For 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 never really had that," Ingrosso told WWD. "I have always looked up to the best version of myself. You always need one person in your life who believes in you. So I made that person up."
Caia, she says, is brave, fearless and hardworking. "Everyone has their own inner Caia," she added. "She's that little angel on your shoulder who talks to you in a very positive way."
More from WWDWith more than 1 million followers on Instagram and almost 450,000 on TikTok, Ingrosso is one of Sweden's biggest influencers. She co-founded Caia Cosmetics in 2018 with her business partner Vanessa Lindblad and seasoned beauty entrepreneurs Mikael Snabb and Jesper Matsch.
"I felt there was a gap [in the beauty market]", Ingrosso explained. "There were so many dry powders and colorful pigmented products, but nothing that really made you look hydrated with a natural, healthy glow - like you, but elevated."
Caia has since expanded from selling just makeup products to offering hair care, skin care and fragrances. After starting in Sweden, the company was successfully launched throughout Scandinavia and in other European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. The United States is Caia's newest frontier.
Despite an already crowded market, the beauty industry is expected to amass $716 billion globally by 2025, up from $625 billion today, according to a report from Grand View Research. In the US, cosmetics sales are dominated in part by celebrities like Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber, whose Fenty, Rare Beauty and Rhode brands collectively generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Yet the CEO of Ingrosso and Caia, Johanna Eriksson Hamrén, is not worried about standing out. "We don't have a specific recipe," says Hamrén. "The key to success is to be agile, to be able to adapt really quickly."
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"I think not following a specific plan is our plan," Ingrosso added.
So far, this spontaneous strategy has worked in Caia's favor. According to Hamrén, the company has grown 30 percent year-over-year and surpassed $50 million in sales in 2023.
However, turnover is not the most important factor for Ingrosso and Hamrén. "We always wait and celebrate until we see customers receive their products, open them, try them out and give us a great review," Hamrén explains. "I think that mentality is the key to what drives us."
Hamrén claims Caia's success is the result of its "army" of loyal fans and ambassadors, a formula she and Ingrosso hope to replicate in the US. Established influencers such as Emilie Tømmerberg and Gine Margrethe, whose combined Instagram following totals more than 1 million, have been tapped to represent the brand. Caia has also gathered admirers through word of mouth.
"Many of our models tell us that they already know Caia because their makeup artists have used Caia products on other shoots," said Hamrén. "Then we will 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 celebrated singer, talk show host and former reality star. She takes after her mother, Pernilla Wahlgren, a singer and actress who first rose to fame in the 1980s. Ingrosso's siblings, Oliver and Benjamin, are also popular musicians. The family's reality show, 'Wahlgren's World', which Bianca regularly appeared on until 2021, has drawn comparisons to the Kardashians.
Ingrosso's success as a television personality and beauty mogul is certainly comparable to that of Kylie Jenner, although the influencer hopes to foster a more accessible image.
"The branding has to be real," Ingrosso emphasized. "You have to feel something, you have to be connected to what you see."
Caia's authenticity lies in its connections to Ingrosso's own DNA. The brand draws inspiration from its background in show business, but also from the 'Scandi glow' characteristic of its region, which Caia products are intended to imitate.
Earlier this year, Caia collaborated with MTV on a range of beauty products, marking the television network's first launch of makeup. This coincided with the release of Ingrosso's latest single, 'Superstar', a cover of the 2003 song by Danish singer Christine Milton. To date, Ingrosso's version has amassed over 15 million streams.
"In all countries, people want to be entertained," Hamrén said. "You have to keep surprising them, show them new things and interact with them in different ways. You have to create something that people want to be a part of."
While the desire to be entertained is something that transcends cultures, Caia's Scandinavian roots provide a unique opportunity in the brand's non-Nordic sister markets, including the US. trends in fashion and beauty.
The "Scandi hairline," a viral dye technique inspired by Ingrosso's contemporary, Swedish influencer Matilda Djerf, is the subject of nearly 800 million video views on TikTok. Meanwhile, clothing brands including Djerf's own Djerf Avenue and Helsa, launched by Swedish supermodel Elsa Hosk, have cashed in with clean lines and timeless silhouettes that are often the envy of foreigners.
"We cherish the little things in life," Ingrosso explains. "Our homes are our safe spaces, our refuges. We put a lot of time into the little details, cozy blankets, candles, the warm cup of tea in the afternoon. I think this [translates to Caia's] products: less is more, putting effort into something that doesn't actually look like much. That is the essence of us."
Caia Cosmetics is now available in the US through the brand's website, caiacosmetics.com.
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