After four years of hard work to establish a GMP facility and obtain all required certifications and approvals, locally produced Paul Penders natural organic herbal cosmetics have now become available in China as well.

The skin care, hair care, body care and makeup products recently debuted in the country’s first major department store, located just outside the city of Hangzhou. Although the launch was delayed several weeks when construction on the new store ran behind schedule, the final launch date of September 26 offers an auspicious start as its numerological equivalent (8) is considered a lucky number by many Chinese.

The new Chinese unit allows Paul Penders to have a great presence in China and provide a high level of service to its Chinese customers.

“As China’s economy continues to expand and consumers have greater disposable income, Chinese women are becoming more and more aware of natural organic lifestyles. They too want to use high quality cosmetics,” says company President and founder Paul Penders. “Also, more and more foreigners are working and traveling in China, and they want to purchase products that are good for both their skin and the environment.”

Calls, faxes and emails of congratulations have poured in from friends of the company worldwide.

The new Chinese products are supported by an exclusive agency in nearby Haining; further expansion into Hangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen is planned for the future. The Hong Kong and Taiwan markets will also be supplied with high quality products from the factory in Hangzhou.

Over the coming months, Paul Penders will launch a Chinese language website that will feature product and company information as well as online ordering.

Paul Penders China is located in the city of Hangzhou, 112 miles southwest of Shanghai on the country’s eastern coast.

Founded more than 2,200 years ago, Hangzhou is the capital of the Zhejiang province and for the last ten centuries, has been one of China’s most prosperous cities. In the heart of the Yangtze River Delta, Hangzhou is famed for its breathtaking natural scenery as well as the green tea which grows abundantly throughout its verdant foothills.

Dotted with historic pagodas and other cultural landmarks, the beautiful West Lake region is one of the area’s most popular tourist sites. Hangzhou is so picturesque and clean, that it has been ranked as one of the most scenic cities in China.

Against this idyllic backdrop, Paul Penders China now produces its world-renown organic natural beauty products for the Chinese market.

Paul Penders China is divided into four departments - Production, Purchasing, Marketing, and Finance. Its starting staff of 20 are a close knit group, and like Paul Penders headquarters in Malaysia’s Langkawi Geopark, work together in a spirit of cooperation.

“Team spirit is the core of our company,” says Mary, who works in Purchasing and Marketing. “All the colleagues work very hard - just like working for their own families. In fact, our company is so much like a family that some of the women here call themselves “Penders” – like Susan Penders.”

Communication is always open amongst co-workers, she notes, and everyone is free to express their thoughts and feelings about the company, its products, and their work.

That camaraderie translates to a drive to make the best products possible, serving the company and its customers.

“Each Friday, we write e-mails to each other about what we have done during the week, what we have learned or something about our life,” Mary says. “We learn a lot from each other this way, and we’re able to bring more to our jobs.”  

To create a unique image for Paul Penders products in China, the company has redesigned its product packaging.

The three month design project has resulted in packaging that is distinctly Chinese but also western. With the Pegaga as our special herb featured on all boxes; the feel invokes the serene Chinese feel for simple beauty at the same time it is an international design that emphasizes the natural simplicity of the products’ heritage.

While Paul Penders products from Langkawi Geopark Island will - for the time being - continue to be available in boxes that feature a blue and white tropical theme with the Langkawi Island as theme, soon they will be the same as the ones designed in China. The high quality formulations in China Paul Penders are exactly identical to Paul Penders products produced in for the rest of the world, containing the same all-natural ingredients in the same quantities and produced according to the same rigorous cGMP manufacturing protocols.