Seeing a lack of Korean representation within the fragrance market paved the way for Wonny Lee to start a brand centered on scents inspired by Korea, Elorea.
During a trip to South Korea, he and his wife visited a well-known boutique beauty store. “The cosmetic side was obviously very crowded with these cool Korean brands. But then, when we walked over to the fragrance section, we found that all of the brands in that section—essentially, you can buy them in New York. There was just no…Asian representation on the shelf.”
Lee, who started his career working in venture capital, co-founded the brand with his wife, Su min Park, in 2020. Elorea sells products like Hazy Blue, a perfume incorporating sandalwood and amber that was inspired by “the Korean word ēnae [이내], which means the bluish, hazy energy that is visible in the distance during sunset.”
Marketing Brew talked to Lee about how the two of them have approached Elorea’s marketing strategy since starting the brand, which recently opened its flagship store in New York City’s Nolita neighborhood.
Getting noticed
Since debuting, Elorea has rolled out four campaigns featuring a mix of Korean models, celebrities, and influencers. One included South Korean actor Yoon Chan-young, who starred in the popular Netflix show All of Us Are Dead.
Another campaign, which Lee said represented the “changes and evolution of Korea,” featured a half-Black, half-Korean model as well as an older Korean model.
Elorea is primarily advertising to Gen Z right now. “As we grow as a business, I’m focused on, obviously, the younger generation because it’s incredibly, incredibly difficult to get people to switch once they’ve fallen in love with a particular fragrance.” Still, he said it’s about maintaining balance. “I do see us evolving and using different types of ambassadors—age-wise, their target audience, and who they resonate with—across the board.”
But first, K-pop
According to Lee, the recent explosion of Korean culture and entertainment in the US has given Elorea a wider potential customer base.
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“Because of the prevalence and rise of Korean cinema, entertainment, pop, and even food, we find that there is a really unique wave, as we call it, of Korean influence within the West,” he said, noting that he recently went to a BLACKPINK concert and “the majority of the audience was not Korean.”
“I just realized, like, wow—all these people can potentially be our customers because we all share that common thread of just wanting to learn more about Korea,” he said.
Social cues
Lee said Elorea’s “most popular channel” is Instagram, where it has more than 17,000 followers. The brand posts a mix of campaign imagery and Reels, like a recent one promoting its new flagship store.
“We’re also trying to be more active on TikTok. I will be honest; it’s a learning curve. But we did have one viral moment within TikTok where we just did a five-second reel,” he said, explaining that the video, which featured one of Elorea’s perfume bottles, was created by a customer who’s created videos and ads for other brands in the past.
“We ended up posting it because it was so beautiful.” He said the video “blew up,” gaining more than 3 million views, so the brand commissioned three more.