Jen Atkin Jump- starts Mane’s Next Chapter With a New CEO
The appointment of Rachel Jonas Gilman comes as the company's sales pick up steam.
Jen Atkin has named a new chief executive officer of her hair tool brand, Mane.
Rachel Jonas Gilman has taken the top slot after a long stint as the president of Tracee Ellis Ross' Pattern Beauty.
The move comes as the brand picks up steam. It launched in more than 670 Sephora doors in February, and industry sources said first-year revenues landed between $10 million and $20 million.
“After a first year of success and a recent retail partnership with Sephora, this marks an exciting new chapter in the brand's journey,” Atkin said via email. “Rachel has a proven track record of success and is one of the strongest and most knowledgeable talents in the industry. I'm confident that with Rachel's expertise and the dedication of our team, we will achieve continued growth.”
Gilman said going back to Mane's origins is her first priority. The brand was born out of Mane Addicts, a hair-focused beauty blog and education platform that Atkin launched a decade ago. “The brand was built from 10 years of dialogue and listening to the Mane Addicts community,” she said. “Where we're going to win as a brand by leaning into content and leaning into having fun.”
That's part of the brand's ethos, evidenced by the tongue-in-cheek product names such as This Totally Blows! Ionic Compact Hair Dryer, or a tool with three detachable heads dubbed the Power Bottom.
“There aren't a lot of brands that have fun in this space,” Gilman said.
“Jen uses this term a lot called ‘delicious optimism,' and that's what we lean into a lot as a brand.”
The brand's social media presence also allows it to stay on top of the trends driving the category, Gilman said. “Having those connection points allows us to stay ahead,” she said. “For example, our next launch is a hot round brush that's super on-trend.”
To that end, Gilman also said that product development would pick up, too. “You can expect to see a lot more from the brand,” she said. “From a pipeline perspective, it can be anywhere from 12 months to 24 months depending on what you're doing. But as a brand that wants to stay on top of trends, we want to be able to move quickly and work with our vendors to run it around.”
Demographically speaking, Mane appeals largely to Gen Z, Gen Alpha and the sweet spot between the two, which Gilman calls “Gen Zalpha.”
“We're leaning into that audience with our Sephora partnership, but we need to be able to speak to a wide range of audiences,” she said. “We want to guide people through the transformative years of their lives, whether you're at the mall shopping as a teenager, or even as a mom with young kids.”