Bevel: Beyond the ‘ethnic’ aisle
Walker and Company CEO Tristan Walker had a hard time shaving. When he was 15, he tried a multi-blade razor and woke up with bumps and rashes on his face the next morning.
So, in 2013, Walker founded a company to solve problems in the health and beauty space for the African American community. Their first product is called Bevel, a shaving system designed specifically for men with coarse and curly hair.
“It’s razor bumps and razor burn. It’s a problem that 80 percent of black men and black women have, and it’s a problem that 30 percent of other races have.”
Bevel works through a multi-step process. You start by applying oil and then shaving cream with a brush, using a single blade razor, and finishing with a moisturizer. The starter kit costs $59.95, and 90-day replenishment kits cost $30 each. That’s a total of $150 for the products.
Tristan Walker knows this is a high price for a shaving kit:
“I reflect back on my experience of going to a retail shop, having to go to the ethnic aisle that’s not really an aisle, that’s really a shelf. Then I have to reach to the bottom of that shelf for a package that’s dirty. Like, that entire second-class citizen experience… it’s not great. Considering how much money we spend on these things, how much need we have for products that work, I think having a respect for the customer is incredibly important.”
Listen to the full conversation in the audio player above.
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