Indie Beauty Profile
Michal Berski, Curlsmith
Curlsmith aims to standout in the market place by being different, but not entirely so. Like that of many indie beauty brands today, the Curlsmith story is a story about natural ingredients and clean formulations. It’s a brand backed by entrepreneurial passion and built to meet a consumer need.
Here, Berski shares a profile of himself and the Curlsmith brand.
Name: Michal Berski, CEO
Indie Beauty Company: Curlsmith
Launched: January 2018
Headquarters: New York, NY
Cash flow: Curlsmith is 85% owned by the founders. Curlsmith received an investment from A-list celebrities such as rapper J. Cole and entertainment moguls Mai and James Lassiter (Overbrook Entertainment).
We sold $1.5M of products within the first 12 months and are on track to make $4M this financial year.
Indie how? Indie brands can’t be delineated by metrics, they are greater than the sum of their parts. They are an extension of the founder’s vision, taking the essence of the person and embedding it into their communities. Indie brands express founder’s beliefs, purpose, attitude and mentality of innovating on existing ideas.
Indie beauty brands have a passion (lots of it!), personal touch to their products and capitalize on common values they share with customers.
Team work: 9 employees
Distribution: Curlsmith is sold in North America and Europe through our own ecommerce site curlsmith.com and at select retailers, including Ulta Beauty (both online and in all 1,200 stores), QVC, Zalando (EU), Feelunique (EU), ICI Paris (EU), Indulge Beauty (EU), and independent boutiques.
Years in beauty: 15 years (L’Oreal, Unilever, Procter & Gamble)
Entrepreneurial experience: This is my first company.
The business: Curlsmith is the first gourmet haircare brand specifically created for curly and wavy [hair]. We developed our hard-working curl care range in collaboration with world-renowned trichologists, curly hairstylists, beauty experts, and bloggers. We explored everything from the science of curl growth to the art of curl maintenance, and poured all of this knowledge into Curlsmith.
The wow-factor: Our mission is to feed the world’s curls. Inspired by…generations of homemade hair remedies, we blend fresh curl-loving foods with kitchen cupboard staples, state-of-the-art actives, and rare organic ingredients to make premium products that really work. Our natural formulas are fragrant, satisfying and deeply nourishing ‘food for curls.’
The consumer: We were born as a curly hair brand, as this segment is highly under-represented by the industry at the moment. We cater to all type of curls, from the lightest wave to the tightest coils.
Milestone moment: We were very proud to learn that Curlsmith styled some very popular, A-List curls at Rihanna’s Diamond Ball and Jay Z’s Brunch.
Advice for fellow beauty entrepreneurs: Be a contrarian. Do things drastically different and better from the way it is done today.
Just one: Asked about his go-to product, Berski says it’s Curlsmith’s Souffle Styling Gel; it never fails, perfect in high and low humidity.
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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.
