Indie beauty brands have long been at the forefront of inclusivity—not just as a marketing message but as a foundational principle. Today’s consumers expect better: A 2023 McKinsey report found that 45% of beauty shoppers consider inclusivity—across shade ranges, representation, and accessibility—a key factor in purchase decisions.
Yet, many mainstream offerings still fall short, especially when it comes to products for textured hair or deeper skin tones.
This month, CosmeticsDesign’s Indie Insights spotlights how smaller, agile brands are filling those gaps and driving meaningful change. We spoke with LaToya Stirrup, Co-Founder of Kazmaleje, a brand born from a personal need and built to reimagine hair tools for textured hair.
In this Q&A, Stirrup shared how Kazmaleje’s commitment to inclusivity shapes everything from product design to manufacturing partnerships—and why authenticity and community remain core to their growth strategy.
CDU: Kazmaleje is recognized for its commitment to inclusivity in beauty. Can you share the inspiration behind launching the brand and how inclusivity shaped your founding vision?
LaToya Stirrup (LS): My sisters and I were inspired to launch Kazmaleje because we wanted to improve our hair care experience. We were tired of long wash days, unnecessary breakage while detangling, and hair tools that did not work.
Instead of waiting for a big brand to identify and solve our issue, we took a chance and launched our business with our highly-rated KurlsPlus Detanglers – three uniquely designed hair tools that leverage the idea of finger detangling into a comb that can be used on natural hair, wigs, and extensions.
CDU: How has your personal experience influenced Kazmaleje’s approach to designing products for diverse hair types and beauty needs?
LS: My personal experience with my hair is the origin story for our brand. Before we developed our hair tools, it used to take forever to detangle my hair, and I would have hair everywhere. I knew other people also experienced this same challenge and felt our product idea could fill the void.
CDU: What gaps in the beauty industry did you identify that led you to develop Kazmaleje’s product offerings?
LS: As consumers, we were intimately aware of the challenges of maintaining textured hair. While there had been significant strides made on the product side, not much had been done to address the needs of the textured hair consumer on the tools side.
Using the right tool at the right time is key to having a healthy hair care routine. Therefore, we designed our hair tools to be multi-functional, as you can use them to detangle and style.
They are thicker than regular hair tools so that people with really dense, textured hair can detangle and style knowing that their comb won’t easily break while amid their routine. A key differentiator is that the teeth on our hair tools are long, smooth, round, and conical in shape to mimic your fingers.
When you look at any other wide-toothed comb on the market, you will most likely see square-shaped teeth and a thin line of plastic dividing the comb in half that can pop and snag the hair.
CDU: Can you share any insights into the R&D process that have been pivotal in creating innovative solutions for textured hair care?
LS: Technology is a key part of our R&D process. We used 3D printing to develop our prototypes, test them, and refine the design before producing our molds.
As we expand our product assortment, we will continue to look to technology as a method to design and test ideas.
CDU: What role do manufacturers and suppliers play in helping indie brands like Kazmaleje develop truly inclusive products?
LS: Contract manufacturers and suppliers make it possible for indie brands to bring ideas to life. Having a partner that believes in you and will work with you to deliver a quality product is essential to the success of the business.
Unfortunately, high minimum order quantities (MOQs) and high unit costs can be issues indie brands face as they are oftentimes not ordering enough units to have considerably low unit costs, which then reduces the profit margin and/or results in a higher retail price than larger brands.
However, having a solid master services agreement (MSA) in place with clear pricing and terms, along with a price break scale, can make navigating the manufacturing process easier for indie brands.
CDU: How do you approach marketing and storytelling to ensure your brand authentically represents and resonates with diverse consumers?
LS: Including reviews and experiences from real-world consumers in our content has been a part of our content strategy from the beginning.
Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to build a brand, so leveraging the words (aka reviews and testimonies) of real consumers to amplify our brand naturally allows other people to see a variety of consumers and hopefully someone they identify with.
CDU: What strategies have worked best for Kazmaleje in reaching and educating consumers about your inclusive product offerings?
LS: User-generated and founder-generated content work best for us. People want to see the creators behind the brand and spot aspects of themselves that they can relate to in the content created by others.
Also, people want to be informed and inspired. Therefore, learning a new technique or tip to make an aspect of their hair care routine better is great, too.
CDU: Indie brands are often seen as pioneers in pushing the beauty industry forward. How do you see the role of indie brands evolving in shaping a more inclusive industry?
LS: Indie brands will continue to be industry disruptors because we are often coming from our own experience with a challenge that needs to be solved. What is exciting is how indie brands are leveraging tech to make solutions even more personalized, such as generating product recommendations based on an individual’s skin type.
The beauty industry is moving from a “one-size fits all” scope to truly celebrating and catering to a diverse population.
CDU: What advice would you give to other indie beauty entrepreneurs who want to develop products for a more diverse customer base?
LS: Take your time. Developing a brand with products catering to a diverse consumer base can manifest as a large assortment.
The more SKUs you have, the more inventory you need to manufacture, ship, and store. Therefore, take a page from the tech industry and start with your minimal viable product (MVP), release it to the market, iterate (if needed), and scale from there. Don’t try to launch with every possible shade of foundation unless you have the funding.