Half the time when we are paying for expensive, quality products, we are paying for the brand. But, what if we told you, quality doesn’t have to be a luxury.
IUIGA is a newly-minted app that offers customers the chance to buy some of the best products straight from the manufacturers of your favourite brands such as MUJI, Samsonite, and WMF. (I bought some very comfortable bedroom slippers and a cast iron pot, all for less than $60.) We talk to Jaslyn Chan, IUIGA’s Business Development Manager, to find out more.
1) What is IUIGA and how did it first start?
IUIGA was started to answer a simple but profound question: Why pay so much for quality?
In traditional retail, a product is marked up 8 to 15 times by the time it reaches you. The product goes through a long process of at least 10 to 20 layers from manufacturers to distribution and finally to the end consumer. Factoring in profits at every layer of distribution and rental costs, traditional markups make up a good two-thirds of the final product price that you see in stores.
Our vision is to reveal the true cost of quality and make quality universally accessible so that you can create a better everyday life at home.
So we scoured the world to find the best raw materials and manufacturers to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional everyday items at absolutely transparent prices. We show you what it costs us to make these products, and then our mark-ups. By selling our products online, we also eliminate brick-and-mortar expenses and pass on these savings to you.
2) What’s it like being a newly minted startup? How big is your team and what is a typical day like?
For any start-up, you start with a level of apprehension due to the uncertainty of whether or not your idea will take off. However, we’ve channeled this into excitement and motivation. We have a compact team of 20 and each member has a niche role.
A typical day at IUIGA starts with an internal meeting and status reporting on each business function. At times, we do have issues cropping up in the middle of the day so we have to adapt and improvise on the run. Swift communication is key and this is facilitated by our open office concept where we are able to discuss and bounce ideas freely. The team has found it truly fulfilling seeing plans and ideas come to fruition.
3) How did it feel when you got your very first order?
We couldn’t wait to share our excitement and happiness with our very first customers!
We personally included a Thank You card, which we hope translates to a tangible appreciation to our customers. Our first customers also offered valuable insights on what can be improved. With the feedback, we fine-tuned the app for a more seamless user experience. We have a two-way relationship with our customers and this has definitely motivated our team further when we receive positive feedback and recognition.
4) Any interesting customer related stories?
Our customers have been sharing with us many ideas on how to use our products! Some creative uses that we’ve seen include a Japanese Wooden Dipping Bowl that was used as a rice scoop, a s’mores dipping pan, as well as serveware!
5) How do you curate products?
IUIGA sells directly to our customers. We carry products sourced from all over the world. In fact, we scour the world for the best materials to make everyday items we use in our daily lives and go one step further to find the best-in-class manufacturers and artisans to make our products. Our chosen partners have decades of expertise and design knowledge manufacturing for big brands, which is a discerning criteria for us to guarantee quality through their years of experience.
At the heart of it, we advocate conscious spending and mindful living. We want to educate consumers that a good life doesn’t have to be expensive. If you buy an item of quality, it will last for years and you wouldn’t need to buy so many.
One of our key unique propositions is transparent pricing. Each product has a different percentage of costs since they are made in different factories using different methods. As such, we share the true cost of quality through the transparent breakdown of costs and our markups under every item on our app.
6) What are IUIGA’s goals in the coming months?
We hope to actively share our philosophy of buying less, but buying better. We would like our customers to explore our app and we are certain that they will find something that tickles their fancy.
With no minimum purchase, you can also get $5 off your first order by entering the promo code ‘GET5’. That’s how I got my purchases for even cheaper than the prices on IUIGA.