TV personality and entrepreneur Marion Caunter was recently in her home state of Penang for her brand’s MARE pop-up event at M Social Resort, creating a multi-sensory playground designed to refresh and inspire. The takeover extended into selected suites, which were transformed into serene retreats thoughtfully integrated with MARE’s signature products. For a limited time, guests at M Social Resort Penang are invited to immerse themselves in the brand in a more intimate and personal way.
In addition to the interactive installations and exhibits, she also featured as one of the panellists for “In Conversation With: Icons of Penang”. During the panel discussion, she spoke about how she started her business and the challenges she has faced over the years. Here’s what went down at the event:
Marion Caunter revealed that one of the main reasons she wanted to start a business was to take control of her own schedule. “I was going back and forth between Singapore and KL, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is getting really hard’. I needed to find something that allowed me to be in control of my own time. But I also didn’t want to start a business just for the sake of it. I always do things I’m passionate about,” she shared.
With a long-standing passion for haircare, she teamed up with her hairstylist Sean to open Hairplay Salon. Following its success, the star realised there was more to hair treatment than regular salon visits. It felt only natural, then, for her to launch her own beauty brand, MARE, with a focus on haircare. Both the salon and the brand grew in success, but becoming a business owner has not been without its challenges. One of the biggest hurdles Marion faced was the Covid-19 pandemic. As the hair industry relies heavily on physical contact, her establishment was among the last businesses allowed to reopen once the MCO was lifted.
“At that point, we had just gotten our second lot, but we had to pay double the rent with zero sales. It was very demoralising and demotivating, but I was adamant; I wanted to keep it going. By the time we were able to reopen, to cover the amount of losses, I had to make the hard decision between expanding my unit to two lots to going back to my original unit. It just didn’t make sense anymore to pay rent for two spaces when we were in that situation,” she explained. Fortunately, despite the smaller space, the business continued to thrive, and with the launch of MARE, Marion has been able to further improve her services and strengthen her brand.
Speaking of improvements, most companies are quick to highlight positive and inspiring customer stories, but rarely disclose the criticism they face while building a brand. So, as an entrepreneur, how did Marion respond to negative feedback from the public? She told Hype Malaysia that, as a public figure, she no longer pays much attention to personal criticism unless it involves her family. Otherwise, she simply ignores it. “It took me a while to get here, but I’m really at a stage where I’m so comfortable in my own skin, and I’m not going to change for anyone,” she said.
Customer feedback, however, is something she takes very seriously. She revealed that many of her customers have requested more brown lip oil shades that would better suit Malaysian women. Realising the lack of colour options in her Lip Slick line, Marion and her team quickly set to work to meet customer demand. “That’s one thing about Malaysia, we’re made up of so many different races. We’ve got fair girls and we’ve got brown girls. So we really wanted to celebrate that diversity with our latest Lip Slick collection: the Brown Lip Oil range, with different shades to suit a variety of skin tones,” she explained.
During the Icons of Penang panel discussion, Marion Caunter also discussed topics including female leadership, the power of storytelling in branding, and the importance of collaboration and community. “Growing up in Penang gave me a sense of identity that still shapes how I create today,” she said. Overall, the weekend MARE takeover was deemed a success as we certainly learned a lot about the mogul, her brand and her journey into entrepreneurship.
