sisters + founders: alisha ricki (left) & keamone f. (right)
wow! one year already, sis ? and what a dope year it’s been! a lot can happen in a year so let’s see what kanti’s been up to 👀
how it all started
birthed from a love for skincare and passion for empowering black women, kanti was founded on september 21st, 2019, in hopes of un-komplicating skincare for melanated millennials in a ‘homegirl next-door’ kinda way. as self-proclaimed skincare junkies, we saw that the most kommon skin concerns of people who looked liked us were barely being addressed, let alone in a relatable way – and it was time for us to do our part to change that.
in a market where errbody n their mama views diversity & inclusion as just another beauty trend to capitalize on – we didn’t want to create products that merely considered melanin-rich skin & diverse tones as an afterthought – we wanted to lead with diverse skin at the forefront of our brand. we wanted to let our people know that they can achieve healthy glowing skin, regardless of their skin type and regardless of “genetics”. so with a strong desire to celebrate black & brown skin by addressing common issues like hyperpigmentation, uneven texture and acne in our products – we officially introduced kanti to the world on march 2nd, 2020.
our 1st product
now y’all know we had to come with it for our 1st drop! ain’t gonn lie, as a small self-funded business, we didn’t have a huge budget to work with – but we were determined to create a product that was the best quality possible from the inside out – a product that actually gives results while givin’ y’all the luxury you deserve! after months of research and planning, we proudly introduced THE best facial oil on the entire planet in march 2020 – likuid gold luxury glo oil.
you would think everything was lit, right? nah, boo! the same week we launched likuid gold, was the same week corona lashay put the entire country in a panic 😓. months of planning for a smooth shipping process and bomb glofriend experience, instantly went down the drain. we had to think super fast and pivot to a pre-order launch in order to make the best of the cards we’d been dealt. it was a super stressful time and we had no idea if our new plan would work. lucky for us – the support from our day 1 glofriends was beyond solid and our launch was even more successful than we expected ✨
we outchea
ask any business owner out there, n they’ll tell you that building brand awareness is THE biggest struggle when starting any new business, especially when you’re a small beauty brand like kanti. but baybeee, when we say we all up in dem skreets – we did that! within the first 4 months of launching, kanti was featured in major publications like: essence, latimes, popsugar, and madamenoire – just to name a few. and the icing on the cake? we scored our very first exclusive interview with sheen magazine just shy of 6-months post launch! knowing that so many notable media outlets love what we’re building so much, that they took the time to share kanti with their audiences is beyond lit; and we couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to reach so many new people.
kanti university
by now, you can probaby tell that kanti is growing n glo’in at a krazy fast rate – n as we kontinue to grow, it’s hella important for us to provide young collegiate women of color with professional opportunities and tools that we feel are lacking in our kommunity. many internships don't prioritize our people, much less our girls, so that's why it was sooo important for us to make this a female-only internship program, FOR US✊🏾. with plans to accept 3 klasses annually – we launched our internship program, kanti university earlier this month, with 6 dope young women in our fall 2020 klass.
dat glossier shmoney
with corona lashay still out n about, y’all can’t deny that 2020 has been a wild year so far, but we’re here to say – it ain’t all bad. some great things have happened this year like: finally decluttering our skincare stash, our fave black shows koming to netflix and kanti’s biggest accomplishment, yet – being chosen as 1 of 16 recipients of glossier’s grant initiative for black-owned beauty businesses 🤯.
y’all have no idea how honored and grateful we are to be rewarded for all our hard work – especially by the powerhouse that is glossier – still feels so unreal! we’re super proud to be selected among so many other dope innovators in the beauty space and are excited for what this grant really means for kanti and our kommunity in the koming months. shoutout to glossier for not only seeing US✊🏾, but also believing in our vision.
so what’s next?
as you can see, our 1st year has been pretty lit 🔥 and we kouldn’t have done it without our kanti klique working hard behind the scenes, and of course, our loyal glofriends – yaaasss! we have soooo many dope product launches and other fun things in the pipeline for y’all and can’t wait to share. so be sure to keep it locked on our insta + newsletter for updates, boo! 👀
p.s: as a special thank you gift for your kontinued support – we’re givin’ y’all 19% off allll day long over on the shop – so head on over to get you some likuid gold ✨ click here to shop
with good vibes,
alisha + keamone
komments (0)
back to ⠀