Veteran hairstylist Antonio Soddu is thrilled about the prospects for Curl Friends, the line of hair products he created four years ago for curlyheads.
Since Boston-based investment company CP Baker & Co. acquired a majority interest in Curl Friends last month, Soddu said he decided to increase his involvement in the company. He serves as the company’s spokesman and chief hair consultant.
‘I want people to know there’s a person behind the product — a person who can help them resolve their problems,’ said Soddu, a curlyhead himself who also was one of the founders of Bumble and Bumble 25 years ago.Soddu said CP Baker has the infrastructure, experience and finances to take his company to the next level.
‘Curl Friends will go where it’s supposed to go,’ Soddu said. ‘I feel energized and excited. I’m back in full force.’CP Baker’s clients include companies in nutritional foods, general merchandise, e-learning and financial services industries.
Immediate plans are to overhaul customer service, fulfillment and the Web site. Other plans call for improvements to product packaging and expanded distribution.
‘We’ll be able to make the brand more vibrant,’ said Shelly Charbonneau, the company’s new senior vice president, who will oversee customer relations, operations and product management. ‘We have the resources to take it where it needs to go. We believe in it so much.’Curl Friends will move its corporate headquarters from New York to Boston and has gotten a new management team. Gerry Heimbuch will remain as the company’s president.
The Curl Friends line currently includes Daily and Curl Clarifying shampoos, S.O.S. Extreme Conditioner, Curl Power Texturizing Mist, High Humidity Gel, Humidity Blocker, Low Humidity Cream, Anti-Frenzy Smootherator, Gooey Goo Wonder Wax and All Weather Shine.
Charbonneau said she’s happy that Soddu will be actively involved in the company. She calls him ‘an icon’ with invaluable passion and experience.
‘He has curly hair and understands curly hair,’ she said. ‘It’s a huge plus.’Soddu developed the product to meet the needs of curly hair.
‘Curly hair fascinates me,’ he said. ‘I need the curl to be pliable, to be moveable. I need a line that would allow me and my clients to feel like they have hair on their head, whether they blow dry it or leave it natural.’And he wanted a product that worked as well in a customer’s home as it did in the salon. He’s currently helping to develop several new products for the line.
‘We’re paying more attention to the differences in curly hair,’ Soddu said.
