Bozoma Saint John launches Eve by Boz hair brand
Good morning! Melania Trump recruits advisers from her first stint as first lady, Whoopi Goldberg announces a women’s sports network, and Bozoma Saint John launches its own brand first time. Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday.
– Hair for it. Bozoma Saint John is known for branding some of the world’s most influential companies; Apple, Uber, Netflix, etc. For the first time, the former CMO is now building a brand of his own, Luck was the first to report. This morning, Saint John is launching Eve by Boz, a line of wigs and hair care products.
Saint John, 47, left his last full-time role at Netflix in early 2022 and has since publish a memoir that recounts her personal story of losing her husband to cancer and losing her premature daughter; keep up with her 500,000 Instagram followers; And has joined the cast of the upcoming season The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. “I thought I would come back for another year in a different position within the company, but that year was truly transformative for me,” she said.
Instead, in the spring of 2023, Saint John began forming its own project. There are many hair care brands, but she saw an opportunity in the wig category. “There really isn’t a voice in the production process for women of color and black women, who are consuming the majority of the products,” she said. She went to Guangzhou, China to attend a hair show, where she and her hair stylist met with 40 suppliers. She has traveled throughout Asia, where the wig industry is located. She questioned why the lace attached to wigs is often light in color. “They said, ‘Because no one asked us to do it differently,’” she recalls.
Courtesy of Bob’s Eve
Saint John refused to fund his venture and put “several million” of his own money into the brand. “I’ve worked for enough big companies and have a lot of stocks in a lot of places,” she said. “It was time to reinvest in myself and that’s what I decided to do. Plus, I can have full control. I don’t want anyone to tell me what to do.”
She currently has 10 employees and a total of about 50 people working for the brand, along with a retail store in Accra, Ghana, where the brand is manufacturing its products (while still working with manufacturers). supply in Asia). Eve by Boz will launch 171 products, covering all possible wig combinations in five hair types, five lengths and three lace colors. The wigs will sell for between $650 and $2,100, with products including shampoo and hair conditioner selling for between $35 and $50. The company’s products are available for purchase through its website, and Saint John said she is not interested in selling through retail channels beyond her own stores.
Building his own brand drew on some of the skills Saint John had built while working at corporate America. “What I really love about branding is finding the emotional connection between what the product is and the consumer,” she says. So really, it doesn’t matter if it’s a ride-sharing service or a music streaming service or a soft drink—the emotional conversation you have with the consumer is magic. It is very sacred.”
Saint John will soon reach a new audience with her first season The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills broadcast. While many women appeared on Housewives franchises use the platform to promote their brands—from the original business-minded star Bethenny Frankel new Housewives performer Jenna Lyons And Rebecca Minkoff—Saint John says the timing was a happy accident. “I started this brand before there was any conversation about Housewivesshe said. “But I would be ignorant to think that such a platform couldn’t be useful.”
Saint John aims to differentiate its brand from competitors with attention to detail, such as shipping wigs in reusable silk caps instead of plastic packaging. While she wants to own the category, she also hopes the brand’s focus on consumers will cause competitors to improve how they serve their customers. “I don’t want to have to go on YouTube or Google and watch 14 million videos of black women and women of color in the kitchen dyeing lace to match their skin,” she said. “My intention is that other companies will see the success of this company and will follow suit.”
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
The daily newsletter of the most powerful women is Luck’is a daily briefing about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition is curated by Nina Ajemian. Order This.
ALSO IN THE TITLE
– Team building. Melania Trump will tap Goldman Sachs executive John Rogers to help her staff as she retakes the position of First Lady. Rogers had worked with her before, serving as an informal adviser during her husband’s final term as president. Semafor
– Family drama. Before leaving Estée Lauder, Jane Lauder sent a letter to board members calling for the replacement of her cousin, executive chairman William Lauder. Jane Lauder sent this letter after she was not selected as the next CEO of her family’s cosmetics company. Wall Street Journal
– New network. Whoopi Goldberg is launching the All-Women’s Sports Network, a global sports channel focused exclusively on women’s sports in the United States, this week. The channel will be available in 65 countries and has launched in Asia and the Middle East. “If a woman plays it, we show it,” Goldberg said. TheGrio
– Who runs the world? Yale University will offer a course on Beyoncé and her legacy as an artist called “Beyoncé Making History: Black Traditions, Culture, Theory & Radical Politics Through through music”. The class will open to students next spring, and its syllabus covers the 2013 to 2024 release of Beyoncé’s self-titled album. cowboy Carter. Guardian
MOVING MACHINERY AND SHAKING MACHINE
Oglethorpe Power, a power and energy company, was appointed Annalisa Bloodworth as president and CEO. She was previously the company’s SVP and general counsel.
AEG Presents, a live music and events company, is named Angie Rho senior vice president, global touring. Most recently, she was head of sales at Creative Artists Agency.
TEGNA, a news and marketing company, was appointed Dhanusha Sivajee as SVP and chief experience officer.
Trax Retail, a retail data company, is named Kendra Ricenbaw customer experience director. Most recently, she was head of support at Gusto.
Paragon Space Development Corporation, a developer of systems for extreme environments, has been appointed Julie Van Kleeck to its board of directors. Previously, she served as Vice President of Propulsion and Space Business at Aerojet Rocketdyne.
ON MY RADAR
Martha Stewart still doesn’t feel understood Wall Street Journal
Emma Chamberlain is reconsidering her dream job New York Times
Mocking men in China comes at a high price Wall Street Journal
FAREWELL WORDS
“OHAt one point, I almost realized that I wasn’t successful regardless. I was successful because of that.”
— Vivian Tu of “Your Rich BFF” above is a feminine financial influencer
