Amway plans to establish an Asia Beauty Innovation Center in Seoul, South Korea.

Paul Seehra, Ph.D., has transferred from Amway world headquarters to serve as the center’s first R&D director. Elaine Sheng, former head of Artistry cosmetics, has relocated from the company’s New York office to serve as marketing director.

The new Amway Asia Beauty Innovation Center will be located within Amway Korea Ltd.’s corporate headquarters, and will be staffed with cross-functional experts in consumer and market research, technical and clinical research, open innovation, concept and product design, and product packaging.

The team’s primary objective is to convert regional insights into new product concepts and beauty product portfolio strategies that have a direct impact on new product development.

“Our additional presence in Asia will spark powerful collaborations in science, design and formulation among our regional R&D and marketing experts. Driving formulation development and speeding new products to market will further strengthen our brand leadership with Amway Business Owners, sales representatives and consumers across China and southeast Asia,” said Maud Pansing, vice president of Global Beauty Brand Management, Amway,

Catherine Ehrenberger, vice president of R&D, Amway, explained, “The R&D and marketing teams are united in our efforts to better understand and communicate Asian trends – from innovative technology and packaging down to the subtleties of ingredient fragrances and textures. We understand how critical it is to our success, and look forward to gathering data that will inspire fresh, new thinking.”

Ehrenberger continued, “Having a focused presence in Asia also provides Amway with dedicated R&D staff to tap resources, talent and design from areas like China and Japan. The ability to integrate technology solutions and research collaborations will help drive an unparalleled level of product development for the Artistry brand.”