4 days ago
‘I hope my haircare brand will help more women access sport'
Hard-working property lawyer Bella Kagoma's technique for managing her daughter's hair after swimming led her to an idea that could change her life.
Kagoma's fitness-focused haircare idea won the Rising Star category in the Adobe Express Your Innovation competition. It was run in partnership with Telegraph Media Group, and judged by entrepreneur Paul Lindley, founder of Ella's Kitchen.
Her nascent business targets a gap in the market spotted by Kagoma: a lack of haircare products for active women with Afro-textured hair. If they wash it more than once a week, they can be left with very dry hair, and if they exercise often, they have to deal with sweat build-up between washes. Kagoma says that research (by the Perception Institute) shows that while one in 10 white women don't take part in sports due to worries about its effects on their hair, that figure rises to three in 10 for black women.
Kagoma hopes to get her products into bathrooms across Britain, and believes that Lindley can help her build her own brand, called Kore (pronounced 'core'), after she was named one of the winners of the competition sponsored by Adobe Express, which helps entrepreneurs supercharge their businesses with stand-out socials in seconds, for free.
Kagoma met Lindley on a sunny day in the University of Reading, where he is chancellor. With three children aged eight, three and eight months, Kagoma was keen to learn from Lindley's experience of launching Britain's most successful baby food brand, which now has a global annual turnover of £87 million.
Kagoma, who is currently mixing and testing out formulations in her own kitchen, explains: 'Afro-textured hair requires more maintenance. My haircare line will help people maintain their hair during the week between washes. I hope it will encourage more people to do sport.'
It is a personal journey that led Kagoma to the idea. 'My daughter, who's eight years old, is very active and swims regularly,' she says. 'I do my daughter's hair for school and when she was swimming, I realised that her hair was really dry. It occurred to me there isn't actually anything in the market that looks after Afro-textured hair after fitness.'
Kagoma says she has a good idea of what will go into her final product and is doing a course in formulation so she can design the products herself, an experience similar to Lindley, who started Ella's Kitchen at his own stove while working at the children's TV channel Nickleodeon. With Adobe Express, she can also design her product's logo, label and marketing collateral to get her brand started.
Kagoma's prize includes mentoring sessions with both Lindley and Drucilla Burrell, creative director at Adobe Express. 'I want to understand how it worked for Paul, especially at the beginning, when he was trying to find the right products to bring to market,' she says. 'I'm excited that Adobe is part of the project as well, helping bring ideas to life.'
Lindley believes that businesses started by founders who are immersed in the problem they aim to address tend to have an advantage. He talks of getting to know US entrepreneur Richelieu Dennis, who founded Shea Moisture in the 1990s, which addressed a similar issue. Dennis's business Sundial Brands was sold to Unilever in 2017 for $1.6 billion (£1.2 billion).
'The products out there do not address the problem that Bella's found,' says Lindley. 'There's a gap in the market because of the clear focus of who the consumers are.' He adds that his own failure in the cosmetics market taught him important lessons that he can pass on.
'I've started two businesses, and Ella's Kitchen was very successful,' says Lindley. 'But I also started a business called Paddy's Bathroom (Ella is my daughter, Paddy is my son), which was personal care products for children with a very similar vibe and brand positioning to Ella's Kitchen.'
Paddy's Bathroom launched into the big supermarkets but failed to cut through and make a profit. 'I learnt a lot from that failure, and a lot about the marketplace,' he explains. Now he hopes he will be able to pass on to Kagoma how price-sensitive the cosmetics category is and what distribution channel is right for her brand. He advises that she should start with a 'lean' approach, and create a minimum viable product, rather than trying to build a factory herself.
'I understand the challenges of that marketplace: getting the price point affordable, getting the distribution, the marketing and the partners all right,' says Lindley, who hopes that he can help Kagoma get the message out to consumers.
Lindley was keen to introduce Kagoma to the University of Reading as it is a leader in research and development for food, beauty products and biomedical devices, and indeed helped him formulate his products for Ella's Kitchen years ago.
'Don't lose your authenticity,' Lindley advises Kagoma. 'Make a note to yourself with 10 things about why you have set your business up so you know why you are doing it. That will guide you, especially when difficult decisions need to be made.'
When asked who she sees as the ideal role model for her business, Kagoma replies: 'I think it's me. I am a busy mum of three who also has a great day job, and I am juggling everything. I want to show my children what can be achieved.'
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