The face mask brands under Rentas Health undergo very strict quality certifications by the respective authorities.
KUCHING (July 12): Medical equipment manufacturer Rentas Health Sdn Bhd (Rentas Health) believes personal protective equipment (PPE), especially face masks, will remain relevant in the next couple of years.
According to managing director Kelly Teoh, this comes in spite of the changes to standard operating procesures (SOPs) with regards to wearing face masks effective May 1, 2022 in line with Malaysia’s transition to an endemic phase.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, although there were various mask options available, we found that a lot of people did not feel very comfortable wearing them,” she said to The Borneo Post in an exclusive interview.
Kelly Teoh
“A lot of the masks were imported or OEM (original equipment manufacturer) products from factories that may or may not have been properly certified by the standards authorities.”
These led Teoh, via Rentas Health, to look into bringing her own quality premium brand into the Malaysian market.
“At first, I didn’t like wearing a mask because it was uncomfortable and my skin was sensitive to the rough material.
“That’s when I thought, why not design a mask myself, using good-quality materials and following manufacturing best practices?” she enthused.
“The face mask brands under Rentas Health undergo very strict quality certifications by the respective authorities, which some of our competitors have not.”
Today, the Callie brand under Rentas Health is seeing increasing visibility across the majority of the offline retail chains as well as online sales channels.
“At this stage, our star product is the one with copper coating so that it is self sterilising,” she said, referring to its new line of face masks with quantum coating self-sterilising technology, whereby the material on the mask is able to filter out 99.99 per cent of the Covid-19 virus.
Today, the Callie brand under Rentas Health is seeing increasing visibility across the majority of the offline retail chains as well as online sales channels.
When asked if she felt pressured to lower their mask prices, Teoh had this to say:
“Do I feel pressured to lower down our prices, with our competitive edge? We did listen to our customers and hence came up with a lower range at a lower price.
“However our star product is still our most premium quality one. This shows that our target group is really not price sensitive,” she added.
“Eventhough we are pressured into doing something cheaper, it shows that our customers want premium quality masks and they don’t mind about the pricing of it.”
This observation also encouraged Rentas Health to come up with themed masks for festive seasons, such as the recent Callie Raya collection — a series of comfortable, fashionable and colourful masks that continues to uphold strict standards during this festive season.
“Callie is on the forefront of this initiative, combining fashion industry-inspired style, world-recognised substance, and cutting-edge science to create beautiful protection for any and every occasion,” Teoh said.
“Beyond highly-certified medical-grade masks, we position ourselves to be a human-centric brand that blends exceptional safety, outstanding wearability and exuberant design, making its creations an essential part of every lifestyle.”
As for demand for kids masks — a product Rentas Health has been producing from the very beginning — Teoh saw demand spiking as children are returning to school physically.
As for demand for kids masks — a product Rentas Health has been producing from the very beginning — Teoh saw demand spiking as children are returning to school physically.
“As students are going back to school, we can see demand spiking. We know that parents are looking for the best quality for their kids to have extra protection.”
“We are always trying to target different groups of the market, but right now we’re trying to target the masses because our current market now is so niche.
“So, we are always doing something different, but we will need a lot of R&D and hard work. Let’s see how it goes within these two years.”
Teoh reaffirmed her belief that consumers will still be cautious and continue wearing masks, not just for Covid but for overall protection against viruses and such.
“So I think people’s mindset have changed towards being more cautious, careful and mindful of their responsibility towards society.
“I think, definitely, the market will still be there,” she concluded.