Ampro Industries, Inc., has been making hair products for seven decades, and the company’s gels are legendary. The Pro Styl Protein Styling Gel is the best-selling gel in the country, and their Pro Styl’s Olive Oil Gel is a NaturallyCurly Editors’ Choice Award winner.
“I love using Shine n Jam because it can be used on any hair texture to achieve multiple styles such as braids, ponytails, locs etc.,” says Stasha Harris of The Braid Up. “It gives a neat, moisturized and totally sleek finish to styles, and, can be reapplied as often as needed without leaving buildup/residue.”
Ampro doesn’t take success for granted, and is always looking for ways to improve, especially with changing hairstyles, increasingly ingredient-savvy customers, and the development of new technologies. Ampro’s new Shine & Jam Shea Butter DD Crème for Hair | Skin, an all-in-one haircare and skincare treat, is one of the first “dynamic do-all” products designed for both hair and skin.
We asked Ampro’s Vice President of Marketing Camille Wright how the company innovates to improve its existing products and create new ones, especially in such a fast-paced, competitive time in the natural hair world.
NC: How does Ampro come up with new products? For example, how do you come up with new products like DD Crème?
Camille Wright: Our innovations begin with open ears pointed toward our customers. Whether they are discussing our products or others, we tune in and turn up the volume. We care about the voices of our consumers. The problems/issues/disappointments they have with products they are using – even if it’s our own products – lead us to innovate and develop solutions.
We are a very “solutions-driven” company. Whether it be for our current consumers, potential consumers, or distribution partners, we want to provide resolutions and a wonderful product experience.
Our process begins with “lightbulb moments.” Wherever the spark comes from Research & Development, Sales, Marketing, our Professional Stylist Forum, a conversation with a consumer, we all work together to present a path to a new product/category/formula/update whatever it takes to solve the need.
NC: When developing new products or collections, how do you find out about the latest beauty trends?
Camille Wright: Our goal is to provide our customers with products that will give them the greatest benefit while also saving them money. We are very dialed into the beauty industry. Our team travels a lot throughout the United States and abroad to experience the industry. When we see trends pop in other spaces of the industry, our No. 1 goal is to determine whether or not that trend will present a benefit to our own consumers.
NC: What are some innovations that Ampro has come up with before other haircare brands?
Camille Wright: Our customers should know that our best innovations are in what they don’t see. The processes we use to make our gels are very refined, even with the gels we’ve made for more than 70. We are also constantly innovating the way that gel, in general, is made. Each of our gels is crafted differently to make each one unique from our other formulations, and to provide the best product performance, whether it be our Clear Ice Aloe Hydrating StylER, our Protein Styling Gel, or our Clear Ice Coconut Oil Styling Gel.
We don’t just switch one ingredient for another in an effort to keep up with what’s trending. We discover the need, find the ingredients that suit that need and begin crafting the perfect product with the highest level of performance. We believe listening first is what gets us the results.
Being first to market, while important, is not nearly as important as providing the best possible product. It’s critical to us that when our consumer uses it, they have the positive experience they’ve been looking for.
NC: Are there any Ampro formulas that you have changed over the years based on community feedback or changes in technology?
Camllle Wright: One of the innovations we’ve tested for a number of years was our preservative system. Though parabens are tried and true, consumer feedback led us to remove them from our products and find a replacement. We’ve invested years in developing a new paraben-free formula for preserving products that helps to maintain our high standards while giving our consumers products they can feel comfortable using.
NC: Is the Shine & Jam Shea Butter DD Crème for Hair I Skin the first of its kind, and what prompted you to create it?
Camille Wright: Our DD Crème for Hair | Skin, a first-to-market product, was consumer driven. Because of the love our customers have for our Ampro Pro Styl Curl Enhancers, we weren’t often asked why we don’t have a cream. Our curl enhancers do a great job of defining curls and keeping the hair moisturized, but consumers wanted the option of having a different experience in terms of consistency. Some wanted the lusciousness of a cream.
We listened. We captured the idea and then took it a step further. We didn’t simply want our consumers to trade their Curl Enhancers for our DD Crème. We wanted them to enjoy them both. So we worked to craft a “Dynamic Do-All.” The result is an all-over, head-to-toe moisturizer that can be used on the face, but can also be used all over their body. We are a value driven, and wanted to provide them with added utility. We are in love with this product, and our customers are loving it too.
In addition to the DD Crème, Ampro has recently released the Castor Oil Gel and the Shea Edges Edge Control in this collection.
This post is sponsored by Ampro Industries, Inc.
