BEENUVO's US-first launch: a founder interview at MAUM Market
Watch BEENUVO's founder explain a US-first launch. Dahna examines how one product story can guide local sampling, content and the next buying step.
Dahna, original May 2026 interview footage
In this article
Overview
BEENUVO's founder describes launching in the US before Korea and bringing a bee-centered brand story to the market. For a brand planning its own introduction, the useful question is which product and explanation a new customer should encounter first. This interview offers a starting point for that brief, rather than evidence that any particular launch channel will succeed.
Watch the BEENUVO founder interview
In this interview
- 0:04Launching in the US before Korea
BEENUVO's founder describes a US-first launch and the brand's selling channels. English captions translate the Korean conversation.
- 0:26Ingredients and the brand mission
The founder explains how bee-derived ingredients connect to the brand's conservation mission.
Read the Korean transcript
Transcribed with automated tools and lightly edited. Unclear audio is marked. Product claims are the speakers' own statements.
네. 저희 혹시 브랜드 소개 간략하게 한번 해주실 수 있을까요?
아 네. 저희는 비누보라는 브랜드고 이제 8개월 차 접어든 브랜드고 한국 출시 없이 바로 미국에서 출시했어요. 그래서 지금 미국 아마존, 미국 틱톡샵, 저희 D2C 자사몰에서 운영 중이고 벌을 기반으로 한 원료를 바탕으로 뷰티 앤 웰니스 제품을 만드는 비프렌들리한 브랜드입니다.
저희는 모든 제품의 벌 부산물, 허니, 프로폴리스, 로얄젤리 같은 벌 부산물을 바탕으로 현대적으로 재해석한 제품들 만들고 있고요. 그리고 또 수익의 1%를 벌을 보호하기 위한 단체에 기부하는 게 저희 브랜드 철학과 미션입니다.
왜냐하면 저희 굉장히 벌을 좋아하고 벌이 굉장히 작은데 우리 삶에 얼마나 중요한지 실제 벌이 지구상의 70%의 식량을 책임지고 있다고 하더라고요. 그래서 저희는 어쨌든 저희가 하는 일이 굉장히 의미있다고 생각하고 이렇게 뭔가 벌과 사람 더 나아가 이런 자연과 지구가 다 같이 공생할 수 있다고 생각하는 브랜드입니다.
제가 원래 굉장히 심한 사이너스 비염이 있었어요. 그래서 프로폴리스를 사용하면서부터 비염이 없어졌고 그때부터 이제 프로폴리스에 관심을 가지기 시작했는데 그러면서 이제 프로폴리스에서 관심을 갖고 벌에 관심을 갖다 보니 이 작은 조그만한 귀여운 생명체가 되게 의미 있더라고요. 지구상에서.
그래서 이런 벌의 부산물을 바탕으로 우리가 제품을 잘 만들고 이 벌이 중요하다는 걸 사람들에게도 알리고 그리고 벌이 빠르게 죽어가고 있어요. 그래서 이 벌을 살리기 위해 우리가 뭔가 활동을 하는 게 저희는 의미 있다고 생각했고 지금 이런 어떤 스토리텔링과 저희의 철학이 다른 K-뷰티 브랜드들이 지향하는 것과 좀 다르다고 생각했어요.
그래서 저희는 저희만의 이런 비유니버스 웨이로 뭔가 미국 더 나아가 글로벌의 이렇게 이런 벌의 중요성 그리고 또 위트 있는 저희의 제품들을 알리는 게 저희 목표고 그렇게 탄생을 했습니다.
제품 하나만 이렇게 추천하실 수 있다면 어떤 제품을 가장 추천하시고 싶으신지
저희 제품 중에 립 제품이 있어요. 그래서 꿀과 콜라겐을 함께 섞은 허니 콜라겐 립 버터라는 제품이고 지금 아마존 그리고 틱톡샵에서 또 저희가 판매 중이니까 관심 가져주시면 좋겠습니다.
