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View all search resultsHerbal cosmetics pioneer Martha Tilaar dies at 89
Born on Sept. 4, 1937, Martha Tilaar established her beauty business in 1970 by opening a salon at her parents’ home on Jl. Kusuma Atmaja in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
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Martha Tilaar receives the 2018 SDG Pioneers award from the United Nations Global Compact at the UN headquarters in New York for advancing sustainability through community engagement. (Martha Tilaar Group/- )
M
artha Tilaar, the founder of one of Indonesia’s best-known cosmetics brands, died on Wednesday at the age of 89, leaving behind a business empire built around traditional Indonesian beauty treatments and herbal ingredients.
Her death was announced by her family and the official Instagram account of Martha Tilaar, as her body was lying in repose at the Patra Kuningan funeral home in South Jakarta.
She had been hospitalized for about nine days after initially experiencing asthma, her eldest son, Bryan Tilaar, said, as reported by CNN Indonesia, as Martha also experienced digestive tract problems accompanied by bleeding, which Bryan said had occurred about a year and a half earlier.
Born on Sept. 4, 1937, Martha established her beauty business in 1970 by opening a salon at her parents’ home on Jl. Kusuma Atmaja in Menteng, Central Jakarta. She later opened Martha Griya Salon, where she began incorporating traditional herbal-based treatments into her beauty services.
Her business subsequently expanded beyond salon services into cosmetics and other beauty products, helping bring traditional Indonesian beauty practices into the modern consumer market.
Martha cofounded PT Martina Berto with business partners Bernard Pranata and Theresia Harsini Setiady, a founder of the Kalbe Group. The company introduced Sariayu as a beauty and modern herbal medicine brand, followed by other brands including Cempaka, Jamu Martina, Pesona, Biokos Martha Tilaar, Caring Colours Martha Tilaar and Belia Martha Tilaar.
Martina Berto, which handles cosmetics production and marketing, expanded into several other businesses, including PT Cedefindo, which provides manufacturing and contract production services; and PT Martha Beauty Gallery, which operates the Puspita Martha International School for beauty education.
