Within a year of stepping foot in the market, haircare brand Off Days has already created a mark for itself. In a candid conversation with Vidhi Arya from Professional Beauty India, Co-founder Rod Anker sheds light on how the journey has been thus far.
Founded by celebrity stylist Rod Anker and leading model and content creator Merrylin Boro, the haircare brand Off Days is reinventing the approach to haircare with an aim to bring a feeling of effortlessness and ease to your daily routine. The functionality of Off Days has won several hearts in a year’s time. Further, the brand also won the Editor’s Choice Award for the “Best hair care brand” at the Elle Beauty Awards 2023. Let’s know more about the brand’s journey from Rod Anker.
How has the first year of Off Days been? Why did you choose the hair care market?
Before we launched, we spent about two years on research and development to get the product right. That was incredibly fulfilling but also labour-intensive. We finally launched a shampoo, conditioner, and a volumising pack to start with, whilst still perfecting the serum. Ultimately, we launched the serum in June, this year and have been overwhelmed with the response. As we complete the first year of Off Days, we have four SKUs and we’re working on expanding it to include many other products.
I think the reason why we saw a niche in the market in terms of hair is because while everybody is developing products with a lot of promises, the results are not always at par. So, we wanted to approach it from a hairdressing point of view. The edge, we believe, we have is knowing what the consumer wants and knowing what the consumer needs as we’re in the salon every single day.
As a co-founder, what role do you play at Off Days?
There are two of us, myself and Merrylin Boro who is my partner. Both of us are completely immersed in the brand. It’s our own brand, so, in everything from R&D to marketing, we both play an integral role.
According to you what forms the foundation of hair care? How do you think the industry can do it better?
I think haircare not only starts in the salon but also in the bathroom. Simply bad choices in the salon or good choices in the bathroom are not going to solve your problems. It’s deeper than that. I think a lot of the issues have stemmed from a lack of understanding about what can and cannot be done with hair. Hence, education as a whole is something that we focus on and we talk about constantly.
One tip for the budding hair stylists?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re working in an office or in a salon. Whether it’s talking to your boyfriend or talking to your girlfriend. One of the key things to get right or continuously work on is communication. When someone comes to the salon, proper communication and consultation lays out the foundation for what happens next.
Can you tell us what’s in store for the future of Off Days?
We’ve got a few products we’re working on and fine-tuning but you’ll have to stay tuned to know more. Other than that, we’ve got some travel-size shampoos and conditioners that we’ll be releasing before Christmas.
Image courtesy: Rod Anker and Merrylin Boro