Gel Bras or Bust
By Tom Lee

Sometimes a little extra padding can make all the difference in the business world. Alice Chang would know—she took that idea to heart and ran with it to stake out her own claim in the highly lucrative $2.2 billion padded bra industry. Now, with more than 10 years of experience, Bragel International, Inc.—the company run by Chang and her husband Jasper—is the foremost authority on silicone-filled bra inserts.

Thanks to Chang’s innovative designs, women can now breathe a sigh of relief. Gone are the days of painful underwires, uncomfortable foam and rubber pads, and leaky water-filled inserts. With Chang’s breast enhancer, women (and some men) can finally achieve that natural lift without that expensive trip to the surgeon.

The gels, made out of silicone enclosed by polyurethane film, can be inserted into bras to create the illusion and feel of a fuller bust. According to Chang, the inserts jiggle so much like real breast tissue, that even if they are felt through clothing, one would not be able to detect the deception.

Chang had never imagined going into the breast enhancement business until, back in 1989, her husband, and engineer brought home some gel samples from a work project. While examining the silicone gels, Chang made a unexpected discovery: “We were laughing about it, playing with it, and then I said, ‘It feels like breast tissue,’” she says.

Upon that revelation, a business was born. Without money or business experience, Chang launched her company in 1989 in a tiny warehouse. Two years later she began to market her product in Taiwan, Japan, Korea and China. However, interest in the silicone enhancers was modest at best.

“Asia is not as good as the U.S. market. People in Asia are more conservative. Even though they know they can be more beautiful, they are content with what they have,” explains Chang.

Undaunted, Chang shifted focus to the United States and sold her breast amplifiers through private labels such as Curves. With infomercials and outlets, such as QVC home shopping channel, Chang’s product was introduced to millions of Americans. Soon the fashion industry took notice and the silicone insert became a favorite accessory to give models and actresses a boost. According to reliable sources in Hollywood, Julia Roberts wore the Bragel enhancers to accentuate her low-cut dresses in the film, Erin Brockovich, Chang says.

Explaining why she didn’t target the U.S. market in the beginning, Chang says: “We thought American women didn’t need [breast enhancement]. Later on we realized we were wrong. They’re more breast conscious and much more open to talking about breast size. We have a much bigger market in the U.S. than anywhere else.”

Even women in the once hesitant Asian market are becoming increasingly interested in accentuating their bustline. “Asian women had some reservations and were resistant in the beginning. They thought it was funny and too weird. Now they are more accepting,” says Chang.

In fact, the Asian market now makes up approximately 20 percent of the Bragel clientele, while the United States and Europe comprise 70 percent of the market.

Even with the Asian market’s acceptance, Chang still sees various trends among the different markets, with Asian women opting for a more conservative look. “Asians tend to like the smaller size [inserts]. They don’t want people to see that they have a dramatic change. But 90 percent of the U.S. sales is for the larger sizes, increasing one and a half to two cup sizes.”

The popularity of Bragel’s products is due to the emerging casualness of sexuality, says Chang. “Women are more concerned about their figure. They’re very open about it. They want to be pretty and sexy but in a more natural way,” she says. “They have no problem showing off their cleavage to get more attention.”

Of course with any product’s success, imitators naturally follow. In 1998 a flood of imitations hit store shelves but that didn’t worry Chang. She is confident her products are superior in quality. Bragel is one of only four manufacturers in the world, which own the patent to the difficult process of encasing silicone into polyurethane film—a technique in which imitators have no access. As a result, Chang says “the knock-offs don’t last because their quality is inferior. The look and the feel is different and the film separates easily. Once it’s delaminated, it looks very saggy and ugly.” And no one wants ugly breasts.

To top the tremendous success of the silicone inserts, Chang expanded her product line to include the Gel Bra, a bra with soft gel pads permanently sewn in. The material used in the Gel Bra is 30 percent lighter than the silicone gel. Available for over a year, the Gel Bra has been a sell-out, with major retail chains such as Felina Lingerie, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue carrying the intimate apparel. Chang, always abreast of the latest trends, will next create a line of gel pad-enhanced swimwear to capitalize on the upcoming summer days.

Eventually Chang hopes the Gel Bra would make the traditional padded bra obsolete. That goal does not seem too far off as revenues for Bragel are expected to hit $5 million in 2000, an almost 70 percent increase from the $3 million Bragel pulled in last year.

But not everyone is benefiting from the gel technology. Chang’s success is also a plastic surgeon’s loss. More and more women are looking toward Bragel’s products as a safe and natural alternative to going under the knife. “We get a lot of mail from women saying because of our products,” she said, “they will not consider surgery anymore.”

Added Chang: “It’s helped a lot of women.”