Pardon My Fro is expanding its retail footprint.
The brand, which entered Walmart earlier this year after graduating from the Walmart Start accelerator program, is slated to launch its natural hair care line in more than 3,000 CVS Pharmacy doors and more than 500 Target stores in January. In March, it will ramp up its Walmart presence to 1,800 doors.
“As a consumer, where I’m shopping is where I’ve always wanted to see my product. That’s Target, it’s Walmart, it’s CVS — these stores are the first steps toward getting that brand awareness that everybody wants,” said North Carolina-based creative director Dana Blythe, who founded Pardon My Fro as a direct-to-consumer home decor brand in 2010, and has since expanded into handbags, apparel, hair care and, most recently, body sprays, which she aims to bring to Walmart next year as well.
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The brand seeks to represent and uplift Black women, a mission that’s exemplified from its name (“‘Pardon My Fro’ is a statement; it’s saying, my hair is big, my hair is kinky, and this is how you’re going to accept me”), to Blythe’s “dolls,” or illustrations of Black women sprawled across the brand’s packaging, home goods and accessories.
After gaining a minority investment from Horizon Beauty Group in 2021, the brand launched apparel and bags on HSN, beating out expectations and bringing in $68,000 in sales during its first seven-minute on-air segment, Blythe said.
While hand and travel bags remain the brand’s highest-performing category, expanding Pardon My Fro hair care — which debuted in 2022 with six stock keeping units ranging from $13.50 for a hair and scalp oil to $16.50 for a curl enhancer cream — is a key priority for 2024.
“We’re introducing three new hair care products next year based on our feedback: a braiding gel, a conditioning spray and a hair mask,” said Blythe, whose hydrating formulas feature castor and jojoba oils, and come in a signature citrus scent.
Blythe estimates Pardon My Fro will do roughly $30 million in cross-category sales in 2024.
“Walmart [Start] opened up the doors to what Pardon My Fro can be and do in other categories — there are no limits,” said the founder, who is eyeing a cosmetics expansion next. In-person vending opportunities, too, are a focus for 2024.
“We have to be outside — consumers want to touch, feel and talk about the product,” said Blythe, who has done a number of pop-ups, hosted an activation at CurlFest in New York and is eyeing a presence at New Orleans’ Essence Festival next year. “We know that our crowd and our audience is there.”
In 2024, Blythe aims to begin animating the dolls and producing shorts to build the brand’s storytelling further.
“The dolls are the backbone of the brand — Pardon My Fro isn’t just about the hair or the ‘fro, but the doll that you see yourself, your mother, your auntie or best friend in,” said Blythe, who has drawn more than 500 dolls to date — around half of which have appeared on Pardon My Fro products, including Shanell who has a flurry of dark curls and Ziggy, who dons a blonde afro.
