How important is data and research for African Americans who participate in the hair care community?
The population of the United States is really driving organic growth in this category. If you look at women 18 plus, who are the primary users of textured hair care products, 63 percent of those women are White American. By 2045 they will be at 50 percent. White American women will be 50 percent. You’ll see a growth in Latina American women, as well as mixed-race women. African American women will remain the same at around 13 percent. When you look at those shifting demographics and the characteristics associated with the emerging group, they’re coming to the middle and you’ll have more texture, more curly hair, wavy hair, and coily hair. So manufacturers are now scrambling to make sure that they are incorporating that into their long term strategies.
Is there an international strategy that you have to move your business globally?
SSI is behind the scenes digging into the insights. We’re really working and trying to understand what’s happening for the brands that we service, and many of them are looking for expansion opportunities outside of the United States. We have started to include more geographies around the world in our reporting. We will be launching in the African diaspora and we will talk about the influence as it relates to hair care for women of color across the world.
