Developed by the experts behind Ouidad, hair care brand Twist is less than a year old and is rapidly expanding its retail footprint. Launched in January with the goal of offering Gen Z consumers an effective and affordable curl care regimen, the brand is available DTC on TwistHair.com and at major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Urban Outfitters, RiteAid, and Amazon. On October 18, Twist will launch in CVS in 2,400 select doors and online, with eight SKUs.
The brand was developed after parent company Beauty By Imagination (BBI) learned that 65 percent of women have naturally curly or wavy hair and that frizz and dryness were top challenges. (BBI, which also owns Ouidad, was formed in 2020 as a multi-brand company following a 2019 merger and integration of Goody and JD Beauty.) In response, Twist offers an industry-first moisture scale instead of formulating for curl types. The Twist Moisture Scale system is communicated on shelves with the packing color and number of raindrops. Its Essential Moisture line, which offers moisture and definition, is housed in white bottles and features one raindrop. Its Extra Moisture formulas, designed to smooth and lock in moisture, are within black containers with three raindrops. Finally, its Ultimate Moisture, meant to provide deep hydration to nourish and restore curls, is packaged in coral and features five raindrops. All items are priced at just $10.
Consumers can discover their unique regimen at twisthair.com which features a quiz that considers lifestyle factors, such as desired end style, usage of heat tools, chemical treatments, local climate, and more. To date, over 80,000 people have taken the assessment.
The brand’s target demographic is women 18-29 who are looking for help when it comes to their curl care. To find them, Twist has focused on awareness-building campaigns.
“Twist has achieved success to date through a grassroots marketing approach, including but not limited to, sampling opportunities and word-of-mouth catalyzed by early outreach to a tight-knit, digital-native curly community,” said Marina Binichis, EVP Marketing & Innovation at BBI. “This has been supplemented with a robust digital and social media strategy, as well as strategic retail and promotional partnerships. Together, this surround-sound approach has driven awareness, trial and positive word-of-mouth for Twist. A variety of social media platforms have supported these initiatives geared to reach our Gen Z primary target including, a college ambassador program that generated an early buzz on IG, an ongoing micro-influencer program that has driven 2MM+ social impressions on TikTok and Instagram, and partnerships with top influencers generated more than 2M organic views. Our awareness is being fueled by overwhelmingly positive customer feedback with 1500+ glowing reviews and more than 1,000 5-star reviews online”
To further drive innovation on new curl solutions, the team at Twist will bring together its Ouidad salon expertise, consumer hair and beauty trends, and direct input and feedback from the Twist community. In the meantime, the moisture-focused hair care brand will focus on growth.
“Twist is just getting started. We have additional retailers lined up for 2022,” shared Marina. “We just launched in Canada exclusively at Walmart and on ASOS both in the U.S. and U.K.”