K18 has a new brand ambassador — Sofia Richie Grainge.
Richie Grainge, who caused waves — and sales spikes for fellow beauty brand Nudestix — after her viral wedding to Elliot Grainge in April, is kicking off her partnership with the hair care brand with its first prime time TV commercial, timed to the season premiere of “The Bachelor.”
“Working with K18 feels like a full-circle moment. My stylist turned me on to the brand, and ever since then, it’s all I use on my hair,” Richie Grainge said in an email. “I’m such a believer in ‘less is more’ in all areas of life. My approach to hair care is definitely minimalistic. K18 makes styling my hair, and keeping it strong, simple. Even on my busiest days, I love being able to reach for my K18 mask, knowing it’ll leave my hair healthier in minutes.”
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That organic love of the product was part of the brand’s rationale in bringing Richie Grainge on board, said Michelle Miller, senior vice president of global marketing at K18. “For anyone we work with, we love for them to be an authentic fan,” Miller said. “We knew her hairstylist had been using the product on her hair. And we’re very in-tune with the cultural zeitgeist on social media.”
The 30-second spot, shot in Los Angeles, was meant to convey Richie Grainge’s own personality — and discernment. “She just has this self-possessed confidence,” said Jennifer Herr, senior vice president of creative at K18. “She knows who she is and what she likes. That inspired us to find a way for her to show her personality in the spot.”
K18 was an early beauty brand to hit billions of views with its #K18HairFlip campaign. Miller said graduating to traditional media, such as TV, was a natural next step. “We know that social media is where culture happens,” she said. “We’re able now to delve outside of that into traditional TV, where we’re investing seven figures for the first time. It’s a big bet for a start-up, but we have Sephora behind us, we have the pro community, and we also recently launched our oil, so we have more than one hero in our arsenal.”
The brand is said to perform well. Sources have told WWD K18 is currently exploring a sale, with net sales purported to pass the $100 million mark in 2023.
This is not Richie Grainge’s first beauty deal. She also signed on to be Nudestix’s beauty director in 2022, and caused sales to soar when she featured products in TikTok videos as she got ready for her wedding earlier this year.