Problem
Healthy and beautiful hair
is a universal human desire
But...
The current hair loss paradigm shames people into using harsh products. These products produce harsh side effects and offer limited efficacy, such as Minoxidil and Finasteride.
Shame has also compelled people to undertake painful, risky, expensive hair restoration surgeries to replace thinning or lost hair.
Solution
Great hair begins
with self-care
Our topical hair care elixir contains a tailored combination of only four organic ingredients that provide your body with the raw materials it requires to give you…
The interplay of these four organic ingredients is the key to CRIA's efficacy.
CRIA's unique formula is based on sciences of ethno-botany, homeopathic medicine, and natural ingredient chemistry.
Our founder's parents (a biochemist and an homeopathic physician) pioneered this approach, taking two decades to experiment with and isolate select natural herbs of medicinal significance whose biosynthesis matched while active constituents regenerated hair without use of any synthetic chemicals.
Product
Cria is a complete, all-natural haircare system for everyone
—
Validation
In a consumer perception study in 2018, 100 people were recruited to apply CRIA to their scalp and hair 3 times a week for 4 weeks.
With CRIA products, we do not claim to cure any chronic condition, illness, disease, or reverse genetics. For medical questions, please seek your physician's advice. Do not use CRIA if allergic to any ingredients. Check the website and the product label for the list. Keep away from heat, electrical sources, and small children. Do not ingest. Topical use only. Seek immediate medical attention if accidentally ingested.
Traction
- Recipient of 3 consecutive State Trade Expansion (STEP) grants (Texas) (2019-21).
- $1M+ export orders to India ($4.89B organic hair care market, growing at 6.58% CAGR; one of the youngest populations with an average age of 29 years that is digitally spend-savvy and health-aware).
- Poised to expand exports to Middle East and Africa (fastest growing organic hair care market, 7.52% CAGR).
Customers
Why now
Whether from pandemic-related stress or some systemic effect on the body, COVID-19 has left millions of people suffering from hair loss.
- Of 5,875 people who recovered from COVID-19, 33% reported hair thinning.
- Metropolitan Medical Center in New York City, reported a 400% increase in patients with hair loss during the peak of the pandemic.*
*Source: The Indiana School of Medicine
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CRIA's for you if you are:
- Experiencing hair loss, brittle, thinning, over-processed hair, and/or itchy, irritated scalp.
- Not experiencing any hair issues in the present, yet seeking to preemptively protect your head of hair, naturally.
- Actively looking for non-chemical, non-surgical means to combat hair issues, resulting from a lifestyle change or life-altering event (e.g. cancer, COVID).
- Shopping for beauty and wellness products with only natural/organic ingredients (not just which but how many). In 2018, 40% of millennials and 59% of Gen Z purchased hair care products free of synthetic ingredients. The number is expected to grow globally.
Business model
CRIA's product profit margin is 80% with potential to increase exponentially
CRIA generates revenue from e-commerce and wholesale sales (including exports). We acquire customers through a multichannel advertising and marketing strategy, with a particular emphasis on paid ads and influencer marketing.
70% of capital we raise here will go towards setting up our own production facility so we can significantly reduce our lead times from 8 weeks to 2 weeks, thereby increasing our product profit margins by at least 50%. We also plan to allocate 30% of the capital raised towards targeted ads, increasing e-commerce sales in North America.
*Profit margin as of January 30, 2022
Market
80% of men and 50% of women will experience hair loss at some point in their lives
Due to COVID, we're hyper vigilant of our bodies, our health, and our mortality as never before.
Our deepest desire is to thrive, not just survive.
This is expanding the global demand for natural/organic ingredients with post use advantages and reviving properties.
CRIA's unique global positioning today:
1. Powered by only 4 organic ingredients.
2. Good for your hair because it's good for your body.
3. Vegan, Gluten Free, Cruelty Free, Chemicals Free.
4. Fully recyclable packaging.
Competition
Our competitive edge
We provide an all-natural topical elixir with just four key organic ingredients—your body does the rest.
Our competition includes...
—
OTC and prescription hair loss treatments
- Expensive
- Not natural or organic
- Have significant side effects
- Contraindicated for women of child-bearing age
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Hair restoration surgeries
These procedures relocate hair from the sides and back of the scalp to the crown, temples, and frontal hairline.
- These treatments are painful and very expensive.
- They often require multiple surgeries that can result in permanent scarring.
- Surgeons charge an exorbitant price that is out of reach for most consumers.
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Other oil-based hair care products
While oil-based products are popular globally, they have struggled to gain traction in North America due to greasiness and odor. Most of them do not take a minimalist or tailored approach in their composition.
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Hair growth shampoos and conditioners
Leading products in this category include Waterman’s Grow Me Shampoo and Viviscal’s Gorgeous Growth Conditioner. Waterman’s claims to work by “priming the scalp” using a combination of oil, herbs, biotin, etc., while Viviscal uses a nonorganic mixture of more than two dozen compounds.
Vision and strategy
CRIA’s growth timeline (highlights):
Funding
Bootstrapped to date
Founders
Meet the founders
Dr. Shubhra Sharma, Founder & CEO
Dr. Shubhra Sharma is an anthropologist and entrepreneur. She’s served as an Associate Director of Gender Studies at Vanderbilt University, leaving her position in 2016 to launch CRIA.
Siddharth Sharma, Co-Founder and Acting COO
Siddharth Sharma re-designed our parents' formula for the current market, invested 100K as seed money in CRIA, and oversees CRIA's production and distribution.
The Lost Formula
“This all started with an obscure notation in my father’s diary . . .”
Like many great stories, CRIA began with a surprise discovery hidden in a diary. Our founder, Dr. Shubhra Sharma, is an anthropologist and entrepreneur, and the daughter of a biochemist father and a homeopath mother.
Intrigued, Shubhra invited her brother, Siddharth to recreate the formula—and discovered that their parents’ passion and perseverance had in fact led them to a breakthrough in hair care.
CRIA is how Shubhra and Siddharth honor their parents’ legacy, and to help millions of people worldwide create healthier hair without damaging their bodies in the process.