Freddie Harrel is about to take the afro haircare market by storm with her multimillion-dollar funded start-up RadSwan.
RadSwan truly is for women by women. Announcing via Instagram on Monday 19 November 2019, Harrel revealed that she has raised $2million (£1.5million) to help launch her brand. The all-female investors will help RadSwan with its mission to be a conscious brand that shakes up the $7 billion Black hair care market.
RadSwan is due to launch in Spring 2020 with a line of premium synthetic wigs and hair extensions. Harrel described the news on an Instagram post as “Chapter 1: We’re making history!”
In a report in the Evening Standard, Harrel said: “Products are usually sold through retailers lacking an online presence and are managed by those who are unfamiliar with the nuances of buying, styling and caring for the products.”
Harrel is set to change this often-common narrative by providing products that truly meet the needs of women across the African diaspora. RadSwan offers Black women the chance to say bye-bye to hours sitting in the hairdressers and hello to the ease of creating the styles they want at home with RadSwan’s premium synthetic wigs and hair extensions.
“Black women have no ownership over the synthetic hair supply chain, resulting in products and a buying experience that completely misses the mark for today’s consumer.”
Cameroonian-born and raised in France, Harrel has been living in London for the last eight years. She has been sharing her love for fashion and telling stories about life on her blog and Instagram since 2013. Harrel has used her influence to champion empowerment for women through confidence workshops and TEDx talks. She has also worked with brands such as Topshop, ASOS and Vestiare Collective. In 2018, Cosmopolitan magazine named Harrel their Influencer of the Year.
Now she is using her influence to push forward RadSwan, aiming to be a conscious brand built with, and for the global African diaspora. Harrel has brought her followers along with her on this journey too asking for their input in building the brand, including the name of the brand and even the type of products that should be sold by RadSwan. Once again showing the effort Harrel has made to ensure her brand has taken the time to listen and create products that truly cater to women of the African Diaspora.
It’s been estimated by Mintel that the Black hair care industry is worth more than $2.5 billion. However, much of this market is made up of businesses who don’t truly understand or care about the hair of women across the African Diaspora. Nisha Dua one of the investors of RadSwan told the Evening Standard:
“Black women have no ownership over the synthetic hair supply chain, resulting in products and a buying experience that completely misses the mark for today’s consumer.”
We look forward to RadSwan being an exciting and innovative brand that strives to create a brand and product with Black women for Black women. Thank you Freddie for producing a brand that Black women know was made with their needs at the heart of it!
