Eric Malka on Building The Art of Shaving into a Global Grooming Brand

How do you turn a forgotten daily routine into a global luxury grooming brand? In this episode of Ingleside Reviews: Innovators Unveiled, A.D. Edwards talks with Eric Malka, co-founder of The Art of Shaving, about how passion, strategy, branding, and execution helped transform men’s shaving from a basic drugstore habit into a luxury self-care experience. Eric shares how he and his wife started with $12,000, opened a tiny Manhattan store, built a premium grooming category, expanded through major retailers, and eventually sold the company to Procter & Gamble. He also discusses clean beauty, consumer health, brand building, and his current work through Strategic Brand Investments. What You’ll Learn How The Art of Shaving began with a small shop, old-fashioned shaving products, and aromatherapy formulas Why execution matters more than having a completely original idea How luxury branding helped create a new category in men’s grooming Why customer experience, ritual, packaging, scent, and store design became central to the brand How wholesale partnerships with Neiman Marcus, Saks, Bloomingdale’s, and other retailers helped the company scale What entrepreneurs need to understand before selling a company Why clean beauty, transparency, and ingredient awareness matter in the future of personal care Episode Highlights 02:05 – Eric shares how old-fashioned shaving shops in London and his wife’s aromatherapy work inspired The Art of Shaving 04:18 – Selling their car and opening the first Manhattan store with only $12,000 05:41 – Why starting quickly mattered more than waiting for the perfect plan 07:04 – How an early supplier conflict pushed Eric and his wife to create their own product line 09:03 – Why The Art of Shaving entered an underserved luxury category instead of competing in mass-market shaving 10:52 – How branding, public relations, and media attention helped the company grow 12:18 – Creating an in-store experience through scent, music, barber services, packaging, and atmosphere 14:05 – Why customers connected with the morning shaving ritual as an early form of men’s self-care 15:07 – The Neiman Marcus opportunity that showed Eric the brand could become something much bigger 17:12 – How The Art of Shaving scaled from boutique stores into 800 retail locations 18:42 – Why raising money often means beginning the path toward an eventual exit 20:08 – Lessons Eric learned while negotiating the sale to Procter & Gamble 22:24 – Why entrepreneurs should understand that bankers and brokers may not be fully aligned with their interests 24:03 – Why founders need to know their selling threshold before entering acquisition talks 25:55 – How selling the company changed Eric’s view of entrepreneurship, health, mindset, and financial freedom 28:10 – Why Eric would have brought in investors and a management team earlier if he could do one thing differently 30:20 – How Eric shifted into clean beauty, wellness, and Strategic Brand Investments after selling The Art of Shaving 33:06 – Why ingredient transparency became central to his work in beauty and personal care 35:12 – How consumer demand for clean products is rising, but misinformation remains a major problem 37:02 – Brands Eric is currently working with, including Jack Henry, Barberino, and Miami Beach Bum 39:05 – Why consumers need to read ingredient labels and protect themselves in a lightly regulated industry 40:24 – Why innovation, differentiation, and emotional connection separate real brands from ordinary companies 42:16 – How company culture grows from shared values, purpose, and customer obsession 44:03 – Eric’s daily routine around family, exercise, meditation, tea, and health 45:30 – Why entrepreneurship often comes from rule-breaking, challenging norms, and refusing the status quo 46:40 – Why the future of beauty and wellness may include a return to brick-and-mortar retail Meet the Guest Eric Malka is the co-founder of The Art of Shaving, the luxury men’s grooming brand later acquired by Procter & Gamble. He is also an entrepreneur, investor, clean beauty advocate, and founder of Strategic Brand Investments, where he supports emerging brands in wellness, grooming, beauty, and personal care. Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned The Art of Shaving Procter & Gamble acquisition Strategic Brand Investments Ingredients Jack Henry Barberino Miami Beach Bum Luxury grooming category creation Aromatherapy-based product formulation Premium retail strategy Neiman Marcus shop-in-shop model Wholesale scaling Public relations as brand growth Experiential retail Customer advocacy Men’s self-care ritual Clean beauty Ingredient transparency Non-toxic formulations Founder exit planning M&A negotiation Selling threshold Brand versus company distinction Closing Insight and CTA Eric’s story shows that a powerful brand is not built by copying what already exists. It is built by finding an overlooked category, serving the customer better than anyone else, and creating an experience people want to return to. The Art of Shaving succeeded because it turned a simple routine into a meaningful ritual. His later work in clean beauty and brand investment shows that the same principles still apply: innovate, differentiate, protect the customer, and build with purpose. 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