Finding the Beauty that Never Fades
Demee Mahinay Koch and her book “Becoming Miss Right”
Her book Becoming Miss Right (amazon.com) promises to revolutionize women’s desire to define beauty beyond what is skin deep and find their own pathway to body and soul connection.
It was October 2018 when I met this elegant lady with a beautiful soul in the charming Westin Paris Vendôme. She was attending a gathering of the Filipina Women’s Network Leadership Global Summit, where she was selected as one of the FWN100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World.
At first glance, she may seem intimidating: a gorgeous, confident woman, a statuesque beauty with a heart full of character, love, and so authentic. On a night full of music, dancing, and conversation, she shared her vision as an advocate of inclusive beauty and women’s empowerment.
Demee Mahinay Koch is an entrepreneur with 21 years of experience in the health and beauty industry. A proud Cebuana from the Philippines, she finished her undergraduate degree at the University of the Philippines. She took her master’s in Business Administration in International Marketing at the Swiss Business School in Switzerland.
During her MBA studies in Zurich, she recognized the potential to create something new in the beauty industry. In 2005, she founded The Grooming Expert GmbH, a Swiss company that creates beauty/grooming concepts and products. In 2010, she launched DEMOI by Demee Koch, a Swiss brand that manufactures cruelty-free, socially relevant, and ecologically friendly beauty products. Her company now has almost two decades of industry experience, covering everything about a beauty brand, from the science of making beauty products to branding and customer satisfaction.
What impressed me even more is that Demee values the development of cruelty-free products. She informed me that in 2010, she first demonstrated her love for animals by conceptualizing a new approach to preventive pet health care for the chain of small animal clinics Vet Station AG.
Prior to moving to Switzerland, she gained practical experience working for the largest beauty and luxury brands in Dubai. She worked hard to understand this beauty market in a country that is positioned to swallow its European counterpart.
DE MOI is now a leader in the new wave of conscious brands. It values high-quality ingredients and delivers ethically made artisanal multi-functional products that provide excellent results.
Since 2005, Demee has been a trusted business consultant, advising successful global brands in biotech, sports, fashion, and beauty. She is a partner in the Dubai-based couture fashion house Maliché, sits on the Board of Corporate Advisors for the industry-leading boxing equipment company SparBar, and an investor in the wellness and health supplement company, Soursop Nutrition. Currently, she serves as a director of China ACE Organization, an association of international companies and investors.
Time to Give Back
Demee believes that “giving back” needs to become a responsible choice for entrepreneurs.
As a mother to Oliver (11) and David (9), she and her husband, Christophe Koch, have already inculcated a passion for human kindness in them. At a young age, the boys were already entrepreneurs, starting an iced tea stand near their home by the lake; the proceeds were saved to help the children in Cebu.
The Koch family visits Cebu every summer to give back to the community. Demee’s other charities include supporting the Lumad tribe through a scholarship program for education and engagement with local female business entrepreneurship programs.
When you do something with good intentions, it comes back to you. Demee says: “As a Filipino, I believe in full circles: we are raised that way. Living and running a business in the first world (in Switzerland), I see how much we have. Giving back is a decision. We can all do that. It doesn’t have to be money; it can be sharing skills, expertise, resources. For over 15 years I have been an advisor in conscious entrepreneurship for global brands in the sports, fashion, and beauty industry. A social impact is not a marketing tool. It should be deeply ingrained in the brand and products by committing to a symbiotic relationship — everything we do comes back to us eventually, because we share this world.”
A New Concept of Beauty
Demee believes that the word “beautiful” encompasses not only physical beauty, but also inner beauty. When someone compliments us, we feel appreciated for who we really are. Beauty is not just how we look but, most especially, how we feel.
Beauty after all has been a part of humanity.
In the world of social media, “beauty” is often reduced to what’s trendy and new.
“Outer beauty attracts, but inner beauty captivates.”
Demee wants to break this concept in her DeMoi products: It takes a holistic approach “to empower clients to feel and do something beautiful. I want to create the mindset that everyone – men and women has a part in the beauty of this world,” she says.
Demee is powered by passion and beauty. She spends her time creating, connecting, giving back, mentoring, learning, inspiring, and getting inspired. She believes that this is the most enjoyable way to live and become the best version of yourself.
She is proof that the ultimate beauty a man and a woman can have is one that never fades. Beauty is within us how we feel, connect, give back, and share kindness and love with the world.
Sonia Delen is a corporate manager of a global financial company, and community leader based in San Francisco. She is the first Filipina American non-lawyer, public member appointed to the Board of Trustees of the State Bar of California, the agency of the Supreme Court to admit, regulate and discipline lawyers in California. She is an author, and executive producer of documentary films.
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