Conversation with… Preeya Ogier, founder of Curl Jar
In this latest TRB Conversations interview, we chat with Preeya Ogier, founder of curly hair brand Curl Jar, ahead of her fireside chat on growing beyond the UK at our Retail Tech Summit on 4 November in London.
Ogier launched the business three years ago with her husband, after a packing-for-travel moment made her want one product to do the job of a cream, gel, mousse and oil.
Subscribe to TRBShe talks about developing the product, building a business with her husband and the lessons she has learned, and shares advice on expanding overseas based on Curl Jar’s launch in the UAE.
Where did the idea for Curl Jar come from, and what inspired you to start the business?
The idea came when I was packing a suitcase and thinking about all the hair products I needed to take with me when travelling. I thought it would be great to create one product that could do a bit of everything, combining the benefits of a cream, a gel, a mousse and an oil without the drawbacks.
With curly hair, you tend to apply products every few days, so I wanted to create something that would nourish the hair as well as work as a styling product. The aim was to simplify the routine, improve hair health and make the whole process more enjoyable.
Before starting Curl Jar, I’d worked at a start-up that was moving into a growth phase. Working closely with the founders taught me a lot about marketing and branding and gave me an insight into what goes into building a business. Seeing what they did day to day inspired me and made me think my husband and I could do something similar ourselves.
What have been the biggest challenges in building Curl Jar, from developing the product to managing the business as it grows?
Developing the product was our biggest challenge. We haven’t used a white-label product, where a manufacturer makes something that you then tweak and repackage. We’ve developed ours from the ground up.
Curly hair comes in so many different textures, and everyone has different needs. We needed to find the right balance: a product that worked for coily hair without being too greasy for wavy hair. Finding the right chemist and getting the formula right was challenging, particularly as neither of us had a chemistry background. I studied economics and had worked in brand and marketing, so we were entering a completely new world.
In the early days, we also had to learn about manufacturing processes and suppliers. Three years on, our challenge is keeping up with demand, especially when lead times for new stock can be five or six months.
How would you like to see Curl Jar develop over the next few years?
Of course, we’d like to develop more products that simplify people’s routines and make them feel good. But what matters most to me is making a positive difference to people’s lives by helping them feel more confident. Hair can have such a big impact on how someone feels about themselves. As the brand grows, I’d love people to feel that Curl Jar has improved their lives in some way.
We’re currently an online brand, but we also run week-long activations in John Lewis. When we’re in a city such as Cambridge, Cardiff or Manchester, we work with our salon stockists in the area and bring them into the store. Our stylists then offer shoppers complimentary hair transformations.
People might come into John Lewis simply to browse, without even realising we’re there. We often approach people who have curly hair, even if it’s hidden under what they might call frizz. Many people don’t realise they have curls. We invite them to sit in the chair and, in around 30 minutes, transform their hair. They get to see their curls in the mirror, sometimes for the first time, using a little product and professional styling techniques they can recreate at home. It’s really rewarding to see people discover their hair in a completely different way. I’d love Curl Jar to become known for creating that feeling.
I’d like to bring back some of the spirit of the 1980s, when hair was more carefree, wild and bold, rather than something people took so seriously.
A few decades ago, there wasn’t much available for textured hair beyond a handful of strong, harsh gels. Now, there are so many products and complicated, multi-step routines. I don’t want people to have to think so much about their hair. I’d rather they enjoyed the other things in life and let Curl Jar help their hair look good.
You’re building the business with your husband, with the two of you taking on a wide range of responsibilities. How do you make that work, and what are your plans for growing the team?
Currently, it’s just my husband and I working full-time on the business. We’ve kept things lean and agile, sharing the responsibilities between us. Having a mix of skill sets allows us to champion different areas, while crossing over on sales, operations and marketing where both of us are pushing now being a young brand.
When you’re starting a business, you need to wear a lot of hats. Whoever we bring in next will need that same start up mindset. For now, we’re growing steadily and outsourcing certain tasks where we can, but hopefully we’ll find the right people as the business develops.
