From Jeju Island to Harvard: The Science Behind RIMAN's Next-Generation Ingredient, Araliadiol

RIMAN Founder & Chairman Joonghyun Ahn and Dr. Jiwon Seo at the Harvard Science and Engineering Center with Professor Samir Mitragotri, marking the beginning of a sponsored research collaboration advancing Araliadiol through organ-on-a-chip technology. (Source: PR Newswire )

As your Australian RIMAN distributor, we're always watching what's happening at the forefront of K-beauty science — and right now, something extraordinary is unfolding. On 13 April 2026, RIMAN's parent company made history at the Harvard Science & Engineering Complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

ASK Company (RIMAN's parent company) officially launched a sponsored research collaboration with the Mitragotri Lab at Harvard University, one of the world's foremost bioengineering research centres. The focus? Advancing the fundamental understanding of Araliadiol — a novel bioactive compound that sits at the heart of RIMAN's next generation of skincare innovation.

The Ingredient: Araliadiol and the Heritage of Giant BYoungPool

To understand why this research matters, you first need to know about Giant BYoungPool — RIMAN's signature heritage ingredient, grown exclusively at the RIMAN Jeju Smart Farm on Jeju Island, South Korea.

Giant BYoungPool is an advanced cultivar of Centella Asiatica — one of the most celebrated plants in Korean skincare history. It holds a 20-year Plant Variety Protection granted by the Korea Forest Service (2022) and the US Department of Agriculture (2025), recognising it as a uniquely protected and proprietary variety. RIMAN manages every step of its journey, from cultivation in the volcanic soils of Jeju to the final product you hold in your hands.

Araliadiol is a novel active compound identified and isolated from Giant BYoungPool using ASK Company's own proprietary extraction and purification technology. Even at low concentrations, Araliadiol has demonstrated remarkable biological benefits:

• Anti-inflammatory effects — helping to calm and soothe reactive skin

• Antioxidant activity — reducing reactive oxygen species (free radicals) that accelerate skin ageing

• Overall skin improvement — supporting a healthier, more resilient complexion

  
  

Already Validated by Leading Korean Universities

Before reaching Harvard, Araliadiol was already the subject of rigorous scientific study in Korea. Through collaborative research with Sungkyunkwan University and Konkuk University — two of South Korea's most prestigious institutions — ASK Company's researchers elucidated Araliadiol's mechanism of action and confirmed strong cell-protective effects and differentiated efficacy.

A synthetic production process for pure Araliadiol has also been developed, ensuring the ingredient can be scaled safely and consistently for use in cosmetic formulations — a critical step in bringing a novel ingredient from lab to shelf.

The Harvard Collaboration: Taking It Further with Organ-on-a-Chip Technology

With that foundation in place, ASK Company has now entered into a sponsored research collaboration with the Mitragotri Lab at Harvard, led by Professor Samir Mitragotri — the Hiller Professor of Bioengineering and Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

The agreement ceremony on 13 April was attended by Professor Mitragotri, Mr. Joonghyun Ahn (Founder & Chairman of RIMAN/ASK Company), and Dr. Jiwon Seo (Researcher, RIMAN/ASK Company), marking the official launch of the collaboration.

The research will use organ-on-a-chip technology — a biomimetic platform that replicates human physiological environments on microchips, allowing scientists to observe biological responses with extraordinary accuracy. Using this model, the research team will evaluate Araliadiol with a specific focus on:

• Skin regeneration

• Hair growth through follicular cell activation

  
  

This is not laboratory testing in the traditional sense. Organ-on-a-chip mimics the way living human tissue actually responds — giving researchers insights that surface-level testing simply cannot provide.

What This Means for You

"This research collaboration marks a significant milestone in our R&D journey. We aim to validate the efficacy of Araliadiol and establish it as a functional ingredient in the beauty market." — Joonghyun Ahn, Founder & Chairman, RIMAN/ASK Company

For RIMAN customers in Australia, this is a meaningful moment. Every product in the RIMAN range is built on the foundation of genuine ingredient science — and this collaboration is evidence that the work continues, at the highest levels of global research.

When you choose RIMAN, you're choosing skincare rooted in a heritage ingredient from Jeju Island, validated by Korean universities, and now being advanced at Harvard. That's K-beauty innovation at its most serious.

As your Australian RIMAN distributor, we're proud to bring these scientifically advanced formulations to your doorstep. Explore our full range at www.rimankbeauty.com.au, or visit our official RIMAN distributor page at kellybetterme.riman.com, and follow us on Facebook & Instagram @rimankbeautyaustralia to stay updated as this research progresses.