Harry’s Inc., the premium men’s personal care products is launching its first brand out of its accelerator Harry’s Labs: Flamingo, with a focus on women’s shaving needs.
On Tuesday, Flamingo, which follows a DTC model, debuts with the intent of speaking to the 1 million female customers of Harry’s (the company currently has 6 million customers total). With an initial product lineup that includes razors, wax kits, shaving gel and body lotion that are all priced under $20, Flamingo joins Billie, Angel Shave Club, All Girl’s Shave Club and other female-oriented brands in the DTC shaving space. Harry’s isn’t just hoping to corner the female shaving market but also to add to its existing product portfolio.
With much lower price points than established brands like Gillette and Schick, Harry’s and DTC upstart Dollar Shave Club (which was bought by Unilever in 2016) have upended the shaving market. Gillette, which is owned by Procter & Gamble, controlled about 70 percent of the U.S. market a decade ago but dropped to below 50 percent in 2017. The company was also forced to slash razor prices by an average of 12 percent last year, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. Meanwhile, Harry’s has captured about 2 percent of the $2.8 billion men’s shaving industry since its launch in 2013, according to Euromonitor, and the company expects to exceed $250 million in revenue this year. Its main rival, Dollar Shave Club, holds about 8 percent of the market.
To continue Harry’s momentum of growth, Harry’s Labs was established in February following a $112 million Series D round to fuel both the accelerator and Harry’s Inc. The accelerator will focus on consumer product categories like personal care, beauty, health and wellness, home, baby and pets. With the eight people in Harry’s Labs, including the head of its internal VC arm, Harry’s Ventures, the company will also explore potential investment opportunities for Harry’s Labs — the men’s shaving company is hoping to build its company portfolio to compete with the likes of Unilever and P&G.
“Our experience in founding Harry’s made us wonder what a CPG company born in the 21st century would actually look like,” said Jeff Raider, co-founder of Harry’s Inc. and CEO of Harry’s Labs. “We saw an opportunity to create new, compelling brands in categories where consumers have traditionally been underserved — and that’s really how the idea for Harry’s Labs was born.”
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Although Raider declined to specify how many brands are expected to come out of the incubator each year, or how much Harry’s Labs will contribute to the company’s revenue growth, he said that Flamingo expects to “exceed” the first year sales that Harry’s experienced; industry sources say Harry’s exceeded $2 million in revenue its first year. Prior to the launch of Flamingo, Harry’s sent packages of the product lineup to a “few dozen” women in recent weeks who asked for products via email, Raider said.
“We’ve been getting asked about launching women’s razors since we launched Harry’s five years ago,” Raider said. “While we love having them as Harry’s customers, we also knew we could do better for them by making a product just for women.”
