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These M’sians quit their jobs to grow their 3-in-1 dish soap brand that’s now in major stores

If you’re someone who regularly does the dishes, you’ll notice that it can be quite rough on your skin.  

While many of us choose to just put up with it or wear gloves for protection, that problem is something Riinse’s co-founder Phoebe decided to solve back in 2021.

“My mum often voiced frustration about the dish soaps available in the market—some were effective but overly expensive, while others were affordable but harsh on the skin,” Phoebe shared.

Driven by the need to create a solution for her mum, she signed up for a formulation course to gain technical understanding. From there, Phoebe actually ended up creating a makeshift product at home to address her mum’s pain points.

Together with her co-founder Sharmaine, she was able to scale that solution and bring it to other households.

Meet the duo

Sharmaine and Phoebe make up the dream duo behind Riinse. Sharmaine oversees sales and marketing, while Phoebe leads product development.

“We’ve been close friends since our university days and share a unique connection as both of us are ex-consultants turned entrepreneurs,” they said.

Image Credit: Riinse

But Riinse isn’t either of the women’s first brush with entrepreneurship.

“After my time in consulting, I joined my family’s agriculture business and also managed a distribution and trading company with my sister, supplying FMCG products to supermarkets,” Sharmaine shared.

Meanwhile, Phoebe had been running an ecommerce beauty brand while working as a management consultant, an experience that deepened her understanding of product formulation while honing her passion for creating consumer-focused products.

“After transitioning out of consulting, I joined a Malaysian coffee chain, where I gained valuable hands-on experience in scaling operations and navigating the fast-paced startup environment,” Phoebe added.

Beyond complementary skillsets, Sharmaine and Phoebe share a passion for creating practical, well-designed cleaning products that make everyday life a little better.

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