French start-up targets hi-tech anti-pollution mask at Asia’s health-conscious consumers
- Founder says US$220 price tag should not deter consumers who value their health above all else.
- Company says the product easily beats European certification standard, keeping out particles as small as 0.05 micrometers
R-PUR, a French start-up making anti-pollution face masks is looking to bring its high-end, stylish face masks to Asia, targeting health-conscious consumers in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.
Although the Paris-based company has yet to attract any Asian investors, it plans to set up an office in Hong Kong and work with regional partners, which it declined to name, to market its R-PUR Nano face masks in the region.
“People responded well to our online marketing campaign after recent air pollution episodes in Thailand and in South Korea, which reinforced our decision to enter Asian markets,” said Flavien Hello, CEO and co-founder of R-PUR. The product was featured at the CES 2019.
The company has so far sold 10,000 masks he said, adding 70 per cent of these were in France.
R-PUR raised €250,000 euros (US$280,000) last year from two rounds of crowdfunding and is in the process of securing a new round of investment, but declined to disclose the amount involved.