Hello! I'm Choc Choc's founder, Leah Kim.
It's already been 6 years since I opened Choc Choc. I've had a wonderful time through the years meeting and helping so many customers. Today, I would like to talk about the reason Choc Choc was created.
After studying abroad 10 years ago in an unfamiliar American land, I was busy adjusting to the new US culture. Many American friends I met here have been very warm and kind to me, even those unfamiliar with Korean culture. I got to hang out with many friends at a university in New York, and they were always interested in the sheet masks, skincare, and cute hand creams that I was using. My mom regularly sent Korean cosmetics from home for me, and every time, she would take care of my friends, too. I was very happy to see my friends enjoying Korean items and sharing them with their own American friends.
That's when it hit me. They really like Korean cosmetics. And considering the U.S. beauty market which was focused mainly on makeup, I realized that products focused on skincare made them curious.
I moved to Chicago after I graduated from university. After some time, I came up with the idea to start a local business with my husband. I thought it would be nice to bring in Korean cosmetics that were only found online and introduce them to customers in person. I went straight out and rented a small space in Lake View, Chicago and opened this wonderful skincare store.
For the first time in my late 20s, I had the opportunity to start doing work I loved with my own hands. Since then, Choc Choc has grown well, eating up the love of local customers. After all this time, we have managed to keep this place open and growing.
Launching our first product "Rice Power Essence" at the end of 2020 was especially meaningful to my crew and me. We are also doing our best to prepare our new products in the future, so we would appreciate your continued support and interest.
So, there's a little about how Choc Choc was created, and we hope to be with our customers for many more years without losing our original intentions.
As for now, "Stay Choc Choc!" today and always.
From Leah