As for working with my husband, I can’t imagine not working with my partner. We have a good balance of business and life, and to be honest it’s really exciting, because we look after different parts of the business, we always have news for each other, an update or problem we’re facing, which is where we can help each other. Although there’s plenty of pillow talk about work!
When you’ve given up full-time jobs elsewhere and put everything into your business, it’s great to have someone you trust completely to work through the challenges with. I really enjoy it. I’ve also reached a point where I think less about work-life balance and more about work-life harmony.
Sometimes things are going well personally but work is difficult, and at other times work is going well and that has a positive effect on life. I’ve come to see the two as being in a kind of harmony.
Looking back on the journey so far, is there anything you’ve learned that you wish you’d known when you started?
Sometimes you simply can’t prepare for the problems that come up. You don’t know what they are until you experience them. You only learn about these things by going through them.
For me, patience has been a big lesson. When you’re passionate about something, you want to get things done quickly. But when things go wrong, you learn a lot. You must stay calm rather than get frustrated and react on impulse. I’m still learning how to find the right balance across the business. You must accept that things will go wrong and think carefully about how you respond.
Patience is important, but so is not becoming complacent when things are going well. You still need to sense-check your decisions, even when everything seems to be working. One thing I hadn’t anticipated was the anxiety that comes with building something you’re so passionate about. It’s not necessarily negative, but there are sleepless nights alongside the excitement.
Since launching, things have never really felt steady. It’s been a roller coaster, with plenty of ups and downs. We’re still a relatively young business, at three years old, and we’re continuing to learn as we go.
You’re speaking at The Retail Bulletin’s Retail Tech Summit in a fireside chat about growing beyond the UK. What advice would you give other businesses looking to expand internationally?
I’d recommend looking at a region from different perspectives. Start by learning as much as you can from the UK, but make sure you also visit the country and understand the market from a local perspective. When you’re there, don’t just stay in work-trip mode. Try to experience the country as a local would. Use public transport, visit coffee shops and get a feel for how people live day to day.
I try to put myself in the customer’s shoes and experience their journey. Sometimes that means switching off from work for a day and simply observing what customers see whether it’s a billboard, the way people speak in shops or other details of everyday life. You can find a lot of inspiration that way.
It’s also important to speak to as many different people as possible when entering a new region. You need to be prepared to work things out for yourself rather than relying entirely on what other people tell you, as you don’t want to be misled or given inaccurate information. People you meet in business meetings will naturally have their own agendas, so you need to be prepared for those conversations. To really understand a market, you also need to speak to people in everyday settings and see things from their perspective.
You’ve already started expanding internationally. Which markets are you in, and what have you learned from those experiences?
We launched in the UAE earlier this year, and it’s a very different market from the UK. There are lots of salons and shopping experiences, as well as many tourists and people who come and go. We’ve had to adapt how we approach customers, advertising and marketing. In the UK, someone might place an order, come back two months later, recommend us to friends and order again. In the UAE, the market is more transient. A customer might be there one day and gone the next month, so loyalty works differently.
We’ve also had to understand local price sensitivities and culture. Part of the opportunity for us was helping to build a haircare culture that didn’t seem to be as established in the UAE.
We see the UAE as a potential hub for reaching other Gulf Cooperation Council markets, including Saudi Arabia, where the opportunity is much bigger. Dubai itself isn’t a huge market, but it brings together people from many different regions and backgrounds. We’re certainly not the biggest brand there, and our reach is nowhere near what it is in the UK. But establishing a presence early allows us to start building foundations for the future.
We’re also available through online retailers in Australia and Canada, so customers in those markets can buy our products through third parties. That’s a cost-effective way to enter a market without having to set up an entire business there.
We’re stocked at one of Japan’s most premium and highly rated salons, too. You can establish a presence in a country without investing huge amounts of time and money upfront.
We’ve taken a more hands-on approach in the UAE to understand what’s required, while in other markets we’ve opted for a more cost-effective route. We’ve experienced both approaches, and I’d encourage businesses to consider simpler, more cost-effective ways of entering new markets before making a bigger investment.
Find out more and book free places for TRB’s Retail Tech Summit here
