Sundial Brands Enters Prestige Skincare Category with Launch of nyakio™ Exclusively in Ulta

AMITYVILLE, N.Y., March 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sundial Brands, a leading skincare and haircare manufacturer renowned for its innovative use of high-quality, culturally authentic natural ingredients, today announced the launch of the company's first prestige skincare line – nyakio™.  Inspired by her family of medicine men, farmers and educators, founder Nyakio Kamoche Grieco, a first-generation American of Kenyan descent, partnered with Sundial Brands to bring global secrets of naturally ageless beauty to the U.S. market. Based on Nyakio's family recipes, as well as beauty traditions from 13 countries across the globe, each formula evokes a luxurious, culturally transcendent experience.

Grounded in ethically and sustainably sourced, indigenous ingredients, nyakio™ combines cultural traditions with modern, results-driven formulas to deliver premium personalized natural beauty and multi-tasking products. The 16 SKU line, which draws ingredients including Manketti, Neroli, Maracuja and Yangu oils, Red Ginseng and Quinoa from such countries as Kenya, China, Brazil, Spain, Egypt, India, Morocco and Peru, is priced from $22-$49 and launches exclusively in 305 Ulta stores across the U.S. on March 6, 2017. It is also available via www.ulta.com/brand/nyakio.

"My beauty journey started when I was a young girl visiting my grandmother in Kenya," said Nyakio.  "She was a coffee farmer who taught me to crush coffee beans and rub them on my skin using a piece of sugarcane to remove dry skin. I've curated beauty secrets like this from my family, friends and travels around the world and translated them into a full line of skincare based on cultivated global beauty secrets, cultural traditions and ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients. Inspired by everything that's been shared with me, I'm now sharing the best in global skincare with every woman."

The line features a five-regimen collection (1. Cleanse, 2. Exfoliate, 3. Restore, 4. Moisturize, and 5. Treat) that works together to hydrate, revitalize, smooth and provide anti-aging benefits. As a result, nyakio™ offers an a la carte menu of skincare options that are customizable to target specialized concerns, as well as a collection of traditions passed from generation to generation. Developed for all skin types and ages, nyakio™ products are formulated without Sulfates, Phthalates, Parabens, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Formaldehyde, and Butylene Glycol.

"For 25 years now, our vision at Sundial Brands has been to build our business and our Community Commerce purpose-driven business model as examples that other entrepreneurs and businesses could be inspired by, learn from and expand upon," said Richelieu Dennis, founder and CEO of Sundial Brands. "Our acquisition of nyakio™ underscores our ongoing commitment to identifying, supporting and developing other entrepreneur brands that share our vision and values. Nyakio's roots of family, natural ingredients, culturally authentic traditions, entrepreneurism and community impact closely mirror our own, so we have a deep connection to what this brand represents and the woman who inspired it. We are honored to have Nyakio – the person – and nyakio™ – the brand – as the newest members of our Sundial family. As we move forward with our multi-brand portfolio strategy and scaled growth, we are committed to continuing to bring others along with us in ways that simultaneously advance businesses and communities."

Sundial Brands' Community Commerce efforts develop communities by providing access to resources and opportunities that lead to sustainable economic value creation for individuals, their families and their communities through education, entrepreneurship and commerce. As part of this work, the company invests directly into people, programs and institutions that are successfully supporting educationally and entrepreneurially-driven endeavors delivering strong social impact and sustainable solutions to poverty alleviation. Based on Nyakio's passion for the development and empowerment of young women, the Community Commerce focus for nyakio™ includes a partnership with Girls Inc. aimed at helping girls achieve healthy lives, succeed academically, and acquire the life skills needed to prepare them for adulthood.

"I am beyond grateful to join Richelieu and the team at Sundial as I begin my journey with this new skincare line," said Nyakio. "Having the support of a company that truly cares about the people it serves and the world in which we live is rare, and I look forward to everything that we will accomplish together."

The full 16 SKU line includes (the country origins of the primary ingredients are in parentheses):

Cleanse

• Sweet Almond Cleansing Oil Balm (Spain)

Exfoliate

• Kenyan Coffee Face Polish (Kenya)
• Chinese Rice Exfoliating Cleansing Powder (China)
• Kenyan Coffee Body Scrub (Kenya)
• Kenyan Coffee Lip Polish (Kenya)                                       

Restore

• Manketti & Mafura Anti-Aging Oil (Zambia for Manketti Oil and Mozambique for Mafura Oil)
• Marula & Neroli Brightening Oil (South Africa for Marula Oil and Morocco for Neroli Oil)
• Maracuja & Yangu Soothing Oil (Brazil for Maracuja Oil and South Africa for Yangu Oil)

Moisturize

• Baobab Lip Balm (Mali)
• Tamanu Firming Face Balm (India)
• Baobab Youth Infused Daily Defense Crème (Mali)
• Red Ginseng Line Smoothing Eye and Lip Cream (China)
• Quinoa De-puffing & Firming Eye Cream (Peru)

Treat

• African Black Soap Purifying Mud Mask (Ghana)
• Chamomile Soothing Sleep Mask (Egypt)

Global Beauty Starter Kit

• Kit includes Sweet Almond Cleansing Oil Balm, Kenyan Coffee Face Polish, and Tamanu Firming Face Balm

About Sundial Brands:
Sundial Brands, a leading skincare and haircare manufacturer renowned for its innovative use of high-quality and culturally authentic natural ingredients, is the maker of SheaMoisture, Nubian Heritage, Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Culture and nyakio™. A certified B Corp company with a Fair for Life social and fair trade certification, Sundial engages in ethical and cruelty-free business practices and manufactures its products at its state-of-the-art facilities in Long Island, NY. Through its Community Commerce purpose-driven business model, the company creates opportunities for sustainable social and economic empowerment throughout its supply chain and communities in the United States and Africa, focusing on entrepreneurship, women's empowerment, education and wellness. In 2015, Sundial was named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States and received the WWD/Beauty Inc. award for "Corporate Social Responsibility Company of the Year." Widely credited with introducing the "New General Market" inclusion concept to the beauty and retail industries, Sundial Brands founder and CEO Richelieu Dennis began the company in 1991 with his college roommate, Nyema Tubman, and mother, Mary Dennis.

About nyakio™:
nyakio™ (pronounced NEH-KAY-OH) celebrates global beauty secrets discovered by its founder and namesake, Nyakio Kamoche Grieco, a first-generation American of Kenyan descent, through her family of medicine men, farmers and educators, her friends and her world travels. Nyakio – which means "hardworking woman in the sunshine" – curated these beauty secrets and translated the cultural traditions into a full line of skincare handmade with ethically and sustainably sourced natural ingredients from around the world and steeped in family traditions passed from generation to generation. The line features five collections that work together to hydrate, revitalize, smooth and provide anti-aging benefits. As a result, nyakio™ offers an a la carte menu of skincare options that are customizable to target specialized concerns for all skin types and ages. All products are formulated without Sulfates, Phthalates, Parabens, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Formaldehyde, and Butylene Glycol. Global beauty secrets. Cultural traditions. Indigenous ingredients.

SOURCE Sundial Brands