Erenzia Beauty Presents a Win-win for Latine Beauty Shoppers – WWD

Latine beauty shoppers have a new way of buying — and selling — hair care and fragrance products.

Erenzia Beauty, a multilevel marketing beauty business that debuted at the tail end of 2022, is driven by the community it serves. “We did not set out to become a hair care company, but we wanted to serve our community,” said Alina Gonzalez, the brand’s cofounder, who is Cuban. To that end, in addition to six hair care products, the brand also has two perfume oils. Prices between the products range from $18.99 to $34.99.

The market opportunity is vast. According to a NielsenIQ report, Hispanic beauty households account for 17 percent of beauty households, but make up 20.3 percent of beauty spend. The buying power of the cohort increased 87 percent from 2010 to 2020, and dollar volume outpaced total U.S. beauty growth last year.

The brand didn’t comment on sales, but industry sources estimate it will reach $175,000 in first-year sales.

Though Erenzia is intended for the Latine consumer, Gonzalez was mindful to create products that cater to every segment of the heterogenous group. 

“The basis of the two hair ranges is hydration, it’s about providing moisture,” she said. “We found ingredients we know are super powerful, like rice protein and rice water, and we include jojoba oil, cacao and cassava in our leave-in treatments,” she said. The six stock keeping units were created “for someone with super-fine straight hair, to a Black Latina with a type 4 hair type. With the two ranges we created, they capture about 95 percent of users in the marketplace.”

The brand is cruelty-free and vegan, and Gonzalez noted that facial and body skin care are potential categories for expansion. “We tend to have more olive tones, so we don’t see wrinkles as early — our concerns are pigmentation-based,” Gonzalez said. “Many of the pigmentation products our community uses are very chemically heavy, and I’d love to come up with something more natural and more gentle for her.”

For distribution, the brand relies on a multilevel marketing strategy. Erenzia refers to its consultants as “amigas.”

“When you think about it, content creators have affiliate codes, they get a commission. When you think about the amigas that we have out in the world, they’re basically microinfluencers within their communities,” Gonzalez said. “The majority of these women live in multigenerational homes, they live in communities with five or six generations, and they are natural sharers.”

Erenzia’s network of sellers come in with an initial investment of $44.99. “Through that, she gets a product range, she gets our app to be able to share, an online store link, and all she needs to do is share the link to earn a commission,” said Vanessa Ramos, one of the brand’s cofounders.

“We can add $150 to $250 per month, which is what people look for from a gig job,” she continued. “That makes a big difference: it’s paying for her car, extracurriculars for her kids. Right now, we have an amiga who’s using it to save for a quinceañera. We know this market likes to share, so why not give her a reward?”