Cultivate to offer financial support, product distribution and mentorship for female-owned beauty brands.
Sally Beauty Supply and CosmoProf announced today the second edition of Cultivate, an accelerator program to help women beauty entrepreneurs grow their business. With an established track record of supporting emerging products and entrepreneurs before they were household names, the brands are actively looking for innovative products that will address the needs of their customers.
“We are excited to launch the second iteration of the Cultivate program, especially now when consumers are experimenting with DIY beauty and looking for the latest in beauty innovation,” said Chris Brickman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Starting today, Sally Beauty Supply and CosmoProf will begin accepting entries from female-owned hair care, hair color and nail brands who are looking to expand their business. These categories have become particularly important to beauty consumers as they look to recreate trends at home.
The top four brands, also known as the Cultivate Cohort, will receive online distribution, a business grant and a 4-week virtual boot camp focusing on key areas such as merchandising, social media, marketing, ecommerce, store operations and entrepreneurship. Then, at the Perfect Pitch Capstone event, each cohort will present their brand to senior-level Sally Beauty Supply and CosmoProf leaders. One company will receive in-store distribution through Sally Beauty and CosmoProf stores based on ratings from the Perfect Pitch presentation and online voting.
“We continue to be inspired by the terrific female entrepreneurs we work with and are committed to bringing the best of the best to our consumers while lifting up more female-owned brands,” said Aaron Alt, President of Sally Beauty Supply and Chief Financial Officer.
In the first ever iteration of the Cultivate program in 2018, Curlanista received the top honor and is now available online at sallybeauty.com and in select stores. The hair care brand was founded by mother-daughter duo Lexi and Monica Proctor, in an effort to care for Lexi’s natural born curls. In addition, Ceata Lash of PuffCuff received the President’s Innovation Award as part of the inaugural Cultivate Program and was awarded with online and select in-store distribution.
Sally Beauty Supply and CosmoProf strive to maintain industry leadership when it comes to carrying female-owned brands. The company’s distribution support has helped these businesses grow into some of the most well-known and loved brands sold on the market. Now, Sally Beauty Supply and CosmoProf are looking for the newest hair or nail brand founded by a woman with the second annual Cultivate program. If you think you have the next innovative brand, you can visit www.sallybeauty.com/cultivate or Cosmoprofbeauty.com/cultivate to enter between Aug. 17 and Sept. 7, 2020.
