Indie beauty conversation with Go Gray
22 Feb 2022 --- California-based hair care and color company Go Gray is a new name making its way on to the US hair care scene. Its offering is designed for people who are journeying through the phases of going gray. We spoke to Maritza Cabezas, Senior Brand Manager of Marketing at Go Gray’s parent company Developlus, to find out all about the brand.
Can you tell me about your inspiration behind the idea for Go Gray?
Click to EnlargeSource: Go GrayThroughout the pandemic we have seen a mass shift in consumer behavior, be it out of need or opportunity for change. Shifts in beauty habits and rituals were substantial, and we saw consumers really expressing themselves and making bold moves that they might not have otherwise done.
This was substantially visible with the permanent hair color customer that was faced with tough decisions, like whether they continue to dye their hair and find a way to maintain their look, or take it as an opportunity to cut the ties and break free from social norms and expectations - to live their authentic self through fully embracing their natural beauty and natural hair color while feeling empowered and confident through the process.
What is missing from the mainstream hair care market that you seek to fill with Go Gray?
We have seen quick shifts in consumer purchase behavior in the mainstream hair care market, and none more so than beauty consumer packaged goods (CPG). Customers are taking a more active role in attaining their beauty goals, from beauty rituals to big changes that were often at the hands of professionals. Go Gray is giving customers the confidence and products to transition and maintain their beautifully natural gray hair without the expensive salon cost.
What are consumers demanding from hair care products and brands?
Consumers are looking for products that not only meet their hair needs but that also meet their overall ideals. Whether it be sustainable products, natural ingredients or going back to their natural hair color, these ideals have been at the core of who we are as a company and that is why we have continued to develop formulas that are vegan, cruelty free and gluten free as the first absolute for all of our formulas.
How do you hope Go Gray will answer these consumer demands?
Our hope is that customers will feel inspired, encouraged and informed to make the move to embrace gray. In our development of the formulations, we also focused on the overall pains that consumers face when looking for product formulas that help with the transition from boxed dye or a salon dye job to gray hair. We focused not just on performance but overall hair health as well as focusing on key ingredients to nourish and hydrate the hair and scalp.
We have also simplified the phases of going gray in an effort to better guide the consumer to the right product for them and their current grow out phase. Our Go Gray system consists of:
- Remove with Go Gray Revitalizing Treatment: Gently remove unwanted hair dye
- Fade with Go Gray Clarifying Duo: Gradually fade permanent and semi-permanent hair color and replenish essential moisture
- Maintain with Go Gray Purple Toning Duo: Tone and condition gray and silver hair
- Treat with Go Gray Purple Toning Masque: Brighten and treat gray and silver hair
What did the launch process involve from conceptualization through to commercialization?
Our concept was a concept-to-market opportunity that we were lucky enough to bring to life due to our in-house lab and on-site manufacturing here in southern California. We worked closely with our lab to develop pro-grade formulations with key ingredient benefits, all while also working through supply chain issues to ensure go-to-market dates.
Click to EnlargeSource: Go GrayOur process included everything from packaging concepts and presentations with retailers to focus groups to ensure product understanding. This is a new brand and product segment for us and also the opportunity to really launch this as a digitally integrated brand to really inform customers. We saw this as a wonderful opportunity to fully integrate the brand into a digital experience and optimize our digital connectivity and need for information.
We were able to do this through packaging with integrated QR codes and displays to ensure customers have easy access to product information and frequently asked questions and our customer service portal. We want to be there for our customers as they navigate through the decision to go gray and help them through the various phases of what going gray looks like for each of them, as it’s not an overnight change. We call it the Go Gray journey and everyone who is making the decision to ditch dye and maintain their natural silver and gray hair are sure to find the product that meets them at their phase of the go gray journey.
What are the greatest challenges to achieving your vision for Go Gray?
Some of our challenges were much the same that a lot of consumer products companies and brands have been facing at the moment. We, like many companies, have had to face supply chain constraints. However, lucky for us, we develop, manufacture, market and ship on site in southern California and were able to work through and pivot to ensure we brought our product to market.
What are the biggest opportunities that you foresee for Go Gray?
There is a tremendous growth opportunity for Go Gray, the hair care category as a whole, and product expansion is boundless. We launched a core set of products, but that is just the beginning. We see product expansion for this category stretching beyond our initial launch to ensure we meet customers along every step of their Go Gray journey.
What are your short and long-term hopes and goals for Go Gray?
Short term, we are looking to build the brand and gain awareness for Go Gray beyond the launch. Long term, we hope to expand on Go Gray as a brand and its product offerings in order to better serve customers along their Go Gray journey and provide an additional core line of products.
By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe, BPC Insights Senior Journalist
