One small decision could truly change your life’s whole trajectory — the smallest, most trivial events may ultimately result in something with much larger consequences. For Jeremy Andrus, it was moving to Chicago as he tried to make a career in baseball.
Long story short, baseball didn’t work out, but while his career plans didn’t pan out quite the way he expected, the final results don’t seem too bad. Today, Jeremy is based in Malaysia and is the Founder and CEO of Libra Wellness, a locally developed ethical beauty and wellness brand that features 100% plant-based ingredients, alongside his partner, Co-Founder and Brand Director, Carmen Khoo. Together, Jeremy and Carmen aim to meet the demands of the local market by providing skin and hair care options that harness the benefits of plant-based products. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Chicago to Malaysia is quite the leap, but there was a reason Jeremy and Carmen decided to make the move.
Formerly from corporate careers themselves — with both of them having a background in public relations, a fluctuating job market soon left Jeremy unemployed and Carmen reconsidering where her career was heading. They decided it was time for new beginnings and, in the case of Carmen, who was born and raised in Selangor, a return to the roots, and opted to move to Malaysia. There was something no one prepped them for during the move from one climate to another though— just how much your skin will protest. And protest it did!
Itches, rashes, flaky skin, you name it, Jeremy had to deal with it. It didn’t help that his skin was already prone to irritation — but while he knew where to source the skincare supplies he needed back in America, in Malaysia, his hands were tied (and itching).
A temporary stopgap soon provided itself thanks to Carmen, whose family had connections to product manufacturers in Thailand, and they began sourcing body care products for Jeremy. Sourcing products for their personal needs soon evolved into working as full-blown distributors as they connected sensitive-skinned souls with much-needed skincare products.
And then came the next step; going from distributors to entrepreneurs. As their customer base grew, so did the scope of requests— with one in particular standing out: “Do you have any Malaysian products that cater to sensitive skin?”
There was a gap in the market just waiting to be filled, and they decided to be the ones to do it. Harnessing the benefits of ingredients such as avocado, broccoli (extract), and coconut oil, they developed their own skin-friendly formulations for shampoo, conditioner and body wash, and Li’bra by Libra Wellness was born. But the best is yet to come!
