Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Rah.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am Sauce Beauty’s founder, Andy Rah, and I have two passions in my life: haircare products and delicious food. I’ve created and marketed haircare products for top beauty companies like L’Oréal, TIGI/Unilever, and Macadamia Beauty for thirteen years, and at the same time have come to love cooking great meals for friends and family. I am not allowed to make fresh pasta without the help of my son, Tristan. And my daughter, Delaney, will eat just about anything — she’s even tried snails! I’ve always wanted to merge my two passions of food and haircare, so I created Sauce Beauty.
Each of my products is inspired by recipes with ingredients that are beneficial for your hair and scalp — ingredients like Jarrah honey, avocado, Greek yogurt, shea butter, cucumber water, and cayenne pepper. I want you to be able to make informed decisions about the products you use, which is why I created TransHAIRency™. Every ingredient is listed on our website, and each comes with a description of what it is used for. We care more than ever about what we put into our bodies, why should we not feel the same about what we put in our hair?
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part, it has been a pretty good ride, but it’s hard to imagine any new business launching without at least a few issues. I had serious issues with my original 3PL (warehouse) that left me in a huge bind, as they were having trouble shipping basic pallet shipments to my one and only customer. That was quickly resolved by moving to a more trusted and reliable pair of 3PLs, one for my pallet shipments and one for my e-commerce shipments.
I also had some packaging issues with one of my products, but we worked that out working in partnership with my packaging/labeling and warehouse partners.
And of course, raising funds for a new startup is always going to be an ongoing concern, but I have a great group of investors that have been so supportive along the journey.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Sauce Beauty story. Tell us more about the business.
Sauce Beauty manufactures and distributes beauty products (haircare only for now, but branching into skincare soon) that are inspired by recipes from the kitchen. We make clean products (no sulfates or parabens) with many natural ingredients that are great for the hair and scalp. Our #1 selling product is the Guacamole Whip Deep Moisture Mask. This mask is already the 2nd most reviewed hair mask out of over 200 on Sallybeauty.com with over a 4* review, and it already shows up on the first page of search results when you search “hair mask” on Amazon.com. This product has been a home run for us.
What makes us different is that we each of my products are inspired by recipes with ingredients that are beneficial for your hair and scalp — ingredients like Jarrah honey, avocado, Greek yogurt, shea butter, cucumber water, and cayenne pepper. I want you to be able to make informed decisions about the products you use, which is why I created TransHAIRency™. Every ingredient is listed on our website, and each comes with a description of what it is used for. We care more than ever about what we put into our bodies, why should we not feel the same about what we put in our hair?
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’ve been lucky to have worked for some amazing people. One of my board members was with me at TIGI/Unilever and Macadamia Beauty for eight years prior to me launching my own brand. He has been in the beauty industry for 30+ years and brings a wealth of experience. Another board member has launched some of the most successful and memorable consumer goods products in recent history. And the third board member has launched and sold multiple companies herself. While one of them was my direct supervisor, the other two I met through connections or somewhat randomly at a trade show. So, some might call those fortuitous meetings, but I think you have to make some of your own luck and make those networking connections yourself. I am also fortunate to have passionate and involved investors who are all excited to join me on this journey.
From a personal perspective, I am very lucky to have a supportive family, from my parents and brother and sister, who all have invested in this company, to my wife and kids who have supported me from day 1 when I decided to leave the safety of being a marketing executive for established beauty brands to do my own thing.
Pricing:
- Sauce Beauty retail sized products sell for $9.99
- Sauce Beauty trial/travel sized products sell for $2.49
Contact Info:
- Address: 5830 Granite Parkway, Suite 100-312
Plano TX 75024 - Website: saucebeauty.com
- Phone: 888.313.1004
- Email: info@saucebeauty.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/saucehair/
- Facebook: facebook.com/saucehair/
- Twitter: twitter.com/saucehaircare
- Other: linkedin.com/company/sauce-beauty
Image Credit:
Product Images by Bernadette Uzcategui, Blueprint Society
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