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Cake Beauty is a blend of playful indulgence with naturally inspired ingredients. From decadent textures to sensorial fragrances, every product is created and designed to give the soul what it needs and the heart what it wants.
Cake Beauty was founded by Canadian born Heather Reier, whose passion for playful indulgence and naturally inspired ingredients created the sweet legacy called Cake, including a hair care assortment of 15 confections that are now making their way to the UK. Introducing totally to-die-for, naturally luxe, cruelty free hair care products from iconic Canadian brand Cake Beauty; launching exclusively at Boots in store and online in July 2019.
Guided by its five founding principles- created in Canada, no animal testing, 100% Vegan, naturally luxe and totally-to-die-for, Heather Reier has taken both Canada and the USA by storm with Cake Beauty, quickly becoming a cult favorite beauty brand loved for its delectable textures, naturally inspired formulas and affordable offerings.
And now, Heather has headed to the UK for the exclusive official launch of Cake Beauty. The cult Canadian beauty brand is now officially available to buy in the UK. Cake Beauty has launched its delicious hair assortments exclusively with Boots with a total of exclusive 13 products including a wet-line and dry styling heroes.
Heather Reier is an entrepreneur, female founder, industry leader and beauty-maven. She has always been a lover of all-things beauty, yet she found herself on a constant search for indulgent, girly products that were also natural and cruelty-free. Her journey has been a one of non-convention, from concocting mud pie masks as a little girl to becoming a leader in the beauty field. Much like her products, Heather is the perfect combination of whimsical and practical. The void in the market inspired Heather to create her own line of sweet-yet-safe beauty confections. Heather Reier set out to create high performing, naturally driven formulations with playful indulgence and in 2003, Cake Beauty was born in her hometown of Kitchener, Ontario.
Today, as Founder and Creative Director, Heather guides the strategy for Cake Beauty working closely with the innovation and brand teams. Creating with “heart” remains key for Heather and she still leads, conceptualizes and tests every product until it has her stamp of approval. She maintains active involvement with the business on a daily basis, as it is her beauty playground, while managing to balance time with her husband and children; her daily inspiration.
Fuzzable, we had a chance to sit down and chat with Heather Reier to talk about Cake Beauty, discussing the official launch, inspiration to create Cake Beauty and products, and much more. Read below our exclusive interview with Heather Reier to get more insights about Cake Beauty!
What inspired you to go about starting Cake and make your own beauty products?
I have always been inspired by beauty and the way it can help instill confidence in a person. I found myself constantly searching for quality products with natural ingredients, that were still playful and fun. I thought that this was a balance that was missing. The idea was to create a brand that brought those two ideas together. Natural ingredients, vegan, cruelty-free and all that good stuff but still keep a sense of indulgence. There just wasn’t anything out there like this.
Do you come from a biochemical background or similar qualification that helped you boosting this idea?
No, I have a degree in Political Science! I have always been quite entrepreneurial, and I knew that entrepreneurship would be my path. The basis of the formulas initially stemmed from homemade toiletry recipes . I out-sourced the manufacturing and formula creation as soon as the brand was getting traction.
I’ve used a couple of products from Cake myself and they’re really impressive. What was the first product you ever created? Do you remember your first-ever Cake Beauty client?
Thank you for the compliment! Desserted Island Body Mousse was Cake’s first product. I started with body care and then entered into hair care which are the products that you see at Boots today.
Creating the first products from my kitchen (in Kitchener, Ontario) served as inspiration for the brand. I was inspired by the nostalgic and sensorial elements of the ingredients I was using and wanted customers to experience that very same feeling each time they opened the product. Indulgent textures, delicious fragrances and a sense of fun and so the name Cake was born.
There are many strong competitors out there in the industry. What was your vision and mission that gave you the strength to stand out and succeed?
The vision was pairing two ideas that don’t typically exist together: naturally inspired, cruelty free and vegan combined with playful, fun and sensorial. I wanted to create a distinct brand voice that would connect with women and girls on a real, authentic level. The mission was (and continues to be) creating high quality products that work extremely well, all the while branding these beautiful formulas with an effortless vibe, a perfectly imperfect tone and a bit of sass.
What kind of research was required initially in creating all these stunning vegan, cruelty-free products that Cake provides to their customers?
The formulas were rooted in homemade recipes. Natural ingredients, beautiful and highly efficacious. I relied on rich and decadent butter and oils to achieve the pay off on the skin and to give a highly sensorial experience.
Which is your most favorite Cake Beauty product that you have created to date?
I always say that is like asking me the choose my favourite child! They are all my favourites really, but the Wave Maker Beach Spray is really dear to my heart because it is a formula with high-performing hold/texture and no stickiness – and that was not easy to create! To solve that hard/crunchy/drying feel typical of beach sprays, I eventually landed on using sugar in the formula to add texture and hold. It is my daily go-to product.
What do you think of maintaining close and quality relations with your clients? How do you acquire and handle their constructive feedback for Cake?
Maintaining a close and quality relationship with our customers is very important. These are the people that inspire me every day. Everything that we do is with them in mind.
Do you have any special tips for building a successful relationship with the clients and the manufacturers?
Be authentic, real and humble. It is important to listen, really listen.
How important do you think branding and promotions are for any company’s success? How do you come up with the success mantra for Cake?
Branding is really important. The actual products themselves and all other Cake Beauty touch points are meant to conjure up a distinct feeling, a connection. I want our customers to feel part of our collective.
Now, on a more personal level, who is Heather Reier? What is your typical day? Apart from Cake’s beauty, what are your fashion interests?
I am wife and a mother of two incredible boys, aged 9 and 7. My typical day, I wake up early, usually before the kids. I put out breakfast for the kids and then I exercise for about an hour. I get the kids off on their day (always with a kiss!) and then I shower, meditate for 15 minutes and get out the door to start my work day. My work days are a mix of collaborative work with the team and concentrative work on my own. My fashion interest is quite varied. I am your classic high/low shopper and almost always you’ll see me in something like a tank from Zara paired with designer pants.
What are those five favourite beauty products that you can’t live without?
The Wave Maker Texturizing Beach Spray – £8.99
The Mane Manage’r 3-in-1 Leave-In Conditioner – £8.99
The Hold Out Flexy Hold Hair Spray – £8.99
The Big Big Deal Thickening Volume Shampoo – £8.99
The Big Big Wig Thickening Volume Conditioner – £8.99
How do you feel about the success that the brand Cake has brought to you? Are there any exciting upcoming projects that you wish to share with our audience?
It is pretty thrilling to see the brand go from a tiny company started in a kitchen to where it is today. I have not forgotten those roots, and the journey has been the ride of a lifetime. In a lot of ways though, it really feels like we are still just getting started. We are working on some really exciting brand extensions for Cake. I can’t comment in detail right now, but I can tell you that it is very exciting!! It make a lot of sense for the brand to extend into additional categories.
What advice would you like to give to someone starting their own business?
Be prepared to work hard. I often think that people underestimate what the grind is like when creating a business. There are many years of hard work and simply grinding it out. You have to be willing to lay it out there and work really hard. Resiliency is critical as well, because there will always be highs but lows too. Finally, surround yourself with people that know things that you don’t know, or have a different perspective than you do. Open your mind to others advice. Maybe you take the advice, maybe you don’t, but listen – really listen – and keep your ego in check.
It was great to chat with Heather Reier and know the insights about the Cake Beauty! We’re so in love with stunning Cake Beauty products! Check out the products here to know more information about Cake Beauty!
Do you love them as much as we do? Let us know your thoughts and experiences on Twitter at @fuzzable!
