Stocked In Superdrug And Boots, British Haircare Brand Flora & Curl Rebrands As It Eyes US Distribution

American-loved British natural haircare brand Flora & Curl has undergone a rebrand as it eyes retail distribution in the United States.

The purpose of the revamp, which cost nearly $170,000 including product development and marketing, was to enhance Flora & Curl’s brand identity and sustainability. Aside from pumps, it’s ditched plastic in its packaging and has become 90% plastic-free. The brand’s bottles are aluminum and bursting with color—there’s blue, orange, pink and more—and floral and plant graphics that highlight its key botanical ingredients such as rose water and hibiscus flower. The formulas of seven of its 17 products were upgraded, too.

Flora & Curl founder Rose Ovensehi says, “When customers see our products on the shelves, they’ll know exactly what we’re all about.”

Flora & Curl is stocked at Boots and Superdrug stores across the United Kingdom and currently ships to more than 80 countries. Ovensehi hopes customers in the U.S. will see its products on shelves close to home soon. Flora & Curl has set its sights on retail partnerships in the country because about 60% of its orders come from the U.S. Ovensehi envisions Floral & Curl landing in U.S. mass-market retailers like Target, CVS and Walgreens. South America is also on Flora & Curl’s distribution roadmap.

Ovensehi says, “We’re selling out on the U.S. site and so that’s why we are looking at U.S. distribution ASAP because we think there’s enough demand to warrant us now being able to manufacture there.”

As part of its revamp, Flora & Curl separated its products into four distinct collections: Hydrate Me, Soothe Me, Style Me and Protect Me. Its bestseller is Sweet Hibiscus Curl Volumizing Foam from the Style Me collection. The brand is conscious about not exploding its assortment.

“It’s just about having basic products that can deliver results using high quality natural ingredients,” says Ovensehi. “A lot of people don’t want to be spending a lot of time on their natural hair, which is fair enough. I think that’s understandable, but what can we do as a company to create a range that makes it really easy and really straightforward”

Ovensehi points to Flora & Curl’s less-is-more approach as a key reason for its success so far. She forecasts the brand’s sales will rise 50% this year. Flora & Curl’s repeat purchase rate is in the 30% to 35% range. Its individual products are priced from $15 to $22.

Ovensehi invested 6,000 pounds or about $8,500 at the current exchange rate to get Flora & Curl off the ground and has taken out three loans since its launch to fund its business. One of the loans was 25,000 pounds or almost $32,000 from Virgin StartUp, a nonprofit offshoot of Virgin. The money allowed Flora & Curl to outsource production to a third-party manufacturer. Another loan was a 50,000 pound or about $63,000 loan from a bank. Both of those loans have been repaid in full.

Ovensehi owns Flora & Curl completely and has 16 employees at the brand. Last year, she secured a 500,000-pound or around $632,000 loan to support its rebrand and fulfill order requirements. Ovensehi says, “It’s a loan that allows us to repay it and draw out funds any time and gives us the flexibility.”

Most of Flora & Curl’s marketing budget is dedicated to Facebook and Google advertising. The brand works with influencers that Ovensehi says “love our mission.” To highlight its rebrand, Flora & Curl collaborated with paid influencers to produce sustainability-centered content that incorporated their washday and styling routines.

Influencers with the handles alyssarxs, who has 109,000 Instagram followers, itsthatezi, who has nearly 60,000 Instagram followers, y.aasmine, who has 109,000 Instagram followers, oliviascurlss, who has about 3,000 Instagram followers, and welshiecurlgirl, who has 187,000 Instagram followers, participated in the campaign.

Flora & Curl’s blog The Curl Hub has been a boon for organic traffic. The blog provides information on beauty topics. Among the titles of posts on it are Top 5 Tips For a Successful Transitioning Hair Journey, How To Care For Your Braids on Wash Day and Aloe Vera: 6 Underestimated Benefits for Dry Natural Hair.

“We want to be a brand that stands for delivering high-quality ingredients, great education and dispelling the myths about all the stereotypes about what is required to take care of textured hair,” says Ovensehi. “So, ultimately, we’re not trying to just sell products. We really want to deliver an experience to elevate the textured haircare routine experience for our customers.”