Beyoncé has never been shy about letting results do the talking, and her latest word on Cécred proves it.
Speaking in a special Cécred edition of i-D, she explained what she was after when she started the brand: “I had a vision to build something that solved real problems and performed so incredibly that the people who can’t stand my music still use Cécred, haaaa! … because it works.”
RELATED: Beyoncé and Tina Knowles Stun at Cécred UK Launch Event
Of course the UK move is the real headline. Cécred landed in Space NK stores across the UK and Ireland, its first international retail expansion, after teaming up with Ulta Beauty back home. The launch date was 22 September, and the brand announced it with an animated clip of its bottles hopping the Atlantic. The lineup includes the Foundation, Protection, Restoring and Styling collections, plus the Temple Oud Hair Perfume for anybody who wants their strands smelling as expensive as they feel.
The i-D piece is a poster-style zine with exclusive imagery, plus an interview by Eni Subair that includes her mother, Ms. Tina Knowles. Beyoncé is the sole founder, investor and chairwoman of the brand, with Tina serving as vice chairwoman, and the feature brings her back to i-D 20 years after her last cover as Cécred heads to the UK.
British shoppers apparently had their coins ready. Cécred reportedly broke the record for the biggest brand launch in Space NK history, with thousands rushing to stores and the website. CEO Grace Ray said the UK had been the brand’s top market outside America since day one, which suggests the demand was already there long before the shelf space was. If you’ve ever watched someone in London ask a cousin to ship a bottle from the States, you already knew.
What keeps this from being just another celebrity beauty rollout is who it’s built for. In an earlier chat with WWD, Beyoncé pushed back on the idea that a Black founder should only make products for hair like her own, saying she wanted research, science and testing behind formulas that serve every texture. She said society has trained people to focus on differences and kept them in boxes. Cécred’s pitch is simple: excellence first, labels second.
She has also put the products through the kind of stress test most brands only dream of. Beyoncé told WWD the styling line came from her own struggles keeping hair healthy on tour, and that she tested it on Blue Ivy and Rumi too. When your wind machine is blasting under stadium lights and your edges still behave, that’s a pretty good focus group.
The community side of the brand is traveling too. Cécred is partnering with BeyGOOD to support the Athena Aesthetics & Beauty Academy in Birmingham. That follows the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund, which committed $250,000 across the US and UK to hairstyling education. Support for the stylists and braiders who built this culture chair by chair is a smart move, and a respectful one.
Beyoncé has always said the dream started in her mother’s salon, where her first job was sweeping hair.
Now that same dream has a British address and a record-setting debut. Period Bey!