Aaron Wallace is the UK’s First Black Owned Grooming Brand For Black Men, founded by an expert South London Barber in 2016. We are dedicated to inspiring black men to be the best they can be with natural hair and beard care products that contain only the best toxic-free ingredients.
Promoting healthy hair and beard growth through our 3-step-system. The company has previously been featured on Forbes, GQ, Essence, Black Beauty & Hair Magazine, BuzzFeed, The Telegraph, BBC News and more. The entire Aaron Wallace range is now available to buy from Sainsbury’s, ASOS, Liberty London, Saks Fifth Avenue, Zalando, Debenhams and direct from our website.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
During my time as a barber, I saw first hand the challenges faced by my clientele when it came to having access to good quality products that would solve their hair and skin care problems.
As a black man, I could personally relate to their frustrations and decided to do something about it. We sat down with various black men and asked key questions that would allow us to form a deeper and more complex understanding of what Black men actually need.
We spent the next two years working alongside formulation experts and manufacturers to develop and test products that would actually work to improve afro hair and skin, without the use of any toxic ingredients. Our key ingredients of Black Seed Oil and Mango Butter are rich in much needed nutrients that work to combat dryness, reduce breakage, protect against environmentally caused damage and encourage healthier hair growth.
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How has the company evolved during the pandemic?
When we launched in October 2019, after years spent in research in development, we planned to focus on our ecommerce website as well as distributing through independent specialist afro hair retailers and barbershop. For us this was an important channel as it would connect us directly with our target consumers.
Just as we were getting started with that process the pandemic hit and lockdown began, bringing everything to a screeching halt. We had a few emergency meetings to figure out a new direction for the company and new channels to explore. The pandemic has in many ways fast tracked our digital focus and although we still intend to distribute through barbershops, our key focus has now become our own online shop.From a consumer behavior perspective, the pandemic has definitely impacted their spending habits when it comes to personal care. As more people stayed home, more time was spent researching and understanding best hair care practices. Our customers in many ways went from relying on their barbers to relying on themselves to ensure optimum hair health and that drove spending on hair care products.
What can we hope to see from Aaron Wallace in the future?
We are extremely ambitious and on a mission to become a household brand. In the future you can expect innovative products, more retail partnerships like the one we have with Sainsbury’s and international expansion.
