Where did your interest in creating a new beauty + wellness brand and filtered showerhead begin?
Ryan Babenzien: I had founded another startup in the footwear industry called Greats, which was actually the first DTC sneaker brand in the world. Ultimately I sold that business to Steve Madden and while not the most obvious path into the beauty industry, I recognized that the biggest problem in everyone’s daily routine as it relates to their skin, hair, and wellness was the water. That led me to the idea for Jolie which quickly became established as the most essential beauty wellness tool in one’s routine.
Arjan Singh: When Ryan posed the question to me about the quality of the water we shower in, I was almost embarrassed that for my whole life, I’ve been showering and I hadn’t once paid attention to the quality of that water and its impact. But it immediately resonated with me. I loved how simple and fundamental the idea was. In addition to being able to address hair and skin issues at the source, I loved being able to speak to a space that we all know doesn’t just clean us physically – but also mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. The shower is a space that is about more than just its function.
Tell us about your brand and Jolie filtered showerhead!
RB: Jolie is considered the pioneer of the filtering showerhead as a beauty wellness tool. We are not a plumbing company or simply a hardware product and this is very unique in our competitive set. Jolie’s sole purpose for being is to purify your water as it relates to your skin, hair and wellbeing which means water is our north star as it relates to our brand. Thankfully water is a very elastic and expansive lens for us to play with and we’ve built a community of Jolie users of course through the shower, but also through sailing, food, our summer yoga series “State of Flow” and many other ways that may not seem obvious at first glance but when you see it all working together, we’ve build a special brand within the beauty industry.
AS: Jolie is a beauty wellness company that is focused on purifying the quality of one’s water for better skin, hair, and well-being. In some amount of time, we believe that everyone will be filtering the water they shower in as something that is normalized – and we want Jolie to lead that cause and become synonymous with the category. Jolie has been a lesson in restraint… starting with restraining what’s in our water to the way in which we approach our product assortment and marketing. Focusing to make it clear who we are, what we do, and what we stand for.
What’s your favorite part about the New York entrepreneur community?
RB: The NY entrepreneur community is incredible. NY being NY, we have a wide range of founders that span multiple industries which is exciting. Being a New Yorker I’m biased but I think our founder scene is the best in the world.
AS: I love the diversity and hustle and overlap and passion. Whether you’re designing dresses, opening a restaurant, starting a substack newsletter business, or trying to create a new technology, New York brings everyone together and the inspiration is endless.
What was the inspiration behind the design of the Jolie shower head, and how does that coincide with the effectiveness of the product?
RB: Great design should not be complicated. Great design should be timeless. Great design should be understood and intuitive. These were all things we wanted to accomplish with Jolie. We often and continue to reference some objects that we feel represent Great design. The Rolex Submariner, The Porsche 911, The Tuxedo, the Little Black Dress. These are timeless themes and while they may change slightly year over year each of them has maintained its core design identity. That’s what we wanted to create with Jolie, timeless, classic, everlasting.
AS: We wanted a silhouette that was instantly recognizable and ideally iconic over time. The product has to work, but it also has to stand out and be remembered. Of course, form and function need to marry together well… which meant a balance of size and shape to achieve the filtration we could stand behind and the aesthetic one would love and remember.
Do you have any new big plans for the brand?
RB: We do. 2025 will likely be the year we launch our 2nd and maybe even 3rd product. Jolie’s entire purpose for being is to improve the water you use as it relates to your skin, hair and wellbeing. You should expect to see us release products that focus on completing this mission in other areas of your bathroom.
AS: Fun collaborations, even more events, and a lot more retail.
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