Abbie Oguntade is the CEO and Founder of Freya + Bailey Skincare. It is a vegan, natural and organic skincare range designed to manage the impact of stress, pollution on all skin types. 

She is the winner of the first annual ARClight initiative, which supports change by helping Black-owned skincare brands achieve the mainstream platform they deserves. She tells us how she created her brand.

What made you decide to set up your own skincare brand?

It was a combination of things coming together. I had previously led the creation of a skincare division for a multinational but had then moved on to a leadership role in tech. It was incredibly stressful, empowering, energetic and inspiring yes, but stressful nonetheless.

I developed cystic acne, directly related to stress and thus began the search for a hope in a bottle that ended up clarifying more than my face. It led me to the clinical team that I now partner with for my Freya + Bailey range and I wanted to put products out there that reflected the clinical expertise and efficacy derived from that.

What is the concept behind Freya and Bailey?

It’s about self-care-definitely. It’s a range that’s non- toxic, clinically performing and holistic in that we have used high grade, essential oils expertly blended to deliver a dose of calm as you go about your day. Modern living can be stressful after all

What sort of research did you do to find out what sort of products your customers needed?

I did a lot of good old -fashioned research - as a marketeer that’s one of my pillars – to really try to understand not just the market, but the women that shape it. I reached out to family and friends, acquaintances as well – those that I knew would give me honest feedback, and combined this with the clinical expertise from the cosmetologists I was working with. My own background within skincare was also beneficial.

How did you decide on the look and feel of your brand?

I looked around me; I’m a people person through and through and noted there were all these incredibly dynamic, modern women looking for products that not only suited their lifestyle but reflected it in terms of aesthetics. I wanted something clean, streamlined, fresh and modern and eschewed the brown bottle aesthetic of many ethically derived ranges - we are all that and more let’s say.

What are your future plans for the brand?

2020 has been tumultuous for all and certainly for us business has not been as usual. Despite that we’ve had some incredible highlights and have continued to grow. Our focus this year is to continue with our retail expansion plans, online and offline and most importantly ensuring growth is sustainable in terms of it allowing us to maintain our focus on high performance and efficacy.

What are your favourite beauty products?

I’m big on serums, ours are little bottles of Jupiter as they’re just so versatile. They hydrate through multiple layers of skin and deliver multi vitamin goodness. This is due to our five vitamin complexes and are jam packed with superfoods as well as hard hitting ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, retinol and AHA’s. among others.They  genuinely make my skin glow.

What advice do you have for anyone who wants to set up their own beauty business?

Let’s get one thing out of the way - beauty is a saturated market, it’s important to emphasise this not to dissuade but to reiterate the need for an original product with a compelling, authentic story. What that looks like for them should be a mix of head and heart- skincare is personal. 

This doesn’t mean you have to go it alone however- there are people who can help you with this process -  scientists for the performance aspect but you yourself will need the human touch and that’s where the community comes into its own. 

Finding mentors is really important, people you can lean into for emotional or indeed professional support  - particularly if like me- you don’t have a business partner. Perspective is tough when you spend so much time with your head down, constantly working.

You need people who have been there before (and who you trust) to talk you through the endless challenges, share how they scaled or what strategies worked and what didn't, who will introduce you to their accountant. That sort of thing. Networking groups have been great for that.

What has it been like winning the ARClight Initiative?

It's been incredible and is still a rush. I believe in our proposition 100% but winning has been incredibly gratifying and we’ve already started to reap the benefits in terms of the professional contacts, exposure and mentorship this has brought. I feel incredibly honoured to be the first winner of this accolade – initiatives such as this are much needed in the industry and can really accelerate change.