Victoria Tsai on Building Tatcha Through Ritual, Research, and Purpose

Before Tatcha, you worked across finance, nonprofit, hospitality, and technology. What did that varied path teach you about building a company?

My career did not follow a straight line, but each experience gave me something that became useful later. Finance taught me discipline and how to understand a business. Working in larger companies showed me how systems are built, and also what can be lost when people become distant from the purpose of the work. My time at Harvard Business School helped me recognize that entrepreneurship was not simply a risk I might take, but the work I was meant to pursue. Looking back, I was gathering different kinds of knowledge until they could come together in one idea. Tatcha became the place where those experiences could serve something more personal and meaningful.

Your own experience with acute dermatitis was central to Tatcha’s beginning. How did that change the way you thought about skincare?

My skin had become extremely reactive, and the treatments I was using were not resolving the underlying problem. That experience made me question an approach to beauty that often encourages people to pursue increasingly aggressive solutions. When I went to Japan, I encountered a different understanding of care, one that considered the skin in relation to the body, the mind, and daily habits. I began to see skincare less as a corrective process and more as a practice of restoring balance. That distinction continues to guide Tatcha. We want our products to be effective, but also considerate of the skin and the person using them.

What did you discover in Kyoto that became the foundation for Tatcha?

Kyoto introduced me to a culture in which beauty was connected to attention, conduct, nourishment, and care. I learned about the traditions of geisha and maiko, whose routines were grounded in preparation and consistency rather than excess. I was especially struck by the relationship between ritual and presence. A skincare step could be practical, but it could also create a small pause in the day. I returned from Japan wanting to understand those traditions more deeply, rather than simply reproduce them. With scientists and cultural advisors, we studied historical practices and ingredients, then translated what we learned into modern formulas and rituals that could be used by people anywhere.

Tatcha is often described as a meeting point between Japanese tradition and modern science. How do you protect the integrity of both?

Tradition and science are not opposites. Tradition gives us questions, observations, and ways of thinking that have endured over time. Science gives us tools to investigate those ideas, understand how ingredients work, and develop products with consistency and safety. At Tatcha, the process begins with respect. We do not take a ritual out of context and use it as decoration. We study its meaning and consider what can be responsibly carried forward. Our formulas are developed with scientists at the Tatcha Institute in Tokyo, where Japanese botanicals and rituals are considered alongside contemporary cosmetic research. The aim is to create something useful, thoughtful, and relevant to modern life.

The brand’s Hadasei-3 complex combines rice, green tea, and algae. What does that formulation express about your philosophy?

Hadasei-3 reflects our belief that simple ingredients can be powerful when they are carefully selected and thoughtfully combined. Rice, green tea, and algae are part of the Japanese diet and have long been associated with nourishment and vitality. We became interested in how those ingredients could support the skin when prepared through fermentation and developed with modern methods. The complex is not intended to be a decorative reference to Japan. It is part of our effort to connect what has traditionally nourished the body with what can support the skin. More broadly, it represents our preference for harmony over intensity and for formulas that work as complete systems.

Tatcha’s packaging and rituals feel highly considered. How important is the sensory experience to the work?

It is essential because skincare is experienced through more than the formula alone. Texture, scent, touch, pacing, and design all influence how a person relates to a product. I wanted Tatcha to make everyday care feel calm and intentional without making it complicated. Some of our visual references come from Japanese tea culture, including the shape and handling of traditional tea objects. The goal is not to make a routine feel ceremonial for its own sake. It is to help people become more aware of a moment that might otherwise be rushed. A product can be functional and still invite a sense of beauty, respect, and quiet attention.

Mindfulness has become an increasingly common language in beauty. What does it mean specifically within Tatcha?

For us, mindfulness is not a marketing layer added to skincare. It is an understanding that the skin and the mind are connected, and that care can affect both. In 2016, I met Toryo Ito, a Zen monk at Ryosokuin Temple in Kyoto. His approach to meditation and the senses resonated with the way we had been thinking about Tatcha. That relationship helped us develop rituals that encourage people to notice their breath, their touch, and their surroundings. Mindfulness can be very simple. It might mean applying a product more slowly or recognizing that a few minutes of care belong to you. The value is in returning to yourself, even briefly.

You have spoken about being told that there was no place for Asian-inspired skincare in the United States. How did you respond to that resistance?

When Tatcha began, there were people who believed that Asian skincare would not be aspirational or compelling to American consumers. I understood the concern, but it did not reflect what I had experienced in Japan or what I believed consumers were capable of appreciating. A founder has to know which feedback is useful and which feedback is asking the business to become less distinct. We stayed close to our point of view and focused on doing the work well. That meant building trust through the formulas, the design, the education, and the way we represented the traditions that inspired us. A clear point of view gives a brand something to stand on when the market is uncertain.

Tatcha has long connected its business with girls’ education through Room to Read. Why was that relationship important to you?

I started Tatcha while I was pregnant with my daughter, and that changed the questions I was asking about beauty. I did not want to build a company that suggested a woman’s value was limited to her appearance. I wanted the brand to support a broader idea of beauty rooted in character, knowledge, confidence, and possibility. That led us to create the Beautiful Faces, Beautiful Futures program with Room to Read. Through the partnership, Tatcha supports girls’ education in Asia and Africa, as well as literacy initiatives in the United States. Education gives girls greater agency over their lives. It is one of the most meaningful ways we can connect the success of a beauty business to a lasting social purpose.

What have you learned about remaining faithful to a founder’s vision as Tatcha grows?

Growth requires a founder to distinguish between the elements that must remain constant and the elements that can evolve. For Tatcha, the enduring pieces are our respect for Japanese culture, our commitment to research, our belief in holistic care, and our desire to create positive impact beyond the product. The way we communicate, operate, or enter new markets may change, but those principles should continue to shape the decisions. I have also learned that a founder’s vision cannot live only in the founder. It has to be understood by the people who work with you and expressed through the way the company behaves. That is how a brand can grow without losing its character.