Tine-Kornkanok Wannakit, owner of Valichain, on following your dreams

Meet Lifestyle Asia Thailand’s 50 ICONS, where we gather influential people from Thailand’s younger generation and dive into their beliefs, thoughts, and toasts to their spectacular success in their respective careers. This story goes out to Tine-Kornkanok Wannakit who is here to share her journey of creating Thailand’s hottest jewellery brand, Valichain.

Building a brand may seem easy from an outsider’s perspective, but in a competitive market, facing numerous players is difficult. Yet, there’s always one key ingredient that can make the journey better; passion. And just like the Thai jewellery brand Valichain, passion is its foundation.

Founded by Tine-Kornkanok Wannakit, a renowned beauty blogger and influencer, Valichain was born out of her deep love for jewellery. Her passion for accessorising has led Tine to identify common issues with certain jewellery pieces such as allergies, rusting, quality, and so on. Drawing from her experiences as a consumer, she embarked on creating Valichain to address these challenges. With meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of the brand, from sourcing quality materials to designing packaging, Tine’s commitment shines through. In this interview with LSA, Tine is here to share her perspective, stating, “In our lives, it’s not necessary to be happy every day.” And despite this statement being quite negative, it could also be a driving force for you to be the fuel to your success.

Tine-Kornkanok Wannakit, owner of Valichain, on following your dreams

The beginning of Valichain

“I’m the type of person who always wears jewellery. It’s like when I don’t have any on, I don’t feel complete. It’s as if something is missing since it’s a part of my body. My love for jewellery goes to the point where I bought many brands. Whether it’s cheap, expensive, or from an international brand, I’ve always noticed that these items don’t last. They either peel, turn black, and sometimes even make my skin green. So, I thought there must be some kind of material that we can wear without having to worry about taking it off when showering. With that, I started to do some research and discovered a solution. However, I was going back and forth on whether I could create my own business. I didn’t have any background in it. But because I didn’t know, that meant I had to try. So, I did it, and my girlfriends gave me really good advice.”

“When I first started, I did a lot of product research, and this means quality. When you produce something for consumers to buy, quality must come first. So, I looked for many suppliers and had numerous people test my product. The next step was branding. Once we have the product and the quality is great, we have to brand it. What I want my customers to feel when they look at Valichain is confidence, luxury, and affordable. Therefore, with the price, I decided to not make it too expensive, so everyone, of all ages, can afford it.”

Always pay attention to detail and think carefully

“Another important matter to think about is the packaging. Being an influencer, we get a lot of PR packages, and when we receive aesthetic packaging, it makes us want to pick up our phones and take a photo. I want my customers to be wowed as soon as they open our box. I always look at it from the customer’s point of view because I’ve bought from other places before. Creating a brand isn’t just about sales, you also have to think about what kind of experience the customer will get after purchasing.”

“I didn’t believe it would be successful right at the beginning. However, once the products were released, everything was sold out. It’s still shocking to this day (smiles) because before Valichain launched, I’ve always consulted people about whether I should keep extra products in stock in case we couldn’t produce enough in time. But after I realised that wasn’t an issue. The real problem is the platform we choose to sell on. Before we switched to Shopee and Lazada, we were using Line OA. There were many problems. We would receive around 800 messages on the first day, and if you don’t answer fast enough, the customers will scold you. We only had 2 admins. But after switching to Lazada and Shopee, we don’t have to answer these messages ourselves, which is much better.”

On the development of her identity and work ethics

“Valichain is now two and a half years old, and we have more employees. But having more staff doesn’t mean I go off and do other things. I still have to manage the store all the time. Everyone is waiting for my decision. Therefore, I believe time management is very important. For example, around 3 to 4 days of the week, I’ll devote myself to Valichain. The remaining days will be for me, Valentine. Owning a brand means you manage others while being an influencer, I have to manage myself. The life of an influencer is really a one-man show. I must think of content ideas, film them, become my own stylist, and edit them myself. I could hire someone to help, but it’s not the same. They won’t understand the idea like I do.”

“Honestly, I’ve grown up a lot. I’m not the same anymore. Valentine 3 years ago compared to now isn’t the same person at all. You can even ask my friends. I go out less. After work, I want to go home. I’ve become more of an introvert. However, I feel like I have more clarity when it comes to decision-making. It’s much easier for me to say ‘no.’ And that’s because I feel that my time is limited. I have to choose the best for myself every day.”

Live a life where you know that happiness doesn’t need to occur every day

“Maybe I have this mindset because I started it all from scratch. I didn’t come from a family with lots of money. I didn’t even study abroad. But all I knew was that I didn’t want to live a difficult life. If I fell, I’d have no one to pick me up. So, I have to work hard. But this is what gives me strength to wake up and go to work every day.”

“I truly believe that in life you cannot be happy every day. If I thought that I had to be happy every day, the days that I am not, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. So, if we move past the idea that we have to be happy every day and look at problems as lessons and not run away from them, I believe that’s the best way to live life. Valichain has taught me many things, one of which is to always solve problems and not run away. Also, listening to others is the best thing to do. If you listen carefully, you’ll know that everyone is a guru. Even those you don’t want to listen to. We’ll always get something from someone.”

“Valichain is a fashion jewellery brand where I try to release a product every month. And although we’re new to the market, and I do not know much about business, I feel that I’m learning every day. Right now, there are a lot of jewellery brands, but we focus on who we are and the customers. We’re always trying to adjust and do research. For example, we always ask what we need to develop, focus on, or how can we make the brand better. I believe no one should ever stop improving themselves. And that’s what I try for Valichain. I want Valichain to improve, standing as the number jewellery brand constantly.”