For over 30 years family-owned business Earth Therapeutics has been creating exceptional self-care products for all types of skin. Inspired by nature, the brands K-beauty products honor their Korean cultural heritage. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Chief Marketing Officer Julie Kang-Reeves to hear all about her family’s background, remarkable skincare, and more.
Thank you for joining us. Your background is fascinating. Please tell us about yourself and what was the motivation for your family to start creating self-care spa products?
It was a work in progress that spanned 50 years. In the early 70s, when we were immigrants from Korea, my father, Henry Kang, who has a truly entrepreneurial spirit, was rooting around for products he could import from Asia to America, when he came across the loofah natural vegetable sponge in the Encyclopedia Britannica. He learned that Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, had used the loofah for her beauty regimen. He then made contacts in China which grew the loofah plant and imported them to America to sell them to the drug chain, Duane Reade.
Twenty years later, in the early 90s, when my brother John, had completed his law degree only to realize that he did not want to pursue a legal career, he began hanging around my parents’ office and became convinced that he could start his own line of natural self-care products. He christened his brand, Earth Therapeutics, and formulated the Tea Tree Oil Foot Repair Balm, eventually growing the line to include both proprietary formulations and bath and body tools, such as the loofah and its more evolved offshoots. His two main pillars were ingredient-driven formulations that included the best quality natural (and organic when possible) botanicals known traditionally for their efficacy and that form followed function so that they were efficient and accomplish what is promised. Deriving naturally from our Korean heritage and business contacts in Asia, we also started incorporating K-Beauty into the line around 2016 as one of the first companies to introduce the sheet mask to the US market.
What sets Earth Therapeutics apart from others and who is your target customer?
Since Earth Therapeutics started in the early 90s, all our competitors have either died off or were bought out by major companies, which enabled their survival. Of course, there are bath and body care brands now, but we’re unique in a few ways. We offer both formulations and accessories and we’re family-owned and operated. This allows us to exercise tight quality control over products and the flexibility to pivot and adapt as the market dictates. Our target customer is a far-ranging demographic. We have customers who have been loyal from the start, Gen Z and millennials who are familiar with our brand and ethos. We are also expanding awareness of Earth Therapeutics to Gen Z, who invariably have an aha moment when they realize that the Hydrogel Under Eye Patches they swear by are made by the same company as the foot balm they saw on their mother’s night table while growing up. Essentially, since our aim is to provide the best quality products at the fairest price, we are a legacy brand whose line ranges from beauty to foot care. Our target demographic is pretty much anyone who values plain spoken quality.
What is the significance of the brand’s name?
My brother, John, who named the brand is a salt-of-the-earth type of person. He believes that the bounty of Mother Nature provides the ingredients that can heal many of our ailments and that the earth itself is therapeutic. Whether the plants, herbs and botanicals it yields or by communing with it, engaging in nature.
What are your top selling products and do you personally have a favorite one?
Our top selling foot products are the Tea Tree Oil Foot Repair Balm and Tea Tree Oil Foot Spray. They both have that je-ne-sais-quoi that other similar products can’t repeat. The other is our Aloe Socks, infused with aloe vera and vitamin E and honestly, these are the softest socks you will ever feel. They’re made in Korea with our other K-Beauty products. My own favorite Earth Therapeutics product changes every so often. Currently, I’m really into the Gardener’s Hand Repair Balm and the Natural Bristle Nail Brush, which are part of our Gardener’s Hand Therapy Kit. The Repair Balm is a classic formulation – the hand equivalent of our Foot Repair Balm. It’s so silky, moisturizing, and sinks into your skin without leaving a greasy residue.
Working in the skincare industry for so many years do you have a couple of top tips you could share with us?
Yes, I do, especially with the overwhelm of skincare products on the market. First, I believe that less is more. Cleanse with a 5.5 Ph cleanser and moisturize with a serum and lotion. Exfoliate once a week and mask once a week. The true health of skin derives from how you lead your life. Eat right, exercise moderately and get enough sleep. It’s easy to get carried away with 10-step rituals and the latest new exotic ingredient, but just as farmers know about the land they farm, there need to be fallow periods of laying off and allowing skin to resuscitate and recover its own natural balance. Also, skin care should be subalternate to what gets you excited in life and out of bed in the morning. That’s where the real glow comes from.
Anything else we should know?
Especially in our very loud and content-crowded age, in which we’re advised to “optimize” and “max” everything, I think the true panacea is balance. It’s the universal corrective to all that ails. Decades ago, I attended a 10-day silent meditation course, during which you had to wake with the 4am gong and meditate 10 hours a day (it was a learning course); it’s in the tradition of Vipassana, most ancient form of meditation. Though I don’t practice it nearly as much as I should, I call it my “big guns.” When all else fails, I resort to the only thing that settles me and allows me to recalibrate and regain my sanity. It’s a great comfort to know that I have such recourse.
Always natural and cruelty free, discover the magic of Earth Therapeutics and go to
https://www.earththerapeutics.com/
