A young Filipino entrepreneur who labeled himself a corporate failure from years of working for various companies now runs a trending health and wellness company which gets millions of views on Tiktok and other social media platforms.
Jungie Gumiran, founder and chief executive of JUJU Lifestyle—a company that produces effervescent tablets including the flagship product JUJU Collagen, says he gained over 13 million views on TikTok in the first six months from launch this year.
Collagen supplements help the body augment natural collagen production which inevitably declines as people get older, he says. “JUJU Collagen is a safe, high-quality and effective collagen supplement in the Philippines. Created for busy people, we formulate the product in effervescent form to make it convenient and hassle-free for our daily users.”
Aside from JUJU Collagen, his product line has expanded to include Juju Glutafair, Juju Easyslim and Juju Easysports which are all easy to drink in effervescent form.
Gumiran says in an email interview that he is on a mission to help people live a more productive and healthy lifestyle through self-care powerhouse brands. “We created products that can be consumed in the most convenient and most effective way,” he says.
“JUJU Lifestyle was established due to innovation. I, myself, was a skincare and self-care junkie, and used to find it hard to stick to a skincare routine, especially if that routine requires you to take six capsules of supplements every day. It just won’t work for my busy lifestyle. I stumbled upon the concept of effervescent tablets and how it would be an easier and more effective way to take supplements. It is an innovation that would be easier to incorporate in a busy lifestyle,” he says.
Setbacks
He recalls the setbacks he experienced in the first two years after he graduated from college, particularly from the companies that fired him. He bounced back by educating himself about digital marketing and e-commerce. This paved the way for him to do freelancing, and he later applied what he had learned to launch his startup businesses.
“I consider myself as a corporate failure and had no choice but to find other sources of income. I felt worthless and helpless at that time. I wasn’t prepared and didn’t have any savings left for a P20,000 monthly salary from the corporate,” he says.
He decided to do freelance work and was able to help transform household brands into powerhouse businesses. With money saved from freelancing, he launched his own ‘self-care’ company — JUJU. “In our first six months, we were overwhelmed by how much people loved our flagship product, JUJU Collagen,” he says.
Self-care junkie
A skincare and self-care junkie, he used to find it hard to stick to a “skincare routine.” He stumbled on the concept of effervescent tablets and how it would be an easier and more effective way to take supplements—an innovation that would be easier to incorporate in a busy lifestyle.
His vision for the brand is to create a world where wellness and selfcare is infused in people’s daily lifestyle.
His products have garnered 10,000 5-star reviews on Shopee and Lazada; over 1,000 5-star reviews on Facebook and website; more than 13 million views on TikTok hashtags; and thousands of positive product video reviews on TikTok and Youtube.
The brand maintains its digital presence by continuously partnering and promoting JUJU Lifestyle across all social media platforms. It is well-loved by fitness and lifestyle influencers who help the brand reach more people.
He said JUJU posted average monthly sales of 1 million for Shopee and 700,000 for Lazada from April 2021 to February 2022. The sales jumped three times in March this year and have been consistently hitting 3 million monthly sales for Shopee and 1.7 million for Lazada since then.
“And now, we are launching to Watsons this year,” he says. “JUJU keeps getting bigger, and we’re just starting. We expanded our line of products, our team is also getting bigger, and soon we will be launching JUJU Collagen on Watsons—a chance to reach more people. “
“In the next few months, we’re also looking into trying different flavors for our line of products. By next year, we’ll be launching a product line in blends, so people will have options to enjoy self-care supplements in powdered form. This will be opened for distributors and resellers,” he says.
Social media influencers
JUJU promotes its products and services through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. “We maintain our social media presence both through organic and paid ads. We also value our relationship with our influencers and make sure that our line of products reallys help them take care of themselves better. As of now, we have active influencers promoting what they love about our products and it helps us reach more people as well,” says Gumiran.
“As an entrepreneur, I want to create more job opportunities and help the families of my team. I want to take my business to the empire level. Serve the community that I want to support, through creating quality products,” he says.
“I attribute my success to my coaches and mentors. One of the reasons why I got ahead in this business that I built from scratch at a young age is because of my mentors. They are people with great experiences who were gracious enough to be my map and compass throughout this journey to success,” he says.
This is why he also shares ideas to young entrepreneurs who would like to be successful in their own ventures.
Apart from leading JUJU Lifestyle, Gumiran is also a marketing consultant for multibillion-dollar companies such as Sun Life, TCL and Keller Williams. He is also the coach and founder of the AdsLevelUp program, where he helps thousands of freelancers and business owners in the Philippines utilize the power of online advertising.
His experience supports his skills as a marketing and brand executive at Click Licensing Asia—a brand licensing company operating in Southeast Asia and Korea, where he is directly responsible for the optimal performance of lifestyle, fashion and character brands such as NBA, One Piece, Pokémon, Larva, Wingcle Bear, BLIZZARD, World of Warcraft & Overwatch and Legendary (Warcraft Movie) on a regional level.
Mentors
“Life is a never-ending process of growth so we should also never stop learning. In business, the work environment also evolves rapidly with technological advancements. As entrepreneurs, learning to adapt to new trends and technologies is operative to be successful in every field and niche. Being innovative also allows you to have enough foresight which is a fundamental key to catching up to modernization,” he says.
“I was fortunate enough to learn from very great mentors and young entrepreneurs. You should not be afraid to find a coach or a mentor– the ones who paved the way and have vast experience in the field. Their great understanding of the craft and their glorious insights may shorten your learning curve as a beginner in the field,” he says.
