Dr. Sari Chairunnisa, Co-Founder & Deputy CEO, Paragon Corp. speaks onstage on June 9, 2025. —Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Business of FashionBack in 1985, Dr. Sari Chairunnisa’s family were facing tough times. Indonesia’s oil export-reliant economy was reeling from the collapse of crude prices, sending shockwaves through every industry. To make ends meet, Sari’s mother, Nurhayati Subakat, decided to set up a family business from her Jakarta home.For years, Nurhayati had worked for Wella, the German haircare company, where she acquired the contacts and know-how to produce cosmetics tailored for Southeast Asia’s most populous nation. At the outset, the business had only five staff—all family—and the first outside employee was a neighbor.But from these humble beginnings was spawned Paragon Corp, Indonesia’s largest cosmetics firm, which today boasts 15,000 employees and a quarter of a domestic beauty market worth $7.4 billion in 2024. It is one of the world’s foremost pioneers of “halal beauty”—products that conform with an Islamic interpretation of ethically sound production and business practices.“Before, U.S. and European brands were the leaders in the Indonesian market,” says Sari, a dermatologist who today serves as Paragon’s deputy CEO. “But then Indonesian women start to realize, ‘OK, we have a different definition of beauty.’”As Paragon enters its 41st year, the firm continues to push boundaries. The company received the 2024 Deloitte Award as one of Indonesia’s Best Managed Companies and is expanding its range of 14 halal beauty brands into the Middle East, with eyes on eventually breaching Europe and…
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