The influence of food and drink in beauty is expanding beyond nutrients into delicacies and luxuries, which is where brands like Cuvée Beauty come in. Meanings for the word cuvée range from a wine vat to a batch of champagne, making Cuvée Beauty a rather fitting name for a beauty brand with ‘champagne extracts’ (gathered one batch at a time) as the hero ingredient.
Here, beauty entrepreneur Rachel Katzman shares a profile of herself and her effervescent brand.
Name: Rachel Katzman
Indie Beauty Company: Cuvée Beauty
Launched: November 2016
Headquarters: New York, New York
Cash flow: We do not share financial information. However, we are really proud of the fact that we have established excellent online retail partners such as Revolve, Dermstore, and Cult Beauty that are big supporters of our brand.
Team work: 5 full-time employees, 4 part-time, and multiple external partners that help us manage our business.
Distribution: Cuvée Beauty is distributed online only right now [through the brand's own ecommerce site]. Additional distribution online is through Revolve.com, Dermstore.com, CultBeauty.com.
Years in beauty: 3
Years at Cuvée Beauty: 3
Entrepreneurial experience: This is my first company.
The business: Cuvée Beauty is a luxury haircare brand that provides efficacious solutions for simple, effortless style.
The wow-factor: Cuvée Beauty provides haircare products that are easy-to-use with guaranteed results for everyday gorgeous hair. Our proprietary Cuvée Complex technology is in every product and contains luxurious, skincare-grade ingredients that are clinically-proven.
The customer: Women, 18-45 that want easy and effortless style that gives women confidence no matter where life takes them. Our product line is also unisex; and guys love it too.
Milestone moment: We are proud of the outstanding performance of our products that was validated through a series of independent clinical studies and consumer panel feedback. Even at this early stage, we have received some outstanding product reviews that are posted on our website. By really paying attention to their feedback, we know our customers are happy and that means we’re doing something right. This is everything to us.
Advice for fellow indie beauty entrepreneurs: Stay true to your vision, don’t let anybody try to steer you in a different direction. If anyone ever tells you 'no', keep going! If it was easy, someone would have done it already.
Just one: Asked about her go-to product, Katzman says it is Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer. I can make myself look awake and fresh in 5 minutes.