Taming the Curls

Wendi Levy and Kim Etheredge say mixed-race women no longer need to mix and match products to find the right concoction for their curls. They can turn to one brand: Mixed Chicks. The pair developed leave-in conditioner and other hair products designed to define, de-frizz and detangle curls that could become bushy if not properly cared for. What started out as two women creating a solution for their own hair management needs has transformed into a growing business that taps into a market the business owners say has largely been ignored. “We really wanted, as interracial women, to make a lane for ourselves” in stores, Levy said. “We were sick of going to one aisle and then to the other aisle to mix and match stuff.” The word about Mixed Chicks has spread. Levy and Etheredge say their products are sold by at least 2,500 retailers, which are made up of salons, beauty supply stores and boutique shops in the United States and overseas, the owners said. Annual revenues have been nearly doubling in recent years, Levy said. In 2008, revenues were $1.3 million. A year later, they reached $3.2 million. Last year they increased to $5.1 million. This year, revenues are expected to soar to about $8 million. Mixed Chicks launched a new children’s line in late April, and sells products for men. Levy and Etheredge say their products also attract customers of Jewish-Israeli, Italian, and Irish descent, and others who have special hair care needs. The women’s progress has not gone unrecognized. The National Association of Women Business Owners’ Los Angeles chapter honored the Mixed Chicks founders in March with its Innovator of the Year award, a category the organization created just for them. Jane Pak, the chapter’s CEO, said Levy and Etheredge were chosen because they responded to a need in the market for a growing population segment – the mixed ethnic consumer. “They developed a product line that is now being recognized as a threat to large multinational brands, and they innovated in an industry historically dominated by several enormous brands,” Pak said. FOUNDERS: Wendi Levy and Kim Etheredge LOCATION: Canoga Park CORE OF BUSINESS: hair product manufacturing and distribution NUmber of Employees: 13 Revenues in 2009: $3.2 million Revenues in 2010: $5.1 million Projected Revenues in 2011: $8 million Haircare Recipe The idea behind the Mixed Chicks product line dates back to Levy’s youth. “My dad would have gel in the bathroom,” she said. “My mom would have all kinds of conditioners and setting lotions. So since I was little, I would just mix and match to figure it out from the stuff they had.” Levy said the combination worked better than ethnic hair care products available in stores, since she is both African American and white and has a different hair texture. By the time she was an adult, she found the right combination to tame her curls. Etheridge, whose mother is of Irish descent, said she had less guidance for how to care for her hair and grew up wearing it straight most of the time. As she got older, she wanted to wear it curly more often. When Etheredge met Levy in 2001, she started using her friend’s concoction and was amazed with the results. The women went into business together in 2003, after noticing that other people were constantly asking what hair product they used. They worked out of Levy’s home garage in Encino, and Levy’s husband joined them as a company owner. And in the beginning, they did all the labor. “We were packaging boxes until two-and-a-half years ago,” Etheredge said. To find the perfect hair care recipe, the business owners said they researched what ingredients they needed. Then they took their list to a laboratory in Gardena, and with the help of chemists, prepared to take their products to market, Levy said. In 2004, the women started selling their products on their Web site and distributed their leave-in conditioner to their first store retailer, Simply Wholesome in Los Angeles. Months later, Mixed Chicks began distributing to more retailers, including some in Canada, Etheredge said. Within the next few years, business started to pick up. The women started participating in trade shows in 2006. Two years later, they had a product endorsement from celebrity Halle Berry, and expanded the brand’s international presence, Etheredge said. In 2008, the women moved the Mixed Chicks headquarters to a 2,300-square-foot warehouse in Canoga Park. Just last year, the business owners expanded their space to include an adjacent 2,700-square-foot warehouse. Leveraging Resources Mixed Chicks’s owners said promoting the company required a lot of work. They did a lot of sampling and gifting, and they made efforts to personally attend trade shows. Levy and Etheredge say they also made use of past career contacts. Etheredge previously worked as a television production assistant and coordinator, as well as a public relations specialist for athletes. Levy previously worked in the music industry. “Coming from television, I knew all the hairdressers on the sets, so I was constantly sending product,” Etheredge said. “I never knew what show they’d be on (and) at what time, but I knew it was going to get in somebody’s hands, and it did.” She said the added exposure helped Mixed Chicks receive endorsements from celebrities, including singer Macy Gray, singer Ciara, actress Tracee Ellis Ross and others. Levy said the company is now being pursued by major mainstream retailers, such as Target, though the women are still deciding if that is the direction they want to take with their brand. Going forward, the owners want to continue growing Mixed Chicks and expand to other parts of the world, including South America, Africa and Australia. The company currently serves Europe and the Caribbean, as well as one retailer in Sri Lanka. Apryl Sims, general manager of Simply Wholesome, said the Los Angeles store still carries the Mixed Chick brand. It is one of the few brands that the store has never had any returns on, she added. She noted the cultural significance of the products, explaining that women of color often alter their hair by straightening it. “We start doing it at such an early age that by the time we’re fully into adulthood, we don’t really know what our natural hair looks like,” Sims said. “(Mixed Chicks’) product enabled women to really fall back in love with their hair, which raises their self-esteem.”