R+Co president Dan Langer reveals how the luxury haircare brand built a collective of top professionals to drive product development and brand growth, emphasizing the critical role of salon partnerships and community feedback in expanding into new lines like hair color and sustainability-focused R+Co Bleu. This episode is a masterclass in leveraging B2B channels for marketing and maintaining brand integrity during expansion.
Key takeaways
Prioritize a 'collective perspective' by actively involving industry experts and community in product development, as R+Co did with stylists for their hair color line, ensuring 'best in class' offerings.
Leverage B2B partnerships as a primary marketing channel; R+Co demonstrates how salons can be powerful evangelists, driving brand awareness and sales more effectively than traditional advertising.
Strategically expand product lines by maintaining core brand values and quality; R+Co successfully launched a hair color line and the sustainable R+Co Bleu by staying true to its expert-driven philosophy.
Build a luxury brand by focusing on sustainability, performance, and design, exemplified by R+Co Bleu, to create a premium "couture collection" that resonates with discerning customers.
Continuously engage in dialogue with your professional community to gather feedback and foster a sense of shared ownership, critical for innovation and maintaining relevance over time.
R+Co has established itself as one of the premier players in salon haircare -- and over the years it's been slowly expanding. At the same time, the brand takes great pains to stay true to its roots -- and won't be straying far from its salon partners.
For example, the brand, which is owned by Luxury Brand Partners, recently launched a hair color line. According to R+Co president Dan Langer, this latest foray was due to feedback from its community of hair stylists and professionals.
"We want to build [the color business] out with the same philosophy of our heritage line, R+Co, which was involving a collective so that every shade of the line could be best in class," Langer said. "We're always in dialogue and conversations with different hairdressers, mainly because they're our friends -- and they're part of our own communities."
Langer joined the Modern Retail Podcast this week and spoke about the brand's journey. It first began 10 years ago; "we wanted to build a brand that was based on a collective perspective," Langer said.
So he brought together a group of experts -- the top haircare professionals in the industry -- to form the original line. From there, R+Co has grown mainly via its salon business. That remains the company's primary business model.
But over the years, R+Co has expanded into new areas. Beyond the new color brand, it launched a premium haircare line focused on sustainability called R+Co Bleu. Langer described it as the company's "couture collection… really focused on sustainability, performance, and design."
With all of these new sub-brands, however, Langer said the core remains the same. R+Co uses its collective of experts to make sure the products are quality -- and then taps them and their networks to get the word out.
At the end of the day, it's the salons that remain the biggest evangelists for a brand like R+Co. That business-to-business channel, Langer said, "is a huge part of our marketing."
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Prioritize a 'collective perspective' by actively involving industry experts and community in product development, as R+Co did with stylists for their hair color line, ensuring 'best in class' offerings.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Leverage B2B partnerships as a primary marketing channel; R+Co demonstrates how salons can be powerful evangelists, driving brand awareness and sales more effectively than traditional advertising.
What does this episode say about product & merchandising?
Strategically expand product lines by maintaining core brand values and quality; R+Co successfully launched a hair color line and the sustainable R+Co Bleu by staying true to its expert-driven philosophy.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Build a luxury brand by focusing on sustainability, performance, and design, exemplified by R+Co Bleu, to create a premium "couture collection" that resonates with discerning customers.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Continuously engage in dialogue with your professional community to gather feedback and foster a sense of shared ownership, critical for innovation and maintaining relevance over time.
