Artificial intelligence-driven wig customization company Parfait is pivoting its business model to offer its technology to brands and content creators in the wig, weave and extension space.
Using selfies, Parfait’s technology enables lace material and hair quality to be personalized to consumers’ preferences and unique skin tones and facial features. Parfait began as a direct-to-consumer brand in 2022, and it’s keeping the branded aspect of its business primarily as a testing ground for initiatives it can introduce to clients.
Co-founder and CEO Isoken Igbinedion says, “We want to make sure we truly understand every use case for every consumer because we know women are not a monolith, and everybody has unique individual preferences, but we also want to enable the industry to really transform the way we think about serving consumers.”
Parfait has already begun piloting its technology in work with third parties. For example, it’s partnered with Chloe Bean, an influencer with 2.6 million TikTok followers and 536,000 Instagram followers who suffers from alopecia and cycles between rocking a bald look and wigs, and Indique, a hair brand founded in 2007 by Ericka