To Bianca Ingrosso, Caia isn’t just a company: it’s her alter ego. “We all have a role model that you look up to, and I’ve never really had that,” Ingrosso told WWD. “I’ve always looked up to the best version of myself. You always need one person in your life to believe in you. So I made that person up.”
Caia, she says, is bold, fearless and hardworking. “Everyone has their own inner Caia,” she added. “She’s that little angel on your shoulder that talks to you in very positive ways.”
With more than 1 million followers on Instagram and nearly 450,000 on TikTok, Ingrosso is one of Sweden’s biggest influencers. She cofounded Caia Cosmetics alongside her business partner Vanessa Lindblad and seasoned beauty entrepreneurs Mikael Snabb and Jesper Matsch in 2018.
“I felt that there was a gap [in the beauty market],” Ingrosso explained. “There were so many dry powders and colorful pigmented products, but nothing that really kept you looking hydrated with a natural, healthy glow — like yourself, but elevated.”
Caia has since expanded from selling only makeup products to offering hair care, skin care and fragrance. After starting out in Sweden, the company successfully launched throughout Scandinavia and in other European nations like Germany and the United Kingdom. The United States is Caia’s latest frontier.
Despite an already crowded market, the beauty industry is projected to amass $716 billion worldwide by 2025, up from $625 billion today, according to a report by Grand View Research. In the U.S., cosmetics sales are dominated in part by celebrities including Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber, whose brands Fenty, Rare Beauty and Rhode generate hundreds of millions of dollars in collective revenue.
Still, Ingrosso and Caia’s chief executive officer, Johanna Eriksson Hamrén, aren’t concerned about standing out. “We don’t have a specific recipe,” said Hamrén. “The key to success is to be agile, to really be able to adapt quickly.”
“I think that not following a specific plan is our plan,” Ingrosso added.
So far, this spontaneous strategy has worked in Caia’s favor. According to Hamrén, the company has grown 30 percent year-over-year, surpassing $50 million in revenue in 2023.
Revenue, however, isn’t the most important factor for Ingrosso and Hamrén. “We always wait and celebrate until we see the customers getting their products, opening them up, trying them and giving us a great review,” Hamrén explained. “I think that mindset is the key to what drives us.”
Hamrén maintains that Caia’s success is a result of its “army” of loyal fans and ambassadors, a formula she and Ingrosso hope to replicate in the U.S. Established influencers like Emilie Tømmerberg and Gine Margrethe, whose combined Instagram following totals over 1 million, have been tapped to represent the brand. Caia has also accumulated admirers via word-of-mouth.
“Many of our models tell us they already know about Caia because their makeup artists have used Caia products on other shoots,” Hamrén said. “That’s when we succeed, because we need to be backed by experts.”
Ingrosso’s name recognition, at least in Sweden, doesn’t hurt either. In her home country, Ingrosso is a celebrated songstress, talk show host and former reality star. She takes after her mother, Pernilla Wahlgren, a singer and actress who first rose to fame in the ’80s. Ingrosso’s siblings, Oliver and Benjamin, are also popular musicians. The family’s reality show, “Wahlgren’s World,” which Bianca regularly appeared on until 2021, has garnered them comparisons to the Kardashians.
Ingrosso’s success as a television personality-cum-beauty mogul is certainly similar to Kylie Jenner’s, though the influencer hopes to foster a more approachable image.
“The branding has to be real,” Ingrosso insisted. “You have to feel something, you have to be connected with what you’re watching.”
Caia’s authenticity lies within its connections to Ingrosso’s own DNA. The brand takes inspiration from her background in show business, as well as her region’s trademark “Scandi glow,” which Caia’s products are intended to recreate.
Earlier this year, Caia collaborated with MTV on a series of branded beauty products, marking the television network’s first-ever makeup launch. This coincided with the release of Ingrosso’s latest single, “Superstar,” a cover of Danish singer Christine Milton’s 2003 track. To date, Ingrosso’s version has amassed more than 15 million streams.
“In all countries, people want to be entertained,” Hamrén said. “You need to continue to surprise them and show them new things and engage with them in different ways. You need to create something that people want to be a part of.”
While the desire to be entertained is something that transcends cultures, Caia’s Scandinavian roots offer a unique opportunity in the brand’s non-Nordic sister markets, including the U.S. The region’s minimalist aesthetics — and happy-go-lucky philosophy — have gained popularity Stateside, spawning trends across fashion and beauty.
The “Scandi hairline,” a viral dyeing technique inspired by Ingrosso’s contemporary, Swedish influencer Matilda Djerf, is the subject of nearly 800 million video views on TikTok. Meanwhile, clothing brands including Djerf’s own Djerf Avenue and Helsa, launched by Swedish supermodel Elsa Hosk, have cashed in on clean lines and timeless silhouettes that are frequently the envy of foreigners.
“We cherish the small things in life,” Ingrosso explained. “Our homes are our safe spaces, our sanctuaries. We put a lot of time into the little details, cozy blankets, candles, the hot cup of tea in the afternoon. I think that this [translates to Caia’s] products: less is more, putting effort into something that can really look like not very much. That’s the essence of us.”
Caia Cosmetics are now available to shop in the U.S. via the brand’s website, caiacosmetics.com.
