Strategic agreement marks Malaysia’s Middle East beauty breakthrough

JEONG FAMILY, Southeast Asia’s leading multigenerational clean beauty and wellness platform, has entered into a landmark strategic partnership with Nice One, one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent beauty retailers and digital platforms. Under this exclusive agreement, Nice One becomes the sole distributor of the ILY brand across Saudi Arabia, covering both e-commerce and offline retail networks.

This milestone represents the first official entry of a Malaysian-born, Halal-ready kids’ beauty brand into the Middle East, signaling the rise of a new pan-Asian Halal beauty movement built on innovation, integrity, intergenerational care.

Cherry Koay, Founder and CEO of JEONG FAMILY, stated they see the partnership as a powerful bridge between two worlds. ILY is more than a brand—it’s a movement that empowers the next generation through safe, joyful self-care. With Nice One’s scale and reach, they’re proud to bring Malaysia’s proudest Halal beauty innovation to the GCC region.

Safety standards meet experiential retail

As the region’s most expansive kids beauty platform, JEONG FAMILY’s flagship brand ILY is trusted by parents and loved by children for its immersive experiences and safe formulations. Formulated with EWG green-graded ingredients and Halal-ready formulations, ILY products are dermatologically tested and developed to meet the highest standards of safety and integrity for young skin.

The brand currently operates PLAYLAB™ experiential flagships in Malaysia, with plans for two international flagship locations by 2026. It has also launched Asia’s first Mini PLAYLAB™ shop-in-shop concept within WOW Beauty by Miniso Group, pioneering experiential new retail tailored for kids’ beauty and wellness.

ILY by JEONG FAMILY is currently available at over 200 physical retail points in Malaysia and Singapore through an exclusive partnership with Guardian. The brand is on track to expand to 1,500 offline POS across Asia Pacific by 2026, further solidifying its position as the region’s leading kids beauty platform.

Nice One CEO emphasizes alignment with mission

Mr. Omar Alolayan, Founder & CEO of Nice One, stated the future of beauty is clean, inclusive, cross-generational. They’re thrilled to welcome ILY by JEONG FAMILY to Saudi Arabia. Their multigenerational wellness platform aligns perfectly with their mission, with immense potential to scale across the GCC.

As Halal beauty becomes a global category with deep cultural relevance, this collaboration positions Malaysia at the forefront—offering not just clean formulations, but an experiential, values-driven beauty journey that resonates with modern families across borders.

About the partners

JEONG FAMILY is Southeast Asia’s leading multigenerational clean beauty and wellness platform, founded in Kuala Lumpur in 2021. With a brand ecosystem that includes ILY (non-toxic kids skincare and makeup), NUEGRAY (Gen Z color cosmetics), and BESTIE (tween skincare & fragrance), the group is redefining beauty for all ages. JEONG FAMILY operates experiential PLAYLAB™ stores, develops JAKIM Halal-ready OEM/ODM formulations through its manufacturing division, expanding rapidly across Asia Pacific with over 200 retail points and a goal of 1,500 POS by 2026.

Nice One is one of Saudi Arabia’s fastest-growing beauty retail and digital commerce platforms. With millions of active users across the GCC, Nice One combines curated global brands, user-friendly technology, and localized logistics to provide seamless beauty shopping experiences online and offline. Its vision is to bring the best of beauty to every household in the region through innovation, inclusion, and trusted partnerships.

Kids’ beauty market meets halal certification

ILY’s Saudi expansion exemplifies how halal beauty transcends adult cosmetics into emerging categories like children’s personal care, where parental safety concerns align naturally with halal certification’s emphasis on ingredient purity and ethical sourcing. The brand’s “Halal-ready” positioning—formulated to meet JAKIM standards without necessarily carrying certification on every product—reflects pragmatic approaches where halal compliance becomes embedded within broader clean beauty frameworks rather than marketed as the sole differentiator.

The experiential retail strategy through PLAYLAB™ flagships addresses a critical challenge in kids’ beauty—creating age-appropriate, parent-approved environments where children can explore cosmetics safely. By positioning halal certification alongside EWG green-grading and dermatological testing, ILY appeals to modern Muslim parents who evaluate products through multiple lenses (religious compliance, ingredient safety, brand values) rather than halal certification alone.

For Malaysia’s halal beauty industry, the partnership validates the country’s strategic positioning as a halal innovation hub capable of exporting branded consumer goods beyond commodities. JAKIM certification’s global recognition, combined with Malaysia’s cosmetics manufacturing expertise and English-language business culture, creates competitive advantages for Malaysian brands seeking GCC market entry over competitors from Indonesia, Pakistan, or other Muslim-majority nations with less developed halal beauty ecosystems.

The 1,500 retail point expansion target by 2026 suggests aggressive growth ambitions requiring substantial capital, potentially signaling future funding rounds as JEONG FAMILY scales regionally. The multigenerational brand portfolio (ILY for kids, NUEGRAY for Gen Z, BESTIE for tweens) demonstrates platform thinking where halal certification provides a unifying thread across age segments, creating customer lifetime value as families grow while remaining within the JEONG FAMILY ecosystem.

Original Article:

Global Cosmetics News. (2025, October 17). JEONG Family and Nice One sign exclusive strategic agreement to launch ILY in Saudi marking new era for halal beauty. Retrieved from https://www.koin.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/858303408/jeong-family-and-nice-one-sign-exclusive-strategic-agreement-to-launch-ily-in-saudi-marking-new-era-for-halal-beauty/