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MOTHER’S RECIPE

CAROL’S DAUGHTER SELLS UPSCALE BEAUTY PRODUCTS FOR BLACK WOMEN

By Molly Knight

In 1993 Lisa Price, a New York City dweller and mother of two, saw a gaping hole in an underserved market. Dashing straight into her kitchen, she poured and she mixed — soy, jojoba, sweet almond oils, whatever goodies came to hand — until she came up with some concoctions that were delectable, though not edible. Edibility was not what she was after.

Price had noticed a dearth of hair and skin products for black women like herself who want to look and feel great. Those mainstream products she tried were often harsh on her skin type; even the natural alternatives tended to be less effective at moisturizing. So she whipped up her own line of organic skin and hair care products right there at home. She packaged the lotions in baby food jars, hand-wrote the labels and began selling them online and by mail order. Price called the company Carol’s Daughter, in honor of her mother, Carol.

That one-woman, kitchen-based operation has become a $2 million-dollar business that supplies some 350 different products for face, hair, body and home. The merchandise has spread from a nook in Price’s home to filling several warehouses.

After Price opened her first Carol’s Daughter store in New York City’s Fort Green area, in Brooklyn, in 1999, word spread like a wildfire. Realizing it would be difficult to grow the company on her own, in October 2003 she decided to form a partnership with Steve Stoute, a marketing executive. In May 2005 the partners announced that a group of investors, including film stars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, record executives Jimmy Iovine and Tommy Mottola, and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z were to pony up a total of $10 million to take Carol’s Daughter national.

First, the company set out to tackle the New York metropolitan area. In September 2005 Carol’s Daughter opened its flagship store, on 125th Street in New York City’s Harlem. Last fall the company unveiled a kiosk at the Atlantic Terminal, in Brooklyn, and last December, it opened its first mall store, at the Simon Property Group-owned Roosevelt Field Mall, in Garden City, N.Y. “It’s a celebrated name in the beauty industry, so of course we wanted it to come here,” said Nancy Gilbert, area director of marketing for Roosevelt Field. “It’s been a big hit with customers, and we are thrilled to be the mall prototype for such a successful concept.” Now that Carol’s Daughter is firmly rooted in New York, company officials say, plans for expansion to other cities are under way.

In an e-mail to this magazine, Clarisa Wilson, president of Carol’s Daughter wrote: “By the end of 2007, we hope to have 12 stores, and by the end of 2008, we hope to have 24. Our national markets range from locations in [Los Angeles, Washington], Philadelphia and Atlanta. Basically, we are looking at a vast market — coast to coast and in all major metropolitan markets, because that is where our demographic is.” The stores will measure roughly 800 square feet, company officials say. The target customer is still a black woman between 20 and 55 who cannot at present find what she needs inside malls, sources say. Going forward the company will be looking to open mostly at indoor shopping centers.

“We look for progressive malls with a nice balance of urban and upscale retailers,” wrote Wilson, who joined the company in 2004 after serving as general manager of Mizani, a division of L’Oréal USA that is directed toward blacks. “We look for companies that we feel share our demographic, such as [M.A.C.], Coach, Nordstrom and Apple.”

The Roosevelt Field unit is located on the second floor, near the Apple, Macy’s and Nordstrom stores, Gilbert says. Carol’s Daughter is staying tight-lipped about specific plans, but The New York Times reported that the company will open a second mall store at the Simon-owned Newport Centre, in Jersey City, N.J., later this year.

One of the reasons Carol’s Daughter has been successful is that its founder is so connected to the product, sources say. “Skin and hair care is very personal, and the owner does a great job of standing by her product,” said Gilbert. “Customers see testimonials from her, as well as celebrities, and they feel more at ease. It’s just a very comfortable environment.”

Celebrity endorsement is a big part of what makes the company’s reputation among consumers, sources say. Jada Pinkett Smith and pop music icon Mary J. Blige are the current faces of the company’s ad campaign. On the Web site, Pinkett Smith says Lisa’s Hair Elixir — a blend of soy, almond and peppermint oils that retails for $18 — is what helped her grow her hair so long. Blige says she uses Ocean Shea Soufflé, a lightweight cocoa-butter moisturizer that goes for $30, to “feel soft and sexy.” To prove that men enjoy Carol’s Daughter products too, Jay-Z lauds a $24 exfoliating scrub, saying, “You gotta keep it smooth with the Ocean Sea Salt Scrub.” And about the $18 unisex moisturizer Love Butter, Will Smith says: “I plan to not stop until there is a case of [it] in every home.”

Typically, it has been difficult for start-up stores like Carol’s Daughter to lease desirable space in top-tier shopping centers, sources say. “Let’s face it, if you’re a landlord, and you’ve got a prime spot in your center, you want to get an Abercrombie & Fitch or an Express or some other proven store in there,” said Dr. Robert K. Passikoff, president of New York City-based retail consulting firm Brand Keys. “It’s become increasingly difficult for new fish to get into big ponds.”

And it is especially rare to have a black woman behind it all, too, of course, but having celebrities behind the product helps, sources say.

In 2006 Sephora began carrying Carol’s Daughter products. Last August Blige came and autographed items at a Miami Sephora on the day it began selling the line. And in November Blige, Price and Pinkett Smith appeared together on The Tyra Banks Show to promote the company. The women gave facials, manicures and pedicures to four audience members, and Price demonstrated how to make her popular skin care products at home. Company officials say Price’s hands-on approach further connects with an oft-ignored audience. “We set ourselves apart with our commitment to over-deliver to a previously under-served market,” wrote Wilson.

Currently, the company has no plans for international expansion, officials say. But if the present trajectory is any indication, global expansion may be imminent.

The company has also promoted its products on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show and The View, and in 2004 Price penned a book titled Success Never Smelled So Sweet.

Indeed, probably never so sweet as when it is cooked up in one’s own kitchen.