Odele, the fast-growing hair care brand that took flight through Target, eyes women’s sports fanbase

The brand seemed to appear out of nowhere, populating Target shelf space among other “clean label” hair products during the pandemic.

Its minimalist aesthetic and positioning next to pricier brands appealed to consumers looking for affordable yet better-for-you hair care.

In just four years, Minneapolis-based Odele Beauty has gone from an idea to national distribution in more than 7,000 stores, including Target, Ulta Beauty and CVS.

Founded by Minnesotans Lindsay Holden, Britta Chatterjee and Shannon Kearney, Odele has grown to more than $30 million in sales last year, a 55% increase from 2022.

The founders — who started the company in 2019, leaning on their experiences in retail and product development — grew the brand without a large digital marketing budget. Instead, they caught attention of consumers through media mentions in beauty magazines, online reviews and giving out free samples.

Now, with a fresh influx of capital from private investors, Odele is preparing a major advertising push on streaming channels as well as out-of-home platforms, like billboards. And, notably, the brand signed a multiyear sponsorship agreement with the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, making Odele one of few women-owned companies to sponsor a major professional sports team.

“We have an incredible roster of vibrant, female-founded businesses in this community, and we are always looking to uplift and empower women,” Carley Knox, Lynx president of business operations, said.

With the Lynx, who initiated the deal, Odele’s founders will be able to place products directly into the hands of thousands of fans at Target Center, the team’s home arena, while cementing the brand’s Minnesota identity.

“Our goal is to become a household name,” Holden said.

Starting a brand

Chatterjee and Holden met as students in the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management’s Brand Enterprise program, where they both obtained their master’s in business administration in 2010. Holden spent more than 15 years in retail and sales, including eight years as a senior buyer for Target. Chatterjee, who had helped build up brands and restructured broken ones for companies like Target and General Mills, eventually moved into the hair care and beauty industry. That’s where she met Kearney, who has a professional background in operations, accounting, project management and product development.

In 2019, the trio sought the attention of Target’s hair care buyer, asking for “15 minutes of her time to take her through the vision and concept of Odele,” Holden said.

The brand was based on what they believed were real opportunities for an all-natural ingredient, gender-neutral hair care brand at a lower price point that could rival slightly more expensive products mostly used in salons.

The answer from Target’s buyer was simple: You’re on to something. Keep us posted.

After trying 80 different formulations, the trio returned to Target leaders a few months later with a more refined plan for the brand and their first line of assorted shampoos, conditioners, sprays and styling gels. They had also secured a contract manufacturing partner in Minneapolis-based Evergreen Innovations. The Minneapolis-based retailer agreed to sell Odele exclusively starting at the end of January 2020. The founders simultaneously launched a direct-to-consumer website.

The three-year exclusivity deal with Target ended in 2023, allowing Odele to expand into Ulta Beauty and CVS, putting them over 7,000 retail locations nationwide.

Holden said they hope the partnership with the Lynx will help push more people toward Odele.

“We want to bring more people to the aisle,” she said.

The company was initially funded with $1 million from angel investors, friends and family. This past November, Odele secured a minority investment from Stride Consumer Partners. Government filings show the company has raised close to $8 million from selling equity shares. The founders remain majority shareholders of the company.

Growing alongside women’s sports

Odele is part of a growing number of Minnesota companies investing their marketing dollars into sponsorship agreements with women’s sports teams.

Sports has become the main category where advertisers can reach consumers, and so the Lynx partnership was an easy choice, Holden said. It’s well-timed, given rising ticket demand and interest in the WNBA, boosted by the arrival of incoming stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

“Half of the viewers of sports are women, but ads aren’t targeting that audience,” Holden said.

As beauty, body and hair care brands like Secret and Glossier up their stake in women’s sports, Odele’s founders will consider doing the same, Holden said. Corporate sponsorship deals with the WNBA doubled between 2021 and 2023 while deals with the National Women’s Soccer League had 56% greater value in 2023 than 2021, according to Chicago-based sports marketing firm Navigate.

At the team level, deals with WNBA and NWSL franchises have grown 41% since 2018, the firm stated.

“I hope the momentum stays,” Holden said.