Personal care startup OLIKA hires CEO

21-May-2019 - Last updated on 21-May-2019 at 14:45 GMT

Birdie hand sanitizers (photo courtesy of OLIKA)

The design-forward brand announced changes to the OLIKA leadership this month, along with plans to expand the business beyond its signature Birdie and Minnie hand sanitizers.

Incoming CEO Aliastair Dorward has been entrusted to help OLIKA grow its funding base, increase revenue, and expand the brand’s product portfolio. “In scaling a young, yet innovative company, we faced a classic entrepreneurial challenge: how to accomplish rapid growth in retail and direct-to-consumer channels, while delivering on the promises of a better-for-you, design-driven brand,” Jessica Postiglione, co-founder of OLIKA, tells the press.

“Expanding the leadership team with Alastair’s exceptional experience and track-record at Method made perfect sense for OLIKA,” says Postiglione, who’s staying on in her role as the brand’s chief operating officer.

Two birds

The OLIKA product portfolio is small. The brand launched with just one SKU, its Birdie hand sanitizer (a combo spray and dry wipe dispenser). Minnie was the second OLIKA product, a smaller, spray-only version of the sanitizer.

And early this year the brand added a first limited-edition packaging color to its assortment of Minnies. The marshmallow pink Minnie is still available on the brand’s site and is the only color in the brand’s Rare Bird collection so far. As Postiglione told Cosmetics Design in January, “pink marshmallow is the direct result of customer demand as Birdie Nation has been very vocal on social media with requests to add their favorite color to our bird line up. While some hues looked wonderful as a Pantone chip, some colors do not translate as a physical sample. The limited-edition collection allows us to fulfill customer need and stay true to our design aesthetic.”

New plans

OLIKA hasn’t announced which categories and products will come next for the brand. But according to the company media release about Dorward’s appointment, OLIKA remains committed to simplicity, Scandinavian-style design, and products that bring joy; as well as to innovation in the personal care and household product industries.

“It is an absolute privilege to be given the opportunity to work with OLIKA’s talented founding team,” Dorward tells the press. “We look forward to building our innovative brand in commoditized categories such as hand-sanitizer and beyond.”

And the brand is, of course, looking to benefit from Dorward’s 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, emphasizing up front that he, “in partnership with the cofounders and as the Founding CEO of Method Products,…grew the iconic brand from pre-revenue to more than $100M in wholesale revenue within seven years.”

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.