Crown Affair's Dianna Cohen: 'One of the most powerful things a new brand can do is build a community'

When you reach for a bottle of shampoo in the shower, you may not be familiar with the brand founder -- or know if he or she actually uses the product. But as Crown Affair founder and CEO Dianna Cohen tells it, her hair-care line was launched as an extension of her own routine and the products that she recommended to her friends.   She wanted to create a brand that fit within the "luxury world” of products she gravitated toward, said Cohen on the most recent episode of Glossy Beauty Podcast. “[With those products,] when you held the tool or used the product, it brought you joy. And it felt like a part of who you were.” Crown Affair's line includes scrunchies, hair oils, towels and combs, and aims to transform the health of customers’ hair. This month, Crown Affair is venturing into tried-and-true hair must-haves, like shampoo and conditioner. And next year, it will launch in a national retailer. But above all, the brand, which remains digitally-focused, prides itself on its focus on community. "Our customer and community is the woman who is super dynamic. And she does care about her hair, but she has a lot of other things going on in her life," she said. The Crown Affair community is made up of its loyal customers and even non-customers, who learned about the brand by word-of-mouth. It also includes the 100 women who make up Seedling, the brand's mentorship development program. “If you're thinking about launching a brand into the world, one of the most powerful things that you can do is build a community,” she said. “That's [an] important lens as a founder, to [think], ‘How are you shopping for other things?' 'How are you finding out about products?'” said Cohen. “The only way to build authentic relationships is by taking time to build authentic relationships.”