types, in consideration of pores, wrinkles, skin redness, oil and moisture balance and so on. Based on the result, customized skin care products are made and delivered to users’ homes. The users may consult skin care specialists for follow-up management. They can see whether and how their skin has improved and also learn tips about how to manage their skin in daily life, like a cleansing method suitable for them. Of course, an accurate diagnosis is essential for the service like this. 

We created a network in the U.S. and have secured some 110-thousand pieces of skin data from skin care clinics and shops in foreign countries such as Japan and Vietnam. Through the data, we developed our own diagnostic algorithms with dermatologists, and the algorithms have been patented. 

Your skin condition does not improve just because you use a particular cosmetics brand. Rather, it is necessary to understand your skin correctly and use proper solutions. To fulfill our goal of providing such solutions, we developed both software and hardware using big data, AI algorithms and cosmetics manufacturing technology. 

Our hand-held device called Muilli, which weighs less than 200 grams, scans five spots of facial skin as well as the entire face to calculate figures about pores, wrinkles, redness and skin sensitivity. 

Skin care products are manufactured to reflect the users’ skin which can be prone to change fast depending on the environment and their bodys’ conditions. This is the distinctive advantage of Lillycover’s subscription service. The company developed a cosmetics smart factory called Enima. When data about particular skin conditions are entered in Enima, personalized cosmetics are manufactured automatically. It only takes two to three minutes to complete the products. The entire process from skin diagnosis to product manufacturing and delivery takes two or three days, so consumers can effectively manage their skin with cosmetics that ideally suit their current skin conditions. 

Lillycover is fully equipped with the facilities needed to produce big data- and AI-powered products. It is little wonder that the company is attracting great attention from foreign firms. 

As a matter of fact, foreign countries, not Korea, recognized us first. We won the best technology award twice at overseas fairs in Hong Kong and China. We entered the Silicon Valley-based Plug and Play Tech Center and drew a lot of attention there. Last year, Muilli won the Best Product Award at G-Fair Korea. We were chosen as the awardee of the Skincare of the Future QuickFire Challenge hosted by Johnson & Johnson. We were also selected as one of five startups for the third batch of the NIVEA Accelerator, which is a beauty startup incubation program. We’ve registered patents for our hand-held type skin diagnosis & management device and low-volume, flexible manufacturing facilities for personalized cosmetics. 

In addition to skin care products, Lillycover plans on launching color make-up products including foundation within this year. It is also preparing for scalp treatment solutions. Speaking on its overseas business, the company will actively explore foreign markets such as Japan, China and Southeast Asia. 

Our goal is not to simply sell cosmetics but to provide personalized services to better deal with changes in skin conditions and continue to expand such solutions. We plan on using eco-friendly packaging and ingredients that would meet the environmental, social and governance or ESG standards so people will feel safer when using our products. We’ve donated part of our profits to burn victims in an effort to share and give back to society. We’ll continue with this initiative.

While the “at-home beauty treatment” market is expanding in the COVID-19 pandemic, Lillycover provides services tailored to individuals by combining beauty with innovative technology such as big data and AI. In this pandemic era, Lillycover is keeping the skin tired from facial masks strong and healthy and catching the eyes of consumers.