Innisfree is a cosmetic brand owned by the Korean AmorePacific group. Established in 2000, this brand has always followed the criteria of using natural, organic ingredients.
This brand was not acquired by AmorePacific but was developed by this group from the beginning. The founder of Innisfree is also Mr. Sungwhan Suh.
1. Innisfree brand characteristics
The brand name is inspired by the poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats (1865–1939), considered by many to be one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
William Butler Yeats
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
Consumers often know this brand through products whose main ingredient is green tea. In addition, Innisfree also uses extracts from other herbs such as black tea, cherry blossoms, mushrooms, and many types of flowers. other.
The main raw material area of this brand is located on Jeju Island in Korea. The island’s isolated climate and environment help the company build a source of clean organic raw materials. AmorePacific Group also turned this place into an ecotourism and resort destination.
2. Source of raw materials
The process of buying land and building organic farms on Jeju Island has been carried out by the founder (Mr. Sungwhan Suh) since 1945. More than 80% of Jeju’s area is Andisols. This type of soil contains 10 times more nutrients than other places in Korea. This type of soil is also very loose, making it extremely suitable for green tea plants and some other precious plants.
In addition, the climate on the island is also very suitable for tea plants to grow, with an annual average temperature of 14–16 °C and an annual rainfall of 1600mm. Jeju’s Seogwipo area has the best conditions for green tea fields.
It can be said that the company has spent a lot of money to research the flora and fauna of the island, doing tests on fresh water, salt water, soil, etc. From there, take advantage of these unique materials to make products.
3. Five commitments of InnisFree
- Pursue healthy beauty through trustworthy natural ingredients.
- Pursue the motto of smart consumption by providing good-quality, diverse products at reasonable prices.
- Always develop new environmentally friendly products and take advantage of the benefits available from natural raw materials.
- Realize green life in the process of business development to protect nature.
- Build customer experiences through the five senses based on the diversity of clean and green nature.
It is not too difficult to understand why this brand makes the above commitments. As of 2024, InnisFree has a 24-year history and has always been loyal to the philosophy of developing the most natural products possible. To maintain this clean raw material source, since 2003, the company has built and realized many green campaigns.
The purpose of these campaigns is to preserve plant sources, keep water and land clean on Jeju Island, and exploit but not destroy nature. There are two major campaigns that the company has always maintained until now:
3.1 Play Green Campaign
This campaign aims to limit the use of inorganic products and use recyclable materials in the production process.
Specifically, the ECO-HANDKERCHIEF campaign has been deployed since 2010. The brand has produced handkerchiefs from organic fibers and launched media campaigns to urge people to use them instead of using disposable paper towels.
There are also other campaigns, such as the Mug Cup Campaign, the Empty Bottle Recycling Campaign, and the Using Eco Bag Campaign.
The Empty Bottle Recycling Campaign has been conducted since 2003. The company creates incentives to stimulate customers to collect used cosmetic bottles. As of 2018, this campaign has collected and recycled 12,524,850 bottles.
This program is not limited to countries or requires a receipt of purchase; just send used bottles back to the company. You can join this campaign here.
3.2 Green Forest Campaign
This is a tree planting campaign on bare hills that has been conducted since 2012, starting from Gotjawal Mountain on Jeju Island. Then, with the expansion of Amorepacific Group into the international market, this campaign expanded globally. As of June 2020, the campaign had planted 194,036 trees.
4. Historical milestones
- 2000 – Launch of innisfree, Korea’s first natural cosmetics brand.
- 2003 – Used bottle recall campaign begins.
- 2005 – Opened the first independent store – Ranked 1st in customer satisfaction index.
- 2006 – Launch of the Olive product line (10,000 products sold).
- 2007 – Opening of 100th store.
- 2008 – Launched Jeju green tea product line.
- 2009 – Started donating to Jeju Olle Trail – Reached 100 billion Won in revenue.
- 2010 – Launching the volcanic ash product line – Celebrating 10 years of establishment – Implementing the biological handkerchief campaign.
- 2011 – Launched the Eco-Science product line – Reached 3 million members.
- 2012 – Opened first store in Shanghai, China – Declared commitment to “green”.
- 2013 – Established Jeju House – Opening stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and India.
- 2014 – Implemented Play Green campaign – Opened stores in Taiwan and Malaysia.
- 2015 – Celebrating 15 years of brand launch – Opening a store in Thailand. Opened the largest flagship store as a cosmetics brand in Hongyi Square, Shanghai, China.
- 2016 – Launched the first innisfree store in Vietnam.
- 2017 – Launched flagship store in Chengdu – Opened store in Indonesia in March. Officially entered the US market in July.
- 2018 – Entered the Japanese market in March, opening the first store in Omotesando Tokyo. At the same time, entering the Australian market in June and November of the same year participating in the Philippine market.
