Lee Yun Qin

“Learn fast, fail fast”

Tell us more about your innovation, and the inspiration behind it.

Sassyclean handwash is a dry, mess-free handwash refill designed to break the trade-off between sustainability and a fun yet experiential handwash refill. Consumers can buy a starter bottle, fill it up with water and insert the dry handwash refill to see it quickly dissolve and turn into foaming liquid handwash.

We wanted to help consumers build the habit of refilling handwash by making it hassle-free and delightful for them, as every time a consumer reuses a bottle, we reduce the amount of plastic by about 90%. A dry product also opens opportunities for more sustainable packaging materials. Sassyclean handwash dry refills avoid shipping of water in the product, and is extremely compact in size, making it easy to store.

We’ve had very good reviews from users who repeatedly come back for more refills. It’s a joy to see consumers loving the innovation we work on.

Find out more about Sassyclean handwash.

Can you share some moments of inspiration/challenges? How did you overcome those challenges?

Innovation is a team sport. To get the product to market, we’ve had to engage with technologists, legal, regulatory, supply chain, researchers, etc to ensure that the product proposition stays true to consumer needs. I am very thankful to have a lean team that collaborates closely, making the process a more seamless one.

Any advice for fellow female entrepreneurs/innovators?

The innovation journey is never a straightforward one. It is critical to engage with consumers and test prototypes iteratively to enable a good product experience that consumers resonate with. We have a mantra that goes around our team – “Learn fast, fail fast”

Yun Qin spent the initial 11 years of her career working in tech companies such as Asus and Dell, before joining P&G as a Senior Industrial Designer at P&G Beautycare Innovation Studio in 2015. In her current role, Yun Qin works alongside technologists and marketeers to bridge technology and delightful consumer experiences. She finds great satisfaction in developing empathy with consumers and enabling experiences that they love. She is currently on her own sustainability journey, dabbling in growing edible greens and food waste composting.