Luca Burnett, YANTRA Beauty

Looking at the surface of the YANTRA Beauty story, it seems as if all it takes to break into the international indie market is to stay the course: do what you set out to do and keep doing it well. But reading between the lines, it becomes clear that it takes much more than that. It takes funding, a thoughtful demand-generation strategy, smart product formulations, and more. Here, hair care entrepreneur Luca Burnett shares a profile of himself and the YANTRA Beauty business.  

Name:​ Luca Burnett, Owner

Indie Beauty Company: ​YANTRA Beauty

Launched: ​November 2017

Headquarters: ​Los Angeles, California

Cash flow: ​I, personally, do not own more than 51% of the company. My partner, Stacey Yudin, is the sole investor in YANTRA Beauty. We have been fortunate enough to not have had to use crowd funding or business accelerators to fund the company.

Our largest and most exciting financial milestone is breaking into the market in the Middle East.

Indie how? ​An indie beauty brand to me is one that has maintained a sense of genuineness in regards to the brand standard, formulations and to their following. This is the only way to differentiate from the ‘norms’ of the beauty market.

Team work: ​It is just myself and my partner.

Distribution: ​Our main reach with customers within the US is through e-commerce via YANTRABeauty.com​. Internationally we are slated to be distributed throughout the GCC by Fall 2019!

Years in beauty: ​I have been working within the beauty industry for almost a decade. I started my career as a hairstylist and have worked with other brands on product development as my career matured.

Years at YANTRA Beauty: ​I have been working on YANTRA since January of 2017, so about 3 years total.

Entrepreneurial experience: ​This is the first company that I have been able to call my own.

The business: ​YANTRA is a haircare line that has been designed to streamline and empower the customer. With every product we have looked into the market and asked ourselves what products were missing: What could be improved on that’s already out there? How we could make a lasting impact on the beauty community? Another huge part of YANTRA is our charitable component of 10% of each purchase of the customers choosing. We chose to make this an integral part of the brand to allow empowerment to become the main focus of the beauty community once again.

The wow-factor: ​All of our products are original formulations and are as user friendly as they are professionally approved. We wanted a product line that would transcend the intimidating shelves of the salon to become something fun for the customers to use as well.

The customer: ​Our target consumer is 20-45. We are completely gender neutral from product usages to scents.

Milestone moment: ​I think our biggest milestone as a brand was being featured in Forbes about why being original in the beauty space is so important​.

Advice for fellow beauty entrepreneurs: ​The best thing new entrepreneurs can do is solidify what their purpose is going to be when moving into the beauty space and STICKING TO IT. Having a concrete mission of what you want to accomplish with your brand and the message you want to convey is paramount! There are hundreds of ‘me-too’ brands that are out there and the only way that you will be able to shine is if you share your passion and a genuine experience with your following.

Just one: ​Asked about his go-to product, Burnett says it’s The Bomb Balm from YANTRA​. It’s a Shae butter, coconut oil, and beeswax base so not only does it moisturize my beard it also takes care of any other dry skin. Living in LA you need as much moisture as you can get!

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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.