LOS ANGELES — When Kim Vo got the call to consider doing a hair care line to be sold through infomercials, he was hardly flattered.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ve entered that. Am I a has-been already?'” But the more Vo — co-owner of two Beverly Hills salons and a celebrity colorist — consulted people in the industry, the more he was told that it was a proposal he should seriously consider. He then spent the next four years developing Dramatic Differences, a collection of four stockkeeping units of what he describes as his “signature” products, and another 18 sku’s specifically for color-treated hair.
The line will bow later this month through a 30-minute infomercial to be aired on channels like Bravo and TLC. Vo’s partner in the project is Los Angeles-based direct-marketing company Sylmark, which helps develop products and sales programs for products including housewares and vitamin supplements. The infomercials, produced at a cost of $1 million, will screen up to 40,000 times a year. Vo said he was also in negotiations with discount retailers such as Wal-Mart to begin carrying the collection next year.
Vo agrees that going the direct-marketing route was not such a drastic departure for him. His first line, Protonics, which was launched last year, has been sold on QVC and the Home Shopping Network. But he says that the packaged infomercials are much less time-consuming to produce and will give him greater visibility.
The signature Dramatic Differences products are being marketed in a kit of four for $39.95. Vo used water-based technology to create a root booster, a botanical texturizer, a hair spray and a rejuvenator, all designed to permeate the hair through to the cuticles and add volume. The other 18 skus in the collection are sulfate-free and contain more botanicals than water.
Packaging is minimalist — mainly black and white with a hint of color that differentiates one product from the next.
The French-Vietnamese hairstylist has made a reputation for himself as a top colorist in Los Angeles for 15 years. Five years ago, he and his business partners, Peter Van de Veldt and Alberto Borrelli, opened B2V, a salon in Beverly Hills. They recently expanded that by taking over the house next door; the new Borrelli salon will offer full services like manicures, pedicures and facials.