Fascinating Women 2022: Happy Skin, Blk, & Seoul White CEO Jacqe Gutierrez

It's one thing to be a CEO of a business, and it's an entirely different thing to be a CEO of three different businesses. Such is the case for Jacqe Gutierrez, the woman behind powerhouse local beauty brands Happy Skin, Blk Cosmetics, and Seoul White Korea. Setting a strong example for her employees amidst a challenging pandemic allowed Jacqe and her team to emerge strong despite the setbacks and failures, and to even come out with remarkable achievements under their belt. 

She's a real girl boss of today—juggling many different hats like motherhood, marriage, personal development, and entrepreneurship. "A lot of people are smart, creative, and resourceful. That said, anyone can start a brand. But what’s going to set you apart and make you succeed is having an entrepreneurial mindset combined with a whole lot of grit," Jacqe shares. And boy does she have some major grit. Not allowing herself to get daunted by threats, Jacqe instead finds passion in purpose. "At the end of the day, being an entrepreneur isn’t really just about the profits. It’s also about being able to give back", she shares. 

For this month's Metro.Style Fascinating Women feature, we talked to Jacqe about her beginnings, as well as her pride and joy—the three remarkable local beauty brands that she plans to take international. Read on!

Metro.Style (MS): Please tell us about your beginnings. How did you get to where you are now? Has this field always been your passion?

Jacqe Gutierrez (JG): My first and only job was in Unilever handling beauty brands such as Sunsilk, Pond’s, and Dove. I spent almost a decade there as a marketing executive handling the personal care business for the Philippines, Southeast Asia and Australasia. The 10 years I spent in Unilever helped mold me to what I am today. We had the best mentors and best brands where we can play around with different strategies to launch campaigns, create innovations, build new brands, and engage consumers better.

It was in Unilever where I realized that I truly love brand building, being able to come up with products that delight consumers, creating campaigns that influence the way they think and act, and just the overall fulfillment of creating something that is tangible and brings joy to other people.

Today, I’m still in the business of brand building. Happy Skin Cosmetics, Blk Cosmetics and Seoul White Korea are all locally-conceptualized brands that churn out innovation after innovation, even amidst the past two years [of the pandemic]. I am proud to say that Happy Skin was one of the first brands to pave the way in elevating local cosmetics. It opened the doors for more players to come in and provide high quality products for Filipinas. 

MS: Tell us the top 3 most valuable lessons you learned along the way.

JG: A lot of people are smart, creative, and resourceful. That said, anyone can start a brand. But what’s going to set you apart and make you succeed is having an entrepreneurial mindset combined with a whole lot of grit. Grit is essentially having the tenacity to accept setbacks along the way, as well as the resilience to bounce back in the face of failure. My advice is to be courageous and don’t be afraid to fail; there are a lot of invaluable lessons to be learned from defeat. 

MS: What makes you wake up in the morning? What is your passion?

JG: To be honest, I became an entrepreneur because I felt that there were a lot of unmet needs in the local beauty scene. And given that the market was saturated by international brands—most of which are not really made for Filipinas—I wanted to prove that local brands could also be as good as international brands in terms of quality, performance, and even packaging. I wanted to create products that Filipinos could be truly proud of. Instead of buying imported makeup and bringing them here, I wanted us to be the ones raving about our own products and bringing them abroad for a change.

Eventually, as the years passed, I realized that my true fulfillment comes from being able to train young minds and give jobs that are able to support families. These are the roles that I truly embrace. I feel a deep sense of fulfillment whenever I see our beauty advisors, who have been with us since the beginning, and witness just how much their lives have improved. I’m happy that we’re able to give Filipinas more opportunities by providing jobs that they’re really happy to do. I’m also glad to see our managers evolve and take on bigger roles in multinational companies with the training that they got from our companies.

At the end of the day, being an entrepreneur isn’t really just about the profits. It’s also about being able to give back. Having these businesses, especially during the pandemic, has made me realize the true impact of our brands—not just to the local beauty scene, but to the people who rely on our companies for a living. It’s made me realize what we can really do for people.

MS: If you could change one thing in your journey, what would it be?

JG: Nothing! All my failures and setbacks gave me a more mature mindset, a different worldview and a set of experiences that I never would have gained if I didn’t fail.

MS: As a woman today, what do you think is the value you want to pass on to future generations that will come after you?

JG: The value of hard work. Nowadays, being a CEO is almost like trophy which shouldn’t be the case. Running a business shouldn’t be all about the glamour of being a CEO. It’s not all about sexy campaigns and fabulous shoots; being an entrepreneur entails a lot of hard work. You have to make sure that your business has a sustainable growth plan and a healthy bottom line that would enable you to re-invest for expansion. It’s also crucial to find and invest in key talent—people who will help you grow your business and who can do the things you can’t. It takes a village to build a brand, and so you have to be willing to delegate, mentor, and share what you know. I want future generations to know that every success entails hours and hours of hard work, failure and teamwork. 

MS:  If you could go back in time, what would you like to tell your 18-year-old self?

JG: Don’t sweat the small stuff! I say this to myself all the time, even until now. Focus on the big picture, a lot of things you worry about now will be insignificant years from now so it’s not worth all the stress. I’d also want myself to read and explore more; try to learn as much as I can by getting out of my comfort zone. Try to be kinder and build better relationships, ones that will last a lifetime. Lastly, to relax, be grateful and take my time. Trust that life has a way of managing itself.

MS: What's next for you and your brand?

JG: We have so much planned for all three brands, and we’re not letting the pandemic slow us down or hinder us from our plans! You’ll notice that we didn’t slow down on new product launches or campaigns because we really believe in the long term equity of our brands. We will continue to pave the way for innovations in the beauty scene, and we will challenge the status quo and eagerly teach Filipinas about beauty and beyond. We’re here for the long haul, and we will expand internationally, to make Filipinos proud of our brands!

Follow Jacqe on Instagram at @jygutierrez. Follow her brands at @happyskin_ph, @blkcosmeticsph, and @seoulwhitekorea