We spoke with Gerard Prats, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Saigu Cosmetics, to learn more about how this company has evolved from its beginnings as an e-commerce site into an integrated project that combines product, retail, and community. In this interview, Gerard shares the story of Saigu, its focus on in-house product development, its vision of beauty, and the challenges they face with expansion and internationalization. He also discusses how constant work in the lab and direct relationships with consumers have been key to the brand’s success. A conversation about innovation, customer proximity, and the importance of authenticity in the beauty industry.
1. Name, position, and company
Gerard Prats, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Saigu Cosmetics.
2. Tell us about the company you work for. What is its story?
Saigu is a company that has evolved beyond an e-commerce platform to become a project where product, retail, and community coexist. It started in 2019 as a product-focused e-commerce and has grown over time into a much broader and direct way of connecting with people.
From the start, we were clear that we wanted to develop products internally in Barcelona and manufacture locally, because for us, the product is not just the final result but the entire process behind it. Being able to choose raw materials, work hand in hand with the laboratory, and understand how each formula reacts… that gives us control and a capacity for iteration that is key. And by being direct to consumer, we have a very close relationship with our buyers, which allows us to fine-tune what we do to what people really need.
In the end, more than being a makeup company, I think Saigu is a company obsessed with creating products that truly work in people’s daily lives, with a very Mediterranean and real aesthetic and understanding of beauty.
3. What does your day-to-day look like at the company?
My day-to-day is quite chaotic, in a good way. My main focus is product, meaning making sure that what we bring to market is at the highest possible level. This involves constantly looking at what’s happening outside, which trends make sense and which don’t, what gaps there are, what we’re doing well and what we’re not, and how we bring all of that into our brand universe.
I spend a lot of time in the lab, reviewing developments, touching formulas, and seeing how they evolve, but also talking to other departments to understand what’s happening from all angles.
Then there’s another part that’s more about representing the brand, building relationships, and connecting with people in the industry… it’s not something I force, but it naturally happens when you’re building something from scratch.
4. What is your unique value proposition?
If I had to sum it up, I would say that we manage to achieve that “I look better” effect in a very easy way. It may sound trivial, but it’s not.
Creating products that work quickly, that don’t require technique, that look good on different skin types — oily, dry, acne-prone, rosacea, more mature — and still have a beautiful, natural result is quite complex. There’s a lot of work behind formulation and decisions that are not visible.
I think this is where we really bring value, in making something that is actually difficult, easy.
5. What challenges do you think you’ll face in the next few years?
We have several challenges, but two are clear. One is the expansion of our own retail: doing it in an organized, sustainable way that truly adds to the brand, not just in revenue, but also in experience.
The other is internationalization, which for me is almost an exercise in humility: going abroad and seeing if what we’ve built makes sense in other markets, if it connects the same way, or if we need to relearn things.
Both are about growing without losing what makes us different.
6. What does being part of the Beauty Cluster as an entity bring you, and what does it bring you professionally?
For us, it’s very useful in a practical sense. It’s access to information, conversations, and people who are going through the same thing as you. You avoid mistakes, understand the context better, and also realize that you’re not alone in many decisions.
And from an industry perspective, I think it’s important to start seeing ourselves less as competitors and more as part of a whole. The stronger the Spain beauty brand, the easier it will be for everyone to grow abroad.
7. Back to you. How did you land in the beauty sector?
Honestly, it wasn’t something I had planned. I studied chemistry, but I was pretty clear that I didn’t want to stay in a lab doing pure research.
Looking for that middle ground, I found the master’s program in dermopharmacy and cosmetology at the University of Barcelona, which mixed science with a more business-oriented vision, and that’s where I connected with the industry.
From there, I started working in raw materials, then moved to makeup manufacturing, understanding from the inside how products are built, and that journey led me to start Saigu. It wasn’t a one-day decision; it was more about fitting pieces together until it made sense to do it.
8. Speaking of beauty, how would you define it?
For me, beauty is completely tied to health. I don’t understand beautiful skin as perfect skin, but as skin that looks cared for, balanced, and reflects that there’s work behind it.
And there’s also an important part of acceptance, understanding what you have and how to live with it. I think beauty has much more to do with that than trying to fit into a standard.
9. Any hobby, superpower, or hidden passion you want to share?
CrossFit is very important to me. I train in the mornings, and it’s literally the moment I stop everything. It helps me clear my head, reset, and start the day with a different energy.
With the pace we have, it’s pretty necessary to have something like that.
10. What’s the last book you read or movie you watched?
I recently finished the Stormlight Archive saga, which are very long and intense books, and I’m in that “grieving” phase because you get so immersed in the story.
And the last movie I watched was Project Salvation, based on the book Project Hail Mary, which I also highly recommend.
11. Business is based on…
For me, it’s about human relationships. It’s about listening, understanding, knowing how to give and also how to receive.
Everything else — product, strategy, numbers — is important, but if there’s no real foundation between people, it’s very difficult for something to work in the long run. I always try to bring the business to that level because I believe that’s where the real things happen.
