Carol’s Daughter, the L’Oréal-owned textured haircare brand, is making some changes for their 30th anniversary next year. This includes a European expansion and a diffusion line catered to Gen-Z. As beauty and hair markets grow enormously saturated, these changes are expected to boost sales and strengthen brand differentiation against competition.
Carol’s daughter was a first-mover in the natural haircare market. Founded in 1993 by Lisa Price, the natural hair brand fought to deliver quality products to a forgotten demographic. It came before popular brands such as Melanin, Pattern, and Mielle. Even today, black consumers are often an afterthought in global beauty markets. Still, a myriad of advancements have been made to further the discussion around natural curls, coils and kinks.
Being a trailblazer comes with its benefits, but is rarely free of drawbacks. L’Oréal obtained ownership of Carol’s Daughter in 2014, which sparked backlash from former and current consumers. The brand struggled to hold on to the authenticity and DNA of a Black-founded business, despite operating under a white-owned corporate enterprise. Customers and social media users argued that Price was working with the same mechanisms that perpetuate historically powerful structures that operate against and disregard Black Americans.
In order to connect more with social media tools, Carol’s Daughter is updating their marketing strategy to appeal more to a younger demographic. According to Anne Garrison, global marketing vice president of Carol’s Daughter, net sales have doubled in the last three years, with the top selling Goddess Strength line launched in 2020. A second Gen-Z centered line is expected to launch in the U.S. soon. Price said, “I’ve always sold and made and promoted what I believed in, what I used in my own home,” Price said. “I think people see that. They see that you love what you do.”
L’Oréal’s European business development directors, Garrison and Izar Hyacinthe aim to double sales again over the next three years. In two weeks the company will launch a new range that targets a younger audience through Tiktok and Snapchat. This plan will emphasize gender fluidity and hair experimentation.
Inspired by success in the US market, Carol’s Daughter landed in UK drugstore Superdrug which partnered with Black-owned, Paris and London-based creative agency Haiti 73, this month. Advancements in the coming years are reliant on upkeeping relevance with the paramount shifts happening in haircare markets pertaining to Gen-Z.
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