Hair brand FYC reveals international expansion plans

UK manufactured natural hair product range FYC (For Your Curls) has unveiled major European and US expansion plans as it celebrates a notable ‘double’ in prestigious industry awards.

FYC was created especially for use on multicultural mixed textured curls and was inspired by the five-year-old daughter of one of its founders.

The brand, based in Lancashire and released onto the market in 2020, won Best New Textured Hair Product at this year’s Pure Beauty Awards.

The award was given to the brand’s new ‘Gentle & Nourishing’ shampoo, which was released in Spring 2022. It is now a ‘double winner’ having received the award last year for the launch of its ‘Refresh & Detangle’ spray.

FYC delivers easy-to-use, accessibly priced products made especially for Afro-European mixed textured curls. The business sold more than 50,000 units of its products this year – a 20 per cent annual increase.

It has now expanded its sales into the European market, which has more than 8.5m potential customers. Early 2023 will see FYC move into the US, which has a massive potential market of more than 33.8m people.

Rob Binns, co-founder of the business, based in Preston, Lancashire, began working on the range with his partners Bradley Lincoln and Mike Peters after failing to find the right kind of hair product for his daughter Lydia, who was then aged three.

He said: “It’s amazing to win such a renowned award for our new product, and it’s even more thrilling to be the two-times winner now. We’re really making moves with the brand.

“We’re moving into European markets now with the help of the Department of International Trade’s Export Academy and our business plan will see us expand into the US early next year.

“We are really excited about FYC’s global potential. We feel we’ve found a genuine gap in the market, a hair care product that is natural and meets a real need. From day one our aim has been to build and develop a strong British brand that can make a real impact not just in the UK but in overseas markets.”

All FYC products are produced entirely in Great Britain. Each one is packed with naturally derived ingredients including shea butter, olive oil, pro vitamin B5, and organic aloe vera to hydrate, define and add shine to curls.

In addition, the range is vegan-friendly, with no silicones, sulfates or parabens, which is particularly important for curly hair.

Rob explained the background to FYC’s development. He said: “We’ve got a little girl with frizzy, curly hair and we couldn’t find any products that worked for her that didn’t contain harsh chemicals. So, together with Bradley and Mike, we set about creating them.

“Having seen first-hand what a challenge curly hair can be, there are so many textures, so many differences and so many options, we wanted to develop a product range to help ‘curlies’ live with and love their hair. Lydia loves it!”

The Pure Beauty Awards are the biggest and most recognised awards in the beauty industry. Brands are first shortlisted by a team of experts, and then the public vote for the eventual winners.