Sally Beauty & Cosmo Prof announced this month the start of their 2022 Cultivate Accelerator Program, which is designed to find, launch and support small businesses that created unique and innovative products within the haircare, haircolor, styling tool and nail categories. The program has propelled winning brands such as Curlanista, Patti Yankee, Peculiar Roots, PuffCuff, UniQurl and True + Pure Texture to new heights.
Focused on bringing beauty entrepreneurs’ business plans and visions to life, the retailer knows it is not enough to simply get products in the hands of consumers and stylists; growing and mentoring the people behind the brands with ongoing support is just as important. Here, other key aspects of the program:
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Designed to help small businesses scale by providing two well-deserving winners with mentorship, one with distro at Sally Beauty and one with distro at Cosmo Prof, and $30,000 worth of funding split between the founders.
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Previously, the Cultivate Accelerator Program focused specifically on female founders. This year, the retailer expanded the program to a more diverse group of beauty innovators—all entrepreneurs now have the ability to submit for a chance to win.
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Finalists receive the unique opportunity to participate in a four-week virtual boot camp where seasoned Sally Beauty Holdings leaders provide guidance in key areas such as Marketing, Merchandising, Legal, E-commerce, Store Operations and more.
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The boot camp concludes with each founder pitching their business plans to Sally Beauty Holdings executives for the chance at retail distribution.
The program is now accepting applications through April 22, 2022.