제일 많이 팔린 제품은 말씀드린 립 제품 제일 많이 팔렸고요. 오늘 한 2,500불 정도 립 제품 팔린 것 같아요. 네.
감사합니다. 감사합니다.
Read the English translation
Could you briefly introduce your brand?
Yes. Our brand is BEENUVO. We are now eight months old. We launched directly in the US without launching in Korea first. We sell through Amazon US, TikTok Shop US, and our own direct-to-consumer store. We are a bee-friendly brand making beauty and wellness products with bee-derived ingredients.
All our products reinterpret bee by-products such as honey, propolis, and royal jelly in modern ways. Our brand philosophy and mission include donating one percent of our profits to organizations that protect bees.
We really love bees. They are tiny, but important to our lives. I have heard that bees are responsible for 70 percent of the food on Earth. We believe our work is meaningful. Our brand believes bees, people, nature, and the planet can coexist.
I used to have very severe sinus rhinitis. After I began using propolis, my rhinitis went away. That was when I started becoming interested in propolis. As my interest in propolis led to an interest in bees, I realized how meaningful these tiny, cute creatures are on Earth.
We wanted to make good products from bee by-products and tell people why bees matter. Bees are dying rapidly. We felt that taking action to help save them would be meaningful. I felt our storytelling and philosophy were a little different from what other K-beauty brands pursue.
In our own bee-universe way, our goal is to share the importance of bees in the US and eventually globally, and introduce our playful products. That is how the brand came about.
If you could recommend just one product, which would you most like to recommend?
We have a lip product in our range. It combines honey and collagen and is called Honey Collagen Lip Butter. We sell it on Amazon and TikTok Shop, so we would love for you to take a look.
The best-selling product was the lip product I mentioned. I think we sold about $2,500 worth of lip products today. Yes.
Thank you. Thank you.
Recorded in May 2026, the conversation is in Korean with English captions and a translated transcript. At 0:04, the founder describes the US-first launch and selling channels; at 0:26, she connects bee-derived ingredients with the brand's mission. These are accounts of the business at the time of recording.
Give the first product a clear job
The founder names Honey Collagen Lip Butter as a product to try. That recommendation is more specific than introducing every item and every channel at once. It gives an unfamiliar shopper a starting point, while the broader mission explains why the brand exists.
For a launch brief, separate three questions: what is the product, where does it fit into a routine, and what should the customer do next? Ingredient origin and mission can support the explanation. They do not replace substantiation for product benefits, and this interview is not a product-efficacy assessment.
A sample brief for a local introduction
Illustrative example for a brand considering an LA or SF market, a sponsored community gathering, or a small pop-up: choose one introductory product, one approved explanation and one destination. The activity should help the visitor understand and revisit the product.
| Decision | Example to put in the brief |
|---|---|
| Product | One introductory item, with enough stock and clear directions. |
| Conversation | Explain where it fits in a routine; record which question comes back most often. |
| Content | Capture the product demonstration and founder explanation with agreed permission. |
| Next step | A QR link to the same product, its price, directions and delivery information. |
Choose an LA or SF opportunity around the conversation
A seeding opportunity may be enough when the goal is to let relevant people try the product later. A staffed pop-up can make more sense when the product needs an explanation. A sponsorship needs an explicit agreement about where and how the brand will appear. Ask an organizer about the audience, permitted sampling, staffing, total cost and follow-up options before comparing proposals.
The May footage does not establish that MAUM or another organizer has an available slot today. For your own activity, record products distributed, conversations, tagged visits and purchases separately. A busy table alone cannot establish whether the launch acquired customers.
Sources & further reading
Prepare your brand's US introduction
Work directly with Ana on the product story, launch content and customer journey that support your introduction.
Why consider Dahna for this work?
Dahna brings bilingual Korean and English strategy together with creator, content, and measurement work for brands growing in the US. You can review the people behind the recommendations and the kind of work we propose before starting a conversation.
Founder experience includes prior and contracted roles. Sample deliverables illustrate our approach; they are not client results or a performance promise.
