How do executives at Alikay Naturals spell success? C-V-S! The hair care marketer has a new lineup of moisturizers, detanglers and conditioners, and perhaps best of all, a new retail partner. There’s even been a big Alikay Naturals’ billboard in Times Square, New York, NY.
 
The Fort Myers, FL-based brand has momentum, said company co-Founder and CEO Rochelle Graham.  
 
“Being featured on the shelves of one of the largest US drug stores is the evolution of a dream with beginnings that are deeply rooted in my Jamaican countryside childhood, where I learned about holistic living at the knee of my grandmother,” she said.  
 
That holistic living helped spur the development of new products such as Alikay Naturals Honey & Sage Deep Conditioner, Lemongrass Leave-In Conditioner, Shea Yogurt Hair Moisturizer, Knots Be Gone Detangler and Essential 17 Hair Growth Oil, and consumers can find all of them in one of the largest retailers in the country.  
 
CVS Pharmacy currently owns and operates more than 7,800 stores throughout the US.  With 60% of the world population being made up of curly-haired individuals, mainstream retail outlets, like CVS, have taken notice of the increased demand that has sparked the emergence of curly hair care groups and elaborate natural hair expos, noted Graham.
 
Graham says she has felt a connection with nature since her childhood spent with her herbalist grandmother in Jamaica. In 2007, she stopped chemically relaxing her hair and cut it off. The first year was a learning experience and Rochelle damaged her hair with over coloring. Next she faced an even greater issue, there were no products that kept her hair moisturized.
 
In 2008, as she prepared her hair for another “big chop,” she vowed to do it the right way. Now, the biggest hurdle became finding products to help her hair stay healthy and grow longer. To reach her goals, Graham turned her kitchen into a laboratory. She conducted vigorous detailed research and spent lots of time in the kitchen mixing and testing ingredients to create her perfect formula—the now famous Essential 17 Hair Growth Oil to nurture tresses. The formulation includes emu oil, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil, horsetail powder, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, essential oil blend and a botanical blend. The company was born from this launch and features Graham’s middle name as its moniker.
 
With her business partner and husband, Demond Campbell, by her side; Graham continues to expand the Alikay Naturals market share through an unconventional retail strategy which reaches consumers through social media-based grassroots marketing techniques that emphasize the value of the customer’s current needs while putting a high level of importance on what the customer will want in the future.  
 
“We intend to continue to build on the momentum set forth by our brand’s mass market expansion, while staying true to Alikay’s Black Onyx roots and reputation for offering quality products that deliver solid results,” said Campbell.
 
Social media outreach is key here.  YouTube played a major role in the brand’s launch in 2009 on Graham’s BlackOnyx77 YouTube channel, and since then Alikay Naturals has remained committed to keeping social media at the brand’s core as a way to keep customers connected to the brand’s latest news. Fans can also apply online at http://alikaynaturals.com/ to become a brand ambassador.