Behind the Brand with SUPEREGG
In many Asian households, the egg holds a special place in beauty rituals. For influencer and creative director Erica Choi, she grew up watching her mother and grandmother use eggs in their skin-care routines to keep their complexions soft, smooth, and even-toned. And, when it came time for her to launch her own beauty brand, the egg served as an unlikely inspiration. Her line was hatched around the concept of replicating the same nourishing and skin-pampering ingredients from the egg yolk, white, and shell membrane, but using 100 percent vegan ingredients. The result is Superegg, a two-piece collection featuring a cleanser and moisturizer that encompasses the essential nutritional benefits of the humble egg and puts them in two extremely advanced and elegant formulas.
Jess was smitten the moment she laid eyes on it, from the clever concept to the chic packaging. She's been friends with Erica (who is also the creator of Egg Canvas, a lifestyle site where she shares her impeccably good taste on everything from fashion to food to travel) for years and was intrigued by the idea when Erica first described it to her. "Launching a brand at Shen inspired solely by eggs was not something I ever envisioned myself doing," says Jess, "but Superegg has such a unique story that translates not only through packaging, but the formulas, too and it's almost like how could I not. Being able to partner together with Erica to launch and harness her brand and vision and translate that to our customer is something very special to me. The formulas are advanced, but also simple — they are vegan, plant based, and function with the primary goal of restoring radiance and elasticity to your skin. And at the end of the day, isn't healthy, balanced, youthful, glowing skin what everyone wants for themselves?" Hear, hear!
We sat down with Erica and asked her to tell us how exactly Superegg came to be, what makes the products so unique, and why getting egg on your face is actually a good thing for this week's Behind The Brand. Keep reading to find out more about this totally fascinating brand.
What was the inspiration for the line?
The idea of the brand stems from a simple egg. Extracting the different egg components — the egg white, yolk, and eggshell membrane — containing unique, essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, is beneficial for replenishing elasticity and deep hydration to the skin. Our formulations match the egg's nutritional value through 100% vegan ingredients.
Eggs are widely known for their nutritional values in Asian culture and were often used as part of self and familial beauty rituals. I have grown up observing my grandmother and mother apply different parts of the eggs onto their faces to care for their skin at intimate family gatherings, at home, or when we would take trips to the Jjimjilbang, aka the neighborhood Korean sauna. The yolk was used as a moisturizing mask, the whites as a firming mask, and the eggshell membrane as a rejuvenating mask to help with dark spots, fine lines, and encourage collagen production.
Eggs also symbolize birth, and we believe each new day is an opportunity to reset and start anew. Likewise, maintaining healthy balanced skin is connected to a holistic sense of wellbeing. Our core mission is to create sophisticated formulations that are powerfully balancing for the skin and planet. The name "Superegg" stems from a special shape popularized by Danish poet and scientist Piet Hein to describe a self-balancing, oval-like volume that rotates around a curve to create a superellipse — a unique symmetrical ellipse.
What is the Superegg philosophy?
Balance is the core of Superegg, and it is our key to naturally beautiful skin. We believe smooth, egg-like, balanced skin starts from within.
When we dived into the different aspects of the egg, we realized how each part of the egg — the egg white, yolk, and eggshell membrane — contains unique properties that each specifically benefited the skin. This informed our decision to create egg duplexes, where each part features its powerful plant-based equivalent per egg component.
Egg yolk contains ingredients such as lecithin, collagen, vitamins, amino acids, fatty acids, and minerals that hydrate and brighten the skin, along with many antioxidants. We’ve created our unique Yolk Duplex™ (Egg Yolk Duplicated Complex), where we’ve engineered through innovative technology to duplicate these vital egg yolk nutrients with 24 high-grade vegan ingredients.
Egg white contains albumin, collagen, vitamins, amino Acids, and minerals to firm and lift the skin and reduce excess sebum. White Duplex™ (Egg White Duplicated Complex) contains 22 high-grade vegan ingredients to replicate these nutrients, including tremella Mushroom, soy protein, and rice extract.
Eggshell membrane contains collagen, protein, elastin, amino acids, and minerals, which gives it age-reversing abilities and can smooth skin texture and reduce inflammation. Shell Duplex™ (Eggshell Membrane Duplicated Complex) contains 18 high-grade vegan ingredients, including Syn-Hycan, lupine protein, and antarcticine.
We also strive to make a positive environmental impact wherever we can. In making conscious choices with our production process, sourcing of our high-quality ingredients, and how fair trade practices are executed, we are committed to creating clean, sustainable products that are healthy for your skin and the planet. To build transparent and environmentally responsible beauty rituals, we are taking tangible steps towards our commitment to preserving the environment. Beyond necessity, it is a source of innovation and a driving force of creativity for us.
What was the first product you developed?
The Sound Renewal Moisturizer, as we wanted to create a product that was a must in everyone’s skin-care routine. While the formulation is both efficacious and gentle on the skin, the packaging itself is also memorable, symbolic, and brings joy to the consumer when using it.
What is your bestselling product?
Sound Renewal Moisturizer and Gentle Elements Cleanser are both equally loved by our customers. I think this is because cleansing and moisturizing are both essentials in a skin-care routine, and people are seeking their absolute best when it comes to these steps.
What's your favorite product in the line?
All of our products are so incredibly special to me, it's like choosing a favorite child! Each serves its own unique function, and I know I can depend on them to deliver results yet will not ever be sensitizing on my skin. I like to call them blankets of nutrients for my skin.
What makes the Superegg unique?
From mindfully designed packaging to sophisticated, high-performance formulations, our products bring comfort to daily self-care rituals. We're founded on meaningful, honest values, weaving in three essential themes: eggs, beauty, and balance.
What do you want people to think of when they think of Superegg?
Soothing, efficacious solutions to bring you soft, egg-like, elastic skin.
What was one of the biggest challenges you faced when you launched?
The delays and constraints of launching in the midst of a pandemic.
How did you know you'd made it as a brand?
Not sure if we’ve “made it” yet, but when established outlets reach out and show interest, it is an affirmation that we are on the right path.
What is your proudest moment as a founder?
Each and every person who says our products have made a positive difference to their life and skin is a reminder of why we set out to create this brand. It makes our efforts all worth it.
What can we expect from the brand in the future? Any exciting news you can share?
We are continuing on our mission to create thoughtful, innovative products that push science and nature to bring comfort to daily rituals and help people feel beautiful inside and out. We have a few very exciting launches in the works and can’t wait to share them with you.