More than skin deep — NZ entrepreneurs deep dive into Malaysia's health and beauty sector
Business, wherever you are, is about understanding the people you work with and your customers, writes Emma Michelsen, founder of Aggie, a health and supplement brand for expectant mothers. In September, Emma joined nine other New Zealand health and beauty entrepreneurs in Kuala Lumpur through the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative, delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The delegates met New Zealand distributors and established local businesses and attended Cosmobeauté Malaysia, a regional beauty expo featuring around 400 exhibitors from 11 markets. Emma shares what she learned about building relationships, navigating regulations and gaining cultural insights that only come from being on the ground.
Emma: "It was a whirlwind week and a crash course in a very different culture, in the best possible way. "
Aggie operates in the pregnancy and postpartum space, and I expected the path to market in Asia to differ from that in New Zealand. Seeing those differences firsthand was one of the most valuable parts of the trip, and I returned home with much more than the contacts and insights I’d hoped to gain.
It was a whirlwind week and a crash course in a very different culture, in the best possible way.
We met with the New Zealand High Commission, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to get a grounding in trade and doing business in Malaysia. We also sat down with distributors and family-owned businesses who warmly shared their own journeys.
I’d often been told there’s no substitute for being in the market, and the Malaysia visit was a good example of this. No amount of desk research from New Zealand could match the cultural insights we gained or the opportunity to speak with customers and decision-makers face-to-face. These are things you can only truly understand by being there.
"No amount of desk research from New Zealand could match the cultural insights we gained or the opportunity to speak with customers and decision-makers face-to-face."
Emma Michelson
Malaysians were warm and welcoming, and the pace of life was gentler than I'd expected. We learned plenty about the wider Southeast Asian region, but Malaysia had a character of its own, from its lifestyle and rhythm to the prevalence of English.
One of my most valuable conversations was with our New Zealand Trade and Enterprise advisor, who talked us through the small cultural courtesies that help build a relationship: how you greet someone, how you hand over a business card, how you show respect in a meeting.
Such nuances can seem minor from a distance, but in Malaysia, they carry real weight. Respect and trust go hand in hand.
Business here is done face-to-face and built on personal relationships, which made it clear to me that entering Malaysia is a long-term commitment. You have to turn up in person, and keep turning up. In that sense, it isn't so different from New Zealand. It always comes back to people.
The group toured Storiiu facilities where they were briefed on the business's operations
Our meeting with Storiiu was a clear example of the importance of relationships and your personal story.
The family-run business already distributes New Zealand brands, and the team shared their own story before walking us through how a brand like ours might be manufactured and distributed in Malaysia, including discussions of regulation and compliance, brand building, and marketing.
Supplements are classified very differently here than in New Zealand, so having the right manufacturer on your side to manage that complexity is critical.
A full day on the floor at Cosmobeauté Malaysia gave us a snapshot of the regional industry.
With exhibitors from China, Korea, Japan and beyond, it was clear how competitive the category is and how quickly new formats and ingredients move through the region.
Cosmobeauté Malaysia provided a "snapshot" of the region health and beauty industry
Online shopping plays a much bigger role in Malaysia than it does at home. Shopee and TikTok Shop are the top players, and any brand entering the market needs a clear plan for both.
Across Southeast Asia, e-commerce works on its own terms, and it varies from one country to the next. I learned this by working my way along the expo stands and asking the same questions again and again. It was a healthy check on my assumptions, because the platforms and tools we rely on in New Zealand aren't necessarily the ones that count here.
Influencers drive much of that online activity, but community and storytelling matter.
Partners want to know your history, why you started and what you stand for, particularly in business-to-business conversations.
Aggie began with my own experience of pregnancy, and I left Kuala Lumpur convinced that story is one of our greatest strengths in this market.
The delegates heard from the New Zealand High Commission about the bilateral relation between New Zealand and Malaysia
Later in the week, High Commissioner His Excellency Mike Walsh hosted us for dinner at his residence.
It was a special evening and a chance to connect with other alumni of the Foundation's Young Business Leaders Initiative.
They were generous with their experiences and helped us understand the finer points of building a business in Malaysia.
I came away with a wider network and a real sense of how strong and generous this community is in both countries.
We also visited Batu Caves, one of Malaysia's best-known Hindu temple sites. Climbing the brightly painted steps to the limestone caves, past the towering golden statue of Lord Murugan, is something I won't forget. It also summed up the advice we'd heard all week: respect and understanding come before business.
A visit to the famous Batu Caves was an awe-inspiring highlight of the visit
The visit was a reminder of how diverse Malaysia is. Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures, faiths and traditions sit side by side, and each shapes how people shop, what they value and who they trust.
For Aggie, there is no single "Malaysian consumer". Pregnancy and motherhood come with their own customs in each community, from confinement practices to the foods and remedies families rely on.
"The relationships we built in Kuala Lumpur have become a network I know will keep supporting all of us as we grow our brands."
Emma
If we want to support women here, we need to listen first, and make sure our products, our story and certifications such as halal respect those traditions.
I'm honoured to have been selected for the delegation, and travelling as a group of New Zealand founders made all the difference.
We started as strangers and left as friends. Everyone shared openly, from contacts and supplier tips to honest debriefs after each meeting, and we were all invested in each other's success.
The relationships we built in Kuala Lumpur have become a network I know will keep supporting all of us as we grow our brands.
About the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative
The ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative (YBLI) is a key part of the New Zealand Government’s ASEAN strategy. The aim of the programme is to facilitate trade and build connections between business leaders and entrepreneurs in New Zealand and Southeast Asia. This is achieved through short, targeted visits to New Zealand and Southeast Asia for ASEAN entrepreneurs and Kiwi entrepreneurs respectively.
