ONES TO WATCH: KNIGHT COMPANY
After a decade or so in the fashion world, including being the director of operations for Stampd, Bryant Knight decided to join the ranks of entrepreneurs. But instead of making shirts or shorts, he created Knight Company, a small but growing men’s skincare line he first brought to market at the end of 2016.
“It started out as a passion and ended up a business,” says Knight. “I was buying a lot of other men’s grooming products, but because either I didn’t like the ingredients or the branding, I was never satisfied. Eventually I decided to solve my problem. I got in touch with a chemist who helped me formulate the products I wanted, and we spent almost two years getting everything ready to sell.”
The result is three products – a daily face wash ($28), moisturizer ($30), and exfoliating scrub ($28), each of which is completely organic, and contains zero toxins, parabens, sulfates, artificial coloring or synthetic fragrance. As for the “branding,” Knight settled on simple white tubes with black lettering – a look he considers much “cleaner” than some of his competitors.
“I consider myself both a fashion guy and a mainstream consumer, so I chose the products that I felt a man like me would need to use daily or weekly to take the market,” says the 33-year-old California native. “And I wanted the product to appeal to a modern yet polished guy with fashion sense.”
While Knight started purely as a direct-to-consumer company, selling the products through its through own website, its customers now include Amazon, Bespoke Post, as well as select Urban Outfitters and local Los Angeles boutiques. “We’re definitely exploring more wholesale/retail distribution, but I want to be selective,” he notes. “I haven’t talked to any of the big beauty-focused retailers, like Sephora, but we are strongly considering expanding our international distribution in Europe and Japan.”
Not only all the initial money for the line came from Knight, but he’s reinvested all the company’s earnings so he can work on additional products. He’s hoping to soon offer travel-size tubes of the current line, as well as adding shaving cream, an SPF face cream, and a face oil to the assortment. And within the next five years, he’s considering shaving tools, body products and fragrances. “I want to cater to all of a man’s needs,” he says. “I really believe that men are willing to try something new, fresh and natural.”
