August 06, 2024

Dr Jacqueline Beltz | Founder of OKKIYO

39 minutes

In episode 134 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the OKKIYO, Dr Jacqueline Beltz.

I’ve talked a lot recently about how my favourite brand stories to share are the ones that really are offering a solution to a problem; founders who genuinely have identified a gap for something no one else is doing. The fact that we’re now six years into this show and I’m still able to meet people like Jacqui, who truly are doing something new, feels really special.

Dr Jacqueline Beltz is a Melbourne based ophthalmologist (ophthalmology being the specialty medical field of diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases), and last year she launched OKKIYO with a mascara specifically formulated for people with eye sensitivity. That in and of itself is impressive, but her commitment to creating something accessible and inclusive extends far beyond just the formula.

The packaging of OKKIYO’s mascara is the first I’ve seen to use braille in equal hierarchy within the branding, the tube itself is a square which makes it easier to identify and negates the risk of it rolling off a bench top and the user having to rifle around to find it if they have vision impairment, the name and branding were chosen based on visibility, and even the external card packaging has been designed in a way that allows for greater readability- there’s a lot more to it, which Jacqui explains in our conversation far more eloquently than I can. What Jacqui is doing with this brand, in my opinion, really sums up all the best bits of the beauty industry- it’s innovative, it’s fun, it’s not exclusionary and, at the crux of it, it’s a really great product.

In this conversation, Jacqui shares her take on the power of naivety when it comes to launching a brand, the importance of beauty on our confidence when we’re struggling with our health, and the pressure that comes with launching a brand with a singular SKU.