“I still remember that night, 26th December 2020. I pitched the idea of coloured pimple patches to Ethan.”
These are the words of Esther Erin, who is one of the two founders behind Dododots, a Malaysian pimple patch brand.
Incorporated in Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia, the brand is known for its cute, stylish, and fully-coloured beauty patches that help cover and heal acne.
The brand has ventured from online avenues to offline ones, having launched their own vending machines at venues across Malaysia and Singapore such as Sunway Pyramid, JB Paradigm, Plaza Singapura, and more.
The inspiration for the business came from a desire to solve a personal problem. Growing up, Esther had been very insecure about her acne, so much so that she started avoiding mirrors and would even cancel plans.
“I always wondered: Why isn’t there a product that can act as a second skin?” Esther posted on Instagram on June 12, 2024. “There are so many beauty products in the market, but why aren’t there coloured pimple patches?”
With this thought, Esther was struck with the desire to make pimple patches in her skin tone.
This thought stayed with her for years, ever since her high school days. But no one believed in her idea, typically dismissing it when she voiced it.
At least, that was the case until Esther met Ethan, who believed in her vision.
“And just like that, the two of us, fresh graduates with no clue or experience started building Dododots,” she wrote.
After months of hard work and saving up, the duo each invested their savings into the business, putting in RM7,500 per person.
“After two years of working our butts off and saving up, we’re finally here to do what we always wanted to do with Dododots,” Esther wrote.
And that is:
The first concealer pimple patches in the world
“This is it,” Esther continued in the Instagram post. “The Dododots I’ve always dreamed about. This is what my younger self wanted but never had.”
From the very beginning, the idea had been to develop cute pimple patches in all different skin tones and shapes. But with the initial RM15,000 budget that they had, every single supplier they approached turned them down. One even laughed at Ethan, Esther recalled.
She revealed that each colour required a minimum commitment of 10,000 packs. They wanted to produce at least five shades, which would total to 50,000 packs. How could they ever afford this?
The answer? Slowly but surely.
Over the past two years, Dododots have launched many designs, from chic holographic ones to adorable ones featuring local fruits. They recently even collaborated with Quby, a popular fictional character often used as stickers on WeChat, to launch a unique series of patches.
So now, they are finally ready to launch the patches they’ve always dreamt of. Called Dodoskin, this range is set to debut on July 25, 2024, with global shipping.
As a start, the launch lineup will comprise five colours.
The price for Dodoskin not been revealed yet, but it will be made available on their website, dododots.com. But judging by their other products, each pack, which comes with 20 patches, might be around RM18.
Patching up insecurities, one dot at a time
Most conventional pimple patches are transparent, but oftentimes are still rather visible on the skin. Looking up concealer pimple patches online, we weren’t able to find any hits. We did come across some that are “skin-toned”, but they were all for paler skin colours.
So, it does seem like Dodoskin will be the first of its kind in not just Malaysia, but the world.
“I’m sharing this with tears because I hope this helps everyone out there feel better on the bad skin days,” Esther said on Instagram. “Every teen with puberty, young adult with stress or adult with hormonal acne. We’re here for you.”
As Dododots continues to grow, we hope to see an even more diverse shade range for Dodoskin, so everyone in Malaysia and beyond can find their perfect shade match.
- Learn more about Dododots here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Dododots