In beauty now, there are plenty of fragrances that are neither hers nor his, there is an array of skin care brands making product for people, makeup is fair game for anyone, and androgynous brands are embraced and rejected in equal measure. It is this marketplace into which Non Gender Specific has arrived—with one product: The Everything Serum. Will this be the beginning of something indelible or the forgettable generic of a new generation?
In either case, here, the beauty entrepreneur shares a profile of himself and the brand.
Name: Andrew Glass, Founder
Indie Beauty Company: Non Gender Specific
Launched: January 2018
Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
Cash flow: Non Gender Specific is 100% self-funded and owned by me. We have not received any funding from crowd funding or business accelerator programs.
During our first quarter in business, we sold over 20,000 bottles of our debut product, the Everything Serum! This is a huge accomplishment for any brand, and we couldn’t be more excited!
Indie how? We define “Indie Beauty Brands” as small and/or privately owned brands that are bringing innovation to the market. A brand that is showcasing a new voice that offers a different outlook on the industry.
Team work: 1 full-time employee
Distribution: Non Gender Specific is distributed globally through our ecommerce website nongenderspecific.com and at select retailers including Credo Beauty, Anise Apothecary, well.ca, and Clean Beauty Mart.
Years in beauty: 10 years
Years at Non Gender Specific: Since launching the brand in January
Entrepreneurial experience: Previously I helped launch a successful men’s skincare brand and ran that company for 4 years. This year, I’ve also launched a second beauty company in the personal waxing space.
The business: Non Gender Specific has 3 goals: To be the brand for all humans. To reduce consumer waste by creating multi-functional formula’s that cover a wide-range of skin concerns. And to create natural, vegan and cruelty-free products that are efficacious.
The wow-factor: We are paving the way for a new segment in beauty, gender-neutral. What sets us apart is who we market our products too. We recognize that most of our customers are male and female, but there are over 70 known gender-identities, and we market ourselves to all genders.
The customer: Our target consumer is literally every human – the only qualification to using our product is that you must have skin!
Milestone moment: We recently won the Clean Beauty Award for the Gender-Neutral category, and that was very exciting for us!
Advice for fellow beauty entrepreneurs: Don’t give up! You will probably be told “no” and “that is a horrible idea” a million times before the brand takes off but believe in your vision and follow your intuition. If you do that you will make it through the tough times!
Just one: Asked about his go-to product, Glass says, The Everything Serum.
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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.