Proudly is claiming its next category.
The baby care brand, cofounded by Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade in 2022, is entering the hair care game with four stock keeping units that aim to help parents maintain their children’s curly and coily locks.
“Like a lot of Black parents, we exited the baby care aisle way sooner than a lot of other folks because we just didn’t have products that nourished and moisturized and didn’t flatten out the curl patterns of our children’s hair,” said Union, whose youngest daughter with Wade, 4-year-old Kaavia, helped inform the development of the line.
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“Kaavia is very serious about her hair — to be able to try something new on her already is not easy in our household,” said Wade. To that end, the range was formulated with the nuances of childrens’ still-developing curl patterns in mind, so that the products can “grow with your child,” said Union.
“The ethos of the brand is making sure that no matter what, we’re centering the needs of Black and brown babies,” added former Miami Heat point guard Wade. “This process has been educational for myself as a 41-year-old Black man to understand even the needs of my hair, because we used to just use whatever was given to us.”
Launching direct-to-consumer and in Target stores Sept. 3, Proudly hair care includes a low-lather Softening Shampoo, a Defining Detangler and a medium conditioner and a heavy conditioner, the latter intended for children with tighter textures. All products retail for $12.99 and are tear-free, featuring ingredients such as murumuru butter, rosemary extract, glycerin, squalane and fennel seed, which is said to help prevent breakage.
“Our textured-hair kid community deserves way more than a three-in-one and a two-in-one — I can’t enforce that enough,” said Union, who seeks to eventually add styling products to the lineup. “Just like we have [stylers] in adult offerings, a lot of our babies like to do more extravagant hairstyles, like twists — those require stylers.”
Though the brand did not comment on sales expectations for the expansion, industry sources think Proudly hair care could reach the seven-figure range in first-year retail sales.
Proudly president and Estée Lauder alum Pamela Cholankeril said the business is “pretty evenly split” among its existing baby skin care and diaper care skus. “Diapers are an interesting entry point for people, and then they move into skin care,” she said.
Earlier this year, the brand inked a partnership with ingredient transparency tool ClearForMe to provide shoppers enhanced descriptions of Proudly’s ingredients and functions as they navigate the brand’s website.
Now, the brand is taking its goal of providing high-quality formulas a step further, with eight of its existing products including wipes, diaper cream, body wash and allover balm becoming Environmental Working Group-verified. “We are very much centering the safety and the health of our littlest ones,” said Union.
The mission extends beyond product: Proudly has partnered with the Miami Diaper Bank to provide local families who aren’t able to afford diapers with the resources they need.
“We’re leaning more heavily into getting involved in the fight against diaper tax — families, certainly in these times, should not be taxed for having babies. Proudly wants to be at the forefront of that movement,” Union said.