JUARA – and its name – is an indie brand inspired by Jamu, an Indonesian herbal health tradition and ancient beauty ritual. The products are formulated to combine “ancient inspirations and modern science,” according to its founders, and will “promote radiance, balance the skin, and revitalize the senses.”

“Our products include natural ingredients that have been used for hundreds of years, in Jamu, and are made using recipes from Indonesia. They smell amazing, feel incredible, and provide an overall sense of well-being, while delivering visible results,” says Metta Murdaya, one of the brand’s co-founders.

JUARA recently redesigned and repackaged its line, to better reflect its Indonesian inspiration. Bottles and jars are decorated with an intricate gold pattern based on a traditional batik design. “We wanted our components to look and feel rich in color and tone to reflect our philosophy of mixing ancient tradition with modern technology,” explains Nadia Yousif, the company’s brand strategist.

The Brand’s Co-Founders

Metta Murdaya created the product line along with three other women – Yoshiko Roth, Jill Sung and Tami Chuang. They are all close friends who met a decade ago while living in New York. (They are shown in the slideshow above).

The founders have complimentary skills that have helped to launch and grow the brand. Murdaya is a native of Indonesia, and frequently travels back home to research new ingredients. Roth-Hidalgo is Japanese and German, with a passion for skin care and an MBA from business school. Sung is a doctor with a medical degree, and she ensures that the products are effective and the formulations are based on science. Chuang travels frequently, and advises the group on the types of products that busy women need to feel good, and that fit into an “on the go” lifestyle.

Murdaya explains that their goal was to create natural products that were effective, while also becoming entrepreneurs. “We always wanted to inspire and encourage other women to champion their own destinies,” she says.

Murdaya continues to explain the group’s personal mission, aside from their goals for JUARA, saying, “The experience in building our company from scratch has defined who we are now, emboldening us to live by our values, like perseverance, gratitude, and honesty. We want to help empower other women, and show them that with the right values and skills, they can succeed in whatever career path they choose.” 

Ingredients Rooted in Ancient Traditions

JUARA uses ingredients in its face and body products that include Candlenut, Coffee, Rosewater, Rice, Tea and Turmeric. The formulations are vegetarian, and the brand states that its cruelty-free products don’t include parabens, sulfates, phthalates, mineral oil, gluten, artificial colorants or harsh chemicals.

The brand’s first-ever product was its Candlenut Body Creme. Candlenut, also known as kukui nut oil, contains oleic and various linolenic acids, for skin health. The thick whipped moisturizer has a velvety feel. It also contains jasmine, rose, freesia, bergamot and fresh coconut, which gives it its beachy scent.

A Pretty Redesign

JUARA uses plastic packaging that is colored in a rich brown, and decorated with a gold batik pattern. The color and decoration had to be replicated across a variety of components, including bottles, jars, closures, and tubes.

“We had a few challenges, especially in making sure that components from separate packaging families looked like they belonged together,” explains Yousif, who played an important role in package design and development for the brand. “We also had to make sure the new packages were functional, and compatible with the formulas,” she adds.

Airless bottles were chosen for the brand’s Flower & Turmeric Anti-Aging Serum, Sweet Black Tea Moisturizers, and Miracle Tea Eye Creme. These are shown in the slideshow above, and described in New Options in Airless Packaging, in Beauty Packaging’s March 2016 issue, when we spoke to the brand’s packaging supplier.

The brand’s new Coconut Illipe Hand & Nail Balm and Radiance Enzyme Scrub are in travel-friendly tubes, while Radiance Vitality Oil is in a glass bottle with a useful dropper applicator. “We selected the glass dropper to ensure the purity and integrity of our natural ingredients, and to allow for exact dosing of this oil concentrate,” says Yousif. (See these in the slideshow above.)

Some of Juara’s products are cleverly packaged as giftable sets. Coffee & Creme Skin Soothing Body Ritual set (also shown above) comes in a decorative can that contains Invigorating Body Scrub and Candlenut Body Creme, which are both in plastic jars.

The brand’s old look didn’t feature gold, and had labels instead of patterns printed directly on the packaging. Stock packaging was used for its face care products, which were screen printed, and didn’t include gold accents. (A photo of the old look is included in the slideshow above.)

The new design features JUARA’s new signature color, a warm rich brown. The color was chosen to reflect the brand’s heritage, and it also protects its natural formulations from light. Yousif adds, “Our team is very happy with our luxurious new look.”

See the slideshow above.