Camille Rose, The Top Black-Owned Textured Haircare Brand, Has Lifestyle Aspirations

Camille Rose is the No. 1 Black-owned in the textured haircare category and No. 2 driver of sales growth in the category overall, according to information from consumer insights and data provider Nielsen.

Its sales have gained 30% from last year in a category that marketing research and category management consultancy Strategic Solutions International estimates is up roughly 5% in dollars and flat in units as its products have become staples of women’s haircare routines. Camille Rose’s Curl Love Moisture Milk is the leading offering in its segment, Curl Maker is in the third spot in its segment, and Rosemary Activated Hair Oil Treatment is ranked second among new items launched last year in its segment.

All told, the brand’s assortment contains more than 50 products, and its retail footprint spans over 330,000 points of distribution at chains the likes of Ulta Beauty, Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart, Target, Sally Beauty and Walgreens. Camille Rose’s product reach extends beyond haircare to bath and body—and founder Janell Stephens aspires to move it further beyond its core competency.

Stephens, who started Camille Rose in 2011 after mixing formulas in her kitchen to combat her children’s eczema, believes the brand can be a lifestyle player. During the pandemic, she introduced a skincare line. It’s since shuttered, but she’s working on bringing it back for 2025 as well as introducing home products.

Ahead, we speak to Stephens about Camille Rose moving outside of haircare, catering to both gen Z beauty enthusiasts and their aunties, and her thoughts on Walmart integrating its haircare aisles.

How have you gone about keeping Camille Rose relevant over the years?

The strategy is keeping up with the changes and the fast pace of the world and social media. The brand is growing, so we have to make sure we are welcoming new customers and keeping up with the trends of the gen Zers and educating them about Camille Rose. We are a gourmet beauty brand that prioritizes food-grade ingredients. When we first started, we had tons of label readers, and they’re still important.

Gen Zers purchasing facial products with retinol in it, they are our consumers now. We went through a soft label refresh. Whether it is the font we’re using, the way we are photographing our products, behind-the-scenes things that most people wouldn’t even notice, but matter based on the data and research we are doing, we want to make sure we are not as serious as it was when we first launched, more modern and meeting the younger consumer where they are. We need to pay attention to them without alienating the core, the consumers who have careers or that younger mom. It’s been a fun project to see how we can get on a level playing field for everybody.

Camille Rose introduced skincare during the pandemic. 

We really didn’t have the bandwidth to hone in on skin, so we had to put it on hold because hair consumed us. It’s our core, so we had to make sure that we are still talking to our followers and our consumers. We are now in the stage where we’re thinking, OK, now let’s hone in on beauty and face and do another relaunch of that collection.

Is that coming up soon?

It’s the priority for 2025.

Camille Rose has also introduced home products. Why is going beyond haircare important for the brand?

Camille Rose has always been more of a lifestyle company, hair just took off for us. When I first started, I handcrafted everything in my kitchen, and it wasn’t just hair products, it was skin, it was home products. Because my children were experiencing eczema, I was trying to find what I can use that’s going to work that’s not a prescription from a doctor.

I have a notebook full of hair, skin, products we use to clean our house with, products I used to wash our clothes with. I’ve always wanted to make sure I could bring that to the retailers, to the consumers and have a Camille Rose product in all categories in retail. Now that the company has grown, I was able to bring on more people that can help. Now, we do have the bandwidth to focus on my overall goal for the brand.

We’ve always teased it for Black Friday, let’s throw up our all-purpose cleaner or let’s throw up our body scrub. Every Black Friday, I’ll do a small amount of products outside of the hair category.

“Camille Rose has always been more of a lifestyle company, hair just took off for us.”

In haircare, what do you consider when launching a new product?

I consider whatever I’m into at that moment, whether it’s an herb, oil or butter I love or I’ve discovered. I could be in a grocery store and get inspired or by something I see online or if I’m in an apothecary or vitamin shop.

The last collection was the mint collection with sea moss. At the time, I was in the vitamin shop and was like, what’s this about? I saw a lot of people purchasing it. I started educating myself on the minerals and the benefits that it delivers to the body, so I was like, OK, we need sea moss for our hair because we want those same minerals for the outside of the body, too.

What’s been the bestselling product over the years?

My core are still my bestsellers, Curl Love Moisture Milk, Almond Jai Twisting Butter and Renew Deep Conditioner with algae in it. Our Rosemary Oil Strengthening Hair & Scalp Drop, which is fairly new to the brand, that’s taken off. That’s the hot ingredient right now.

What’s been your approach to marketing and social media?

Definitely educating gen Z and introducing our brand to them. As far as us working with them, we are showing a gen Z and then we are showing an auntie. She may do a video and the gen Z does a video.

We do participate in TikTok. If there’s a trend, we’re doing it. The girl that runs our TikTok page, she’s a gen Z herself, so she lets us know, “Hey, you guys, we got to do this.”

You brought on Latto and Victoria Monet as ambassadors recently. What was the result of those partnerships?

When we work with the celebrities, we measure it based off of awareness. They definitely have the numbers.

Do you work with influencers?

We have a Rosette program that’s running all year. We have over 1,000 people signed up. It’s more micro than macro, but, as far as the macro level, we do try to do at least one or two per quarter.

Camille Rose Naturals is in a lot of stores. Which is the biggest revenue driver for the brand?

Target and Walmart. We definitely have room to grow in every big-box retailer, and our eye is on all of them. We are excited about being chain-wide in every retailer that’s out there that’s considered big box, not just with our signature collection, but all of our other collections as well.

Camille Rose has expanded internationally. Where is it in Africa?  

We launched in South Africa—Johannesburg and Cape Town—last year. We are in stores there called Clicks. We’ve been doing events in most places. We have one coming up in Cape Town. How we are being received there has been amazing.

Has it been hard to get distribution in Africa?

You have to do the work here first. We have a salesperson that just focuses on the international marketing and sales of Camille Rose.

How many full-time employees does Camille Rose have?

I have more than 20. We have a small, but mighty team.

Walmart has integrated the haircare aisle. Will that help or hurt small brands?

I love that. It gives us the opportunity to talk to more consumers. When I started out, my brand was based off of ingredients and not a hair type or texture. We formulate with honey, we formulate with different herbs. That’s for everybody. That’s always been my mindset, the goodness of natural ingredients.

I’m excited about it because now I can talk to more textures. I can reach more people. And it gives us the opportunity, especially as an owner of a beauty brand that happens to be Black, to educate. The brands that are not Black-owned, the bigger brands, they’ve been talking to us for years. So, I’m excited about it. We have been getting more consumers.

There have been Black-owned beauty businesses that have closed recently. What do you think about the state of indie beauty? 

My vision is with Camille Rose, and I’m focused on the growth and producing amazing products here. I really have not paid attention. But I’ll just say to those business owners that your setback is a comeback and learn from it. Keep growing, keep glowing, don’t give up, just go through a different door if this one closed.

We need Black-owned brands. So, maybe sit down and sulk for a bit, but joy comes in the morning. Get up, put your big pants on, and keep pushing.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.