by To Bianca Ingrosso, Caia is not just a company: it is her alter ego. “We all have a role model that you look up to, and I didn’t really have that,” Ingrosso told WWD. “I’ve always looked up to the best version of myself. You always need one person in your life to believe in you. So I made that person up.”
Caia, she says, is bold, fearless and hardworking. “Everyone has their own inner Caia,” she said. “She’s that little angel on your shoulder who talks to you in very positive ways.”
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With more than 1 million followers on Instagram and almost 450,000 on TikTok, Ingrosso is one of the most influential people in Sweden. She co-founded Caia Cosmetics with her business partner Vanessa Lindblad and experienced beauty entrepreneurs Mikael Snabb and Jesper Matsch in 2018.
“I felt there was a gap [in the beauty market],” Ingrosso explained. “There were so many dry powders and colorful pigment products, but nothing that kept you looking hydrated with a natural, healthy glow—like yourself, but lifted.”
Caia has since expanded from selling only makeup products to offering hair care, skin care and fragrances. After starting out in Sweden, the company successfully launched throughout Scandinavia and other European nations such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Caia’s latest frontier is the United States.
Despite an already crowded market, the beauty industry is expected to reach $716 billion worldwide by 2025, up from $625 billion today, according to a report by Grand View Research. In the United States, cosmetics sales are shared by celebrities including Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber, whose brands Fenty, Rare Beauty and Rhode generate hundreds of millions of dollars in collective revenue.
Still, Ingrosso and Caia’s chief executive officer, Johanna Eriksson Hamrén, aren’t worried about standing out. “We don’t have a specific recipe,” said Hamrén. “The key to success is being agile, being able to adapt really quickly.”
So far, this spontaneous strategy has worked in Caia’s favor. According to Hamrén, the company grew 30 percent year over year, surpassing $50 million in revenue in 2023.
The Revenue Commissioners, however, are not the most important factor for Ingrosso and Hamrén. “We always wait and celebrate until we see the customers receiving their products, opening them, trying them and giving us a great review,” explained Hamrén. “I think that mindset is the key to what drives us.”
Hamrén attributes Caia’s success to her “army” of loyal fans and ambassadors, a formula she and Ingrosso hope to replicate in the U.S. Established figures such as Emilie Tømmerberg and Gine Margrethe, who have more than 1 million in total on Instagram after that. tapped to represent the brand. Caia also appreciates word of mouth.
“Many of our models tell us that they already know about Caia because their makeup artists have used Caia products on other shoots,” said Hamrén. “That’s when we succeed, because we need the support of experts.”
Ingrosso’s name recognition, at least in Sweden, doesn’t hurt either. In her home country, Ingrosso is a famous singer, talk show host and former reality star. She takes after her mother, Pernilla Wahlgren, a singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 80s. Ingrosso’s siblings, Oliver and Benjamin, are also popular musicians. The family’s reality show, “Wahlgren’s World,” on which Bianca appeared regularly until 2021, has drawn comparisons to the Kardashians.
Ingrosso’s success as a TV personality-cum-beauty mogul is certainly similar to that of Kylie Jenner, although the influencer hopes to cultivate a more approachable image.
“The branding has to be authentic,” insisted Ingrosso. “You have to feel something, you have to relate to what you’re looking at.”
Caia’s authenticity lies within her connections to Ingrosso’s own DNA. The brand draws inspiration from her background in show business, as well as her region’s trademark “Scandi glow,” which Caia’s products are meant to recreate.
Earlier this year, Caia collaborated with MTV on a series of branded beauty products, marking the television network’s first-ever makeup launch. This coincided with the release of Ingrosso’s latest single, “Superstar,” a cover of Danish singer Christine Milton’s 2003 track. To date, Ingrosso’s version has garnered more than 15 million streams.
“In every country, people want to be entertained,” said Hamrén. “You have to keep surprising them and show them new things and engage them in different ways. You have to create something that people want to be a part of.”
While cultures transcend the desire to entertain, Caia’s Scandinavian roots offer a unique opportunity in the brand’s non-Nordic sister markets, including the U.S. The region’s minimalist aesthetic—and happy-go-lucky philosophy—is popular. – on the country side, spawning. trends in fashion and beauty.
The “Scandi hairline”, a viral coloring technique inspired by Matilda Djerf, the contemporary player from Sweden Ingrosso, has been the subject of almost 800 million views on TikTok. Meanwhile, clothing brands including Djerf Avenue’s own Djerf and Helsa, launched by Swedish supermodel Elsa Hosk, have introduced clean lines and timeless silhouettes that are often the envy of foreigners.
“We appreciate the little things in life,” Ingrosso explained. “Our homes are our safe spaces, our refuge. We put a lot of time into the little details, cozy blankets, candles, the hot cup of tea in the afternoon. I think this is it [translates to Caia’s] products: less than more, try in something that may not be very similar. That’s the essence of the pool.”
Caia Cosmetics is now available to shop in the United States through the brand’s website, caiacosmetics.com.
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