Alice Chang: Delivering Beauty Tech and SaaS Solutions to Empower Brands and Consumers Today
Perfect Corp is the world’s leading beauty tech solutions provider and developer of innovative SaaS offerings servicing the industry today. The brand sits at the intersection of technology and beauty, reimagining the consumer beauty shopping experience through AI and AR technologies that brands can easily leverage to connect with the modern-day consumer. This includes using AR to enable virtual try-on across all beauty categories like makeup and hair color, using AI to diagnose skin concerns and recommend specific products to match individual users, and digital try-on for eyewear, jewelry, accessories and more. Perfect Corp.’s beauty technology aims to empower brands and consumers through interactive, hyper-realistic discovery and experimentation with an extensive offering of unique SaaS services that cater to companies of all sizes.
Perfect Corp. focuses on both the B2B and B2C business models. On the B2B side, it partners with over 320 global beauty brands to integrate its technology across multiple touch points along their consumer journey—online, in-store, in-app, etc.
Perfect Corp. also has the B2C side of the business with the YouCam suite of consumer apps—including YouCam Makeup, YouCam Perfect, and the new YouCam Video, which have amassed over 900 million downloads globally. Here it works with brands and talent to create unique interactive in-app try-on experiences for consumers.
An Inquisitive Talent Leading the Beauty Tech Revolution
Before technology, Alice Chang worked in the financial sector of the banking industry. She then co-founded Cyberlink Corp. in the 1990s to help advance technology for the enjoyment of people. Nearly two decades later, Alice recognized the practical application of AR and facial recognition technologies in the beauty space. In June 2015, she founded Perfect Corp. with the focus of re-imaging the consumer beauty shopping experience through advanced beauty tech.
Today, Alice leads as the Founder and CEO of Perfect Corp., collaborating and motivating incredible global team to “always be innovating”, as the company leads the beauty tech revolution.
Continuous Learning from Real-Life Experiences
In the early 90s when the internet was introduced into daily life, Alice recognized the myriad of possibilities that existed in the online realm. It was then that she jumped into a career in the IT industry where she recognized the power and opportunity presented by technology. Two decades later, Alice recognized the practical applications of AR, facial recognition and mobile technologies in the selfie photo-editing & beauty space, and founded Perfect Corp.
Fighting the Challenges with True-to-life Beauty Tech Solutions
According to Alice, the biggest challenge Perfect Corp. faced during the initial phase of its journey was breaking the preconceived notion that virtual try-on was simply a selfie-editing novelty. The company’s challenge was to prove to brands and consumers, the true utility of the hyper-realistic virtual try-on effects and their benefit in helping consumers to make more confident purchase decisions. As a beauty tech company, Perfect Corp. is challenged to help brands recognize how beauty tech and its services help to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds. The implementation of true-to-life beauty tech provides safer, more satisfying, and more efficient beauty shopping experiences for brands, retailers, and consumers. The proof is in the pudding with virtual try-on effects that rival that of physical try-ons, and continue to prove a true utility that drives results for brands and retailers. By continuing to listen, learn, and innovate as the company gained feedback from early adopters and consumers, Perfect Corp. has been able to develop and create the beauty tech solutions that best speak to the industry as a whole and drive the most impactful results.
Important Qualities that Set Apart Transformational Leaders
Alice believes that leaders must learn to embrace change. It is how one grows as an individual and as a company. This is also the reason one can effectively re-evaluate, pivot, and adjust so quickly to meet the ever-changing demands of the industry today. While over the last year, beauty tech has quickly become a ‘must-have’ for brands and retailers to integrate within their consumer journey, but five years ago that was not the case. It was an ongoing hustle to prove to potential brand partners that Perfect Corp.’s technology went beyond a cool selfie-editing tool, and proved to be a true utility to aid in the consumer shopping experience. Brands quickly took to the hyper-realistic effects as a means of boosting conversion and giving shoppers more fun and convenient ways to experience their products.
Strategic Innovation to Accelerate Enhanced Shopping Experiences
“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Perfect Corp., with AI as the driving force unlocking a new realm of possibilities to drive a hyper-engaged shopping experience,” says Alice. Perfect Corp. believes AI will continue to have the greatest impact on its digital lifestyle, and with that in mind, the company strives to provide cutting-edge AI-powered beauty tech services to partners across the globe expanding to all markets, and across new categories, to meet the growing demand. Digitally enhanced consumer experiences powered by AR and AI are no longer a bonus along the consumer journey. They are now an essential component for all beauty businesses and one that consumers have come to expect. Perfect Corp. has worked hard to find a more systematic way of making this advanced AI and AR technology more accessible for small and medium businesses.
Path to the Future
Perfect Corp. believes the strategic integration of AI, AR, and eCommerce will continue to drive the next big upgrade to the consumer digital journey and target to deliver personalized product, and shade matching technologies like, AI Skin Tech and AI ShadeFinder, to speak to that demand. The company and the industry will continue to evolve in the years to come, leaning into the era of physical and digital transformation. Perfect Crop. will continue to work smarter and faster, adapting to the never-ending changes happening in the real and digital- worlds around it. This means expanding the company’s advanced Skin Tech innovations to meet the growing demand in the category, developing new services and solutions that speak to the rise of Shoppertainment, as well as cross-category expansion to include jewelry, accessories, eyewear, and beyond.
Perfect Corp. is also rolling out interactive AR and AI-powered experiences to engage consumers on the brand’s website, as well as preparing for the return to in-store with re-imagined experiential digital try-on through, safe, convenient touchless mechanisms that enhance the in-store experience.
Radiating Key Advice to Emerging Women Leaders
Alice’s advice to aspiring businesswomen is always to dream big, embrace change, and never give up.
