Our Story

In Fall of 2014, I was working as an elementary school teacher while my husband Peter was in transition, having sold his marketing company 6 months prior. At the time, we didn’t know what we wanted to do next, only that we wanted to build something together that we both felt passionate about.

On a beautiful Saturday morning, Peter and I walked into a Sephora to purchase some of my favorite skincare products when I noticed Peter staringing intently at the Sulwahsoo display. Sulwahsoo is a luxury skincare brand from AmorePacific, the largest Korean skincare company that had just partnered with Sephora recently. I found it odd that he would be so interested in any skincare brand let alone one that seemed obscure at the time, so I asked him why he was spending so much time looking so longingly at this display.

Peter told me a very interesting story about his family history. Coincidentally, Peter’s mother had worked for AmorePacific before he was born and ran her own small skincare business in Korea when Peter was a boy. No wonder she is so gorgeous at 78 years old! The display brought back memories he had forgotten about from his childhood long ago.

It was our “aha” moment.

These memories got him thinking about what it would be like to create something as a tribute to his passionate, hardworking and hugely creative mother. Peter’s excitement in sharing his mother’s legacy combined with my passion for wellness and skin care would provide the foundation for Saranghae, which means “I love you” in Korean.

We based our first product on the formulation Peter’s mother created almost 50 years ago. We tinkered with the original formulation for about 2 years and finally launched the Saranghae e-commerce store in August of 2016 with our foundational 5-step Korean skin care routine powered by a powerful medicinal mushroom.

In the early days it was just the two of us selling our skincare routine mostly to friends, family and local customers through word of mouth. With mounting bills and a baby on the way, there were many stressful 18 hour days but we knew we had something special when our customers came back to order more, not just for themselves but also for their friends and family.

Today, Saranghae, along with our sister brand Orora Skin Science, is one of the most trusted and fastest growing Korean beauty brands in North America.

We continue to explore the boundaries of what’s possible. We’re testing new ingredients never seen before in North America and partnering with research firms that touch the boundaries of cutting edge bio-science. We’re respecting our traditional roots while pushing further in pursuit of greater efficacy and results driven formulas.

 Among our customers, we are known for offering cost effective foundational skincare routines to help with anti-aging, hyperpigmentation, acne scarring and foundational skin health. Our commitment to exceptional customer care is legendary, and though we have grown so much from our early days, we haven’t forgotten who we are. We are still a trusted, family run skincare company that highly values the people we lovingly serve by offering the very best of performance Korean skincare.