From India to Myanmar to China to Peckham: The journey human hair takes before it’s sold online and on British high streets. Some of the world’s best-quality hair comes from India. At Tirumala temple barbers tonsure 40,000 pilgrims daily and cut 800kg of hair. In 2013, the longest lengths of hair sold for £230 per kilogram, auctioned to large companies specialising …
Future faces: three British founders with a fresh take on black hair and makeup
We speak to three founders who are transforming the business of black hair and beauty. What? Makeup brand Why? To make lipsticks that cater to black women When? Founded 2013 Who? Florence Adepoju, cosmetic scientist Incumbents: Sleek, MAC, Iman, Bobbi Brown, NYX MDM Flow is a makeup brand – and a movement. ‘Three years ago I only cared about the product,’ …
Black-owned, British-made and worth a fortune
The epic transformation of the black hair and beauty industry. Black hair is a big deal – culturally and economically. Black women are estimated to spend around six times more on haircare than other women, typically change their hairstyle far more often and spend hundreds of hours in hair salons. And yet, barely any mainstream UK retailers stock hair extensions, …
Chasing the god squad: meet the companies targeting Muslim and Jewish consumers.
Young Muslims and Jews are emerging as a lucrative and untapped source of customers. But how exactly should a business pitch its religious creds? Trying to ‘keep kosher’ or buy halal (consuming items that are ‘permissible’ in Judaism and Islam, respectively) has so far existed outside modern mainstream consumerism. Choice has been scant, quality has been poor and products have been sold through niche …
Fitness 2.0
The search for a digital fitness business that sticks It’s impossible to ignore the scaling problem fitness businesses run into. The need to have a great big building full of equipment, located close to where lots of people live or work, is expensive. To build several is even harder. Facing this conundrum, many startups are experimenting with digital fitness. There’s …
How fitness got hijacked by fashion and lifestyle
Style and social media have become as integral as sweat to startup fitness brands. Blame LA. The health-conscious Californian city has been luring the fashion world to its sunny streets; perhaps as significant a factor as any behind the coming together of fashion, food and fitness. What used to be called ‘exercise’ has, for many, morphed into something far broader and …
Interview with Barry’s Bootcamp CEO
Barry’s Bootcamp is a workout, a brand and a buzz word for the wave of fitness fanaticism that’s sweeping across from the US to Europe. Courier meets CEO Joey Gonzalez. Barry Jay devised an intense workout inside a gym that attracted a small but fast-growing local following. It led to the formation of Barry’s Bootcamp, with outposts opening across the US and more …
Aarhus, Denmark: The right side of the tracks
A long way from the glitzy developments underway in central Aarhus, Denmark, is the sight a of Tetris-esque collection of stacked containers in an abandoned freight station. It’s become a magnet for creatives but the area is under threat. Located on the edge of the city centre of Aarhus, Denmark’s second city, is an area that many could be forgiven …
Q&A: Seth Troxler – ‘I’m basically a street hustler’
Seth Troxler is an American techno DJ, producer and record-label owner. He also puts on events and has a residency at Fabric. He grew up in Detroit but has made London his base in recent years. Beyond music, Troxler launched his Smokey Tails BBQ pop-up in Hackney Wick three years ago and in April this year it moved to a …
Are family-owned businesses a good idea?
We speak to a seventh-generation milliner about the company’s experiences. Working with your nearest and dearest might sound a hellish prospect to some, but family firms have been the lifeblood of the UK economy for centuries. The UK currently has 4.6 million registered family businesses, generating £1.3tn in turnover a year. Some of the world’s biggest firms are still family run, …
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2