Internship Description
Honey Kang ’26 interned with Byroe, a mission-driven skincare brand rooted in sustainability and upcycling. Byroe transforms food waste into high-performance beauty ingredients, championing ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility. As a marketing and strategic initiatives intern, Kang supported brand storytelling around clean beauty, conducted market research on sustainable skincare trends, and co-developed campaign assets focused on ingredient transparency. Her work contributed to amplifying Byroe’s message across digital platforms while aligning purpose with product.
At Byroe, a New York‑based beauty company known for plant‑based formulations and sustainability, I worked at the intersection of sustainability, beauty, and strategic brand storytelling. The goal was to strengthen Byroe’s brand narrative and ensure its eco‑conscious values were effectively communicated to consumers and partners. I developed sustainability storytelling campaigns that highlighted the company’s ethical sourcing and production practices. I assisted with social‑media strategy and execution, helping increase engagement with a community that values wellness and ethical beauty. I also contributed to stakeholder communications, aligning internal teams and external partners around the brand’s sustainability positioning. These projects advanced Byroe’s mission of offering high‑quality, socially responsible beauty products and reinforced its authenticity in a crowded market.
My Columbia MBA provided the marketing and strategy tools I needed. Courses in Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, and Brand Management offered frameworks for consumer insights, positioning, and differentiation that I applied to campaign development. My previous experience in global sales and marketing informed how to tell stories across cultures, and my MBA training in communications and stakeholder management helped me develop cohesive internal and external messaging.
Operating in a fast‑paced start‑up was challenging. With limited resources and evolving priorities, I had to be adaptable and proactive, often stepping outside my initial scope. Balancing creative storytelling with factual sustainability communications also required iteration to ensure transparency without losing emotional appeal. Measuring the impact of early‑stage campaigns was difficult due to limited data, so I worked to establish metrics that will guide future decisions.
This fellowship deepened my understanding of how to align mission, brand, and consumer engagement. I saw how authenticity and values‑driven strategies foster loyalty in the beauty sector. I leave inspired to pursue a career that combines marketing, strategy, and sustainability and grateful for the opportunity to work alongside a visionary founder and team.