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A natural way to love your locks
Rose Ovensehi is the Founder of Flora & Curl - a plant-powered haircare brand offering a range of botanical products for textured hair (curls, coils and waves). Like many businesses, the founders created it to solve a problem that no one else was addressing. Now multi-award-winning, Flora & Curl has received £150,000 worth of TV advertising and mentoring through the Channel 4 and Lloyds Black In Business initiative.
Read time: 4 mins Added: 03/06/25
Curly & proud! A natural way to love your locks
After years of straightening her hair with harsh chemicals, Rose realised the damage she’d caused to her scalp. But what do you do when you can’t find natural, gentle haircare products to help your curls thrive? You set about launching your own range, of course.
In 2011, Rose began making haircare formulas using natural oils and botanical ingredients she found in her mum’s kitchen. Six months at a cosmetics formulation school followed to learn more about nature’s potential to support simplified daily haircare routines.
These products protect hair and the scalp and also save time. “I aimed to create something that delivers results and builds a loyal following. My first range included hair mist, oil and butter. This simple three-step routine helps both parents with curly kids and adults achieve healthy and hydrated curls. Many of my customers juggle busy days, long hours or multiple jobs. I wanted to make their haircare routine in the morning or on the weekends easier,” she explains.
Feeling seen on the small screen
Regarding representation, there are three elements Rose is keen to highlight. First, the knock-on effect of the Channel 4 and Lloyds Black In Business initiative can be great for the economy, she says. “Highlighting the successes of people who represent those we want to encourage into the business space offers inspiration, sparks ambition and gives others the confidence to push forward.”
Receiving recognition for the huge amount of hard work Rose and her team have put in since 2016 has been a real boost. I want people to feel they can accomplish what their role models have accomplished. This applies to any area of interest. “I feel privileged to be one of the winners because it’s a dream and an amazing opportunity to showcase Flora & Curl on-screen UK-wide,” she reflects.
The final point is the representation of people with naturally textured hair on TV. Rose feels this is sadly lacking at the moment and is keen to inspire future generations by showing them their haircare needs matter too. “I’ve got coily hair, so I think many women are going to be happy to see themselves represented in Flora & Curls’ advert. The visibility alone will be inspiring,” she enthuses.
Finding the right people to help navigate choppy waters
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, especially in the early years when trying to get things off the ground. Rose cites her biggest challenge as having done everything so far without mentoring.
“Having someone who has relevant industry experience and has been through the ups and downs is important,” she says.
I think sometimes when people start out with a business idea, they can have a fluffy view of reality. You want someone who can prepare you for the challenging times and give you the tools and knowledge to navigate these in the best way possible.
Rose Ovensehi Founder, Flora & CurlA heady mix of disbelief and delight
Mentoring is only one part of the prize. There’s also the transformative £150,000 worth of Channel 4 TV advertising for each of the four winners.
Rose was working in her home office when she got the call and was in a state of disbelief initially and still is to some extent by her own admission. “It didn’t feel real because of how much of a dream it was for me. Once I skipped the phase of accepting it as reality, I felt so incredibly proud of myself,” she admits.
The TV advertising is not only a recognition of Rose’s entrepreneurial success; it’s also an opportunity to educate. Textured hair tends to be drier than straight hair, so the properties of natural oils, butters and emollients can make a significant difference without causing any damage. Putting this message across to a wider audience is vitally important.
Invoice Finance fuels expansion
Eight years after launching, Flora & Curl has a collection of 17 products in the range and ships to customers in over 70 countries, with retailers in 30 countries, mainly across Europe.
They recently launched into Tesco stores in the UK as part of the supermarket’s accelerator programme and are now stocked in Kruidvat in the Netherlands.
“One of our goals is to bring our products into stores so customers can feel the packaging. We are up to 70% plastic-free, and our beautiful aluminium bottles deserve to be seen in person. I want to create more accessibility of our range in stores across the UK and Europe over the next three years,” Rose explains.
As a Lloyds business customer from the start, Flora & Curl is now reaping the benefits of our Invoice Finance facility to grow, supply and fund new retailers’ purchase orders. “Our Relationship Manager, Noshad Khowaja, is always on hand to answer my questions, support with funding, and identify relevant networking opportunities,” Rose notes.
Don’t run before you can crawl
There’s often a skewed view in the media of what running a business looks like. While overnight success is a reality for a select few, for the vast majority, it’s a totally different landscape, Rose suggests.
My advice is to crawl, walk and run when launching a new business. If you’re able to start with one imperfect product, you can evolve it over time through customer feedback.
Rose Ovensehi Founder, Flora & Curl
Delivering game-changing advertising opportunities
Read more about the other Black In Business winners and what they hope to gain from the initiative.