Basement Factory Design’s innovative CARE PRO products have reinvented the success formula for salon haircare. Now, it sets its sights higher, for new products and new markets.
By Daniel de Bomford
Some industries have been around for so long that it feels as if there is nowhere left to innovate. Hair salons are one such place, the formula having been thought to have been perfected decades ago. Basement Factory Design has proved that assumption wrong. The company launched its professional beauty brand, CARE PRO, in high-end salons in 2017. Today, 45,000 beauty salons throughout Japan are using CARE PRO Professional alongside a rapidly increasing number of global salons.
The CARE PRO line consists of non-heated hair irons that use ultrasonic technology to improve the penetration of the active ingredients in hair treatment, allowing them to be absorbed by the hair more effectively. This innovation was born from President and CEO Taiji Nakamura, who looked at the innovative stagnation of the hair care industry and asked a simple question: “What would happen if we added strategy and creativity?”
Traditionally, hair treatments required 10-minutes of manual massage. The ultrasonic vibrations of CARE PRO apply the treatment quickly and effectively, and lead to longer-lasting results. “Previously, professionals relied heavily on manual techniques,” Nakamura says. “Now, our CARE PRO makes it possible to offer highly profitable premium services while customers enjoy better results.”
The company offers both a professional model and a consumer-grade model that utilizes the same patented technology. Inside the devices, there is a chip programmed to deliver ultrasonic output. Nakamura compares the technology to a massage. “Applying the same pressure to the same spot doesn’t work,” he explains. “Results come from variations in strength and movement.”
Basement Factory Design’s products are already widespread in Japan, so the company is looking to new markets abroad. It has already begun introducing its CARE PRO products into salons in China and Southeast Asia, replicating its Japanese strategy of partnering with major distributors that have ties to local salons.
While the company focuses on Southeast Asia, it has its sights set on the European and U.S. markets. With such a positive response, Nakamura hopes to continue innovating, “Seeing people’s joy is my reward, my ikigai.”
To hear more from President Taiji Nakamura of BASEMENT FACTORY DESIGN, check out this interview with him.
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