Heela Yang CEW 2025 Achiever Honoree
Photo of Heela Yang

How a Liberating Feeling on a Brazilian Beach Inspired a Beauty Brand That Connects with Consumers

As co-founder and CEO of Sol de Janeiro, Heela Yang has grown along with her mega-hit brand over the past 10 years. Inspired by Yang’s time living in Brazil, the body care line’s cheekily named Brazilian Bum Bum Cream was a sensation from the jump, becoming a best-seller at Sephora just a few months after its launch. Here, she highlights handling fast growth, the importance of brand DNA and customer expansion, the winding, unexpected path of her career, and how her personal practice of Transcendental Meditation improved her health.

This content is exclusively open to CEW Members

Join CEW for unlimited access to articles, industry reports, and more.

Benefits include:

  • Invitations to members-only industry events
  • Connect with 8,000+ industry contacts globally
  • CEW Beauty News & proprietary trend reports
  • Exclusive networking opportunities

Sign Up

Related Articles