Decent Rossi
“It is easy to get a thousand prescriptions, but hard to get one single remedy. ”
— CHINESE PROVERB
Every great product has a deep brand story. We love meeting the souls behind such companies. I am excited to have had the opportunity to meet Rossi Yang in Taipei a few years ago right when she was just about to quit her daytime job to pursue Decent Rossi full time. Read more to learn more about how a clinical pharmacist in Taiwan left the corporate world to create a company she is so passionate about.
Born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, Rossi Yang graduated from Taipei Medical University majoring in pharmaceutical sciences. Rossi then spent the first 10 years of her career working for a local Taiwanese clinic handling everything from patient consulting, drug research to drug dispensing and then later worked as a sales rep for French pharmaceutical company, Safoni. When Rossi turned 25 she started experiencing dermatitis which sometimes can be seen as extreme scalp eczema like symptoms. She spent 6 months visiting both dermatologists, doctors including seeking out Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for treatment yet none of the injections, medications, ointments and creams helped cure her symptoms. It dawned on Rossi that perhaps the shampoo products she uses might be the cause of her dermatitis. With that lightbulb moment, Decent Rossi was born.
Rossi started studying shampoos in 2016 and why all the different products she bought off the shelf didn’t work for her. She discovered that there were many chemical components and additives that are added into our over the counter products that are sometimes harmful for our skin. The skin is the human body’s largest organ, it protects us from microbes and the elements, helps regulate our body temperature and permits one of our senses, touch. With this in mind, what our skin is exposed to is the first mechanism of protection to the rest of our internal system. Rossi spent over a year studying different recipes and ingredients, sourcing OEM and manufacturers, consulting with doctors to create a solution that would prove to this day with only 7 ingredients, a cure for her dermatitis on her scalp.
The Decent Rossi Hair Wash Powder was created and is the staple product and story to Rossi’s company. She chose to name her company “Decent Rossi” because the word decent stands for acceptable, satisfactory, respectable or moral behavior. Rossi believes that we should all be living a “decent” life not luxurious, not average but acceptable! Her products are definitely aligned with this word and her philosophy. Even her tagline, first, do no harm encompases that same message. Whatever we intake, we create, we shouldn't harm ourselves or others. All of her products are natural, eco friendly, recyclable, reusable and sustainable.
When Rossi first introduced the hair wash powder to the market, many suggested she change her product into a hair wash bar or liquid shampoo. Rossi explains to us why she chose not to turn her product into these items, the root of her products have to have the “less is more” ingredient concept, and really provide a medical solution to users like herself. Turning a hair wash product into soap bars or liquid shampoo requires adding more chemicals to keep it in its bar or liquid form versus using quality ingredients to create the powder which you only need to add water to achieve the same foam quality!
“Decent Rossi is not just a beauty brand, it is a lifestyle. Be decent to your skin, people, animals and mother earth.”
In 2018, Rossi quit her full time job to go full time into her company and now has a small team of four where she plans to expand her product line, and grow her presence in both the medical and global community. What she is looking to become a pioneer in for this consumer product space is to demonstrate that a small company like Decent Rossi can be true to its mission in creating a no harm business. Besides creating new products Rossi is currently rolling out her line of sustainable and refillable packaging that will allow customers to be eco friendly with their Decent Rossi goods. From the chosen biodegradable boxes made of corn to the refillable glass bottles, Rossi has put in a lot of thought to her user experience and what defines a Decent Rossi customer! You will always feel socially responsible when using a Decent Rossi product.
Decent Rossi isn’t a brand that is trying to compete with mainstream beauty products. It is a solution created by a pharmacist, to cure individuals with skin ailments to oncology patients as well as newborns and their mothers. You can follow Decent Rossi on FB, IG and purchase their products on their website. For distribution or wholesale inquiries, you can contact Rossi and her team at rossiyang@decentrossi.com for more information. We can’t wait to see how Rossi and her company grows in this new decade and how she continues to share the decent movement and represent Taiwan as a brand globally!
First published on May 14, 2020
