Freeman Beauty – The Resurgence of a Dynasty

We recently had the honor of meeting with Larry Freeman, founder of Freeman Cosmetic Company. I fondly remember the brand from my childhood and wondered why I hadn’t seen much of their pretty fruity bottles on the shelves.

Part of the reason is that the FREEMAN brand has changed hands several times in the last few years…The Freeman family sold the company to DIAL Corp in 1998, who slashed the SKUs and sold to a private equity firm. The firm did not maintain very good relationships with retailers and saw the company value drop dramatically. In September 2003, the family repurchased the name and IP in bankruptcy court and has been rebuilding its reputation and distribution ever since.

When we met Mr. Freeman, he exuded passion for the company and its brands. He is in fact FREEMAN – and donned a purple sweater as an emblem. He told us the company has seen 10% growth through 2008. They also recently purchased a number of beauty brands from Woodridge Labs including Psssssst, an instant spray shampoo; Vita K Solutions for Skin Care; Ellin LaVar Textures, a celebrity stylist-inspired hair care line, and Perfect C, an antioxidant skin care system. Annual sales for the four brands combined were approximately $12 million, according to industry sources.

In 2008, FREEMAN ventured into the organic market with its Goodstuff Organics products.

Mr. Freeman let us know that they have an uphill battle ahead, but they are completely committed and patiently rebuilding the relationships that once made FREEMAN a major niche beauty player.

As gracious hosts and great salesmen do, Mr. Freeman sent us off with a box of products. I tried the Papaya Lime Shampoo and absolutely love it! The packaging maintains the bright fruity images I remember from my childhood love of FREEMAN. It has a not-too-sweet tropical smell, and it left my hair feeling clean, soft and shiney 🙂

We’re excited to see more of their great naturally-focused products on the shelf. Here’s to the resurgence of a dynasty! For more information on the company, visit: www.freemanbeauty.com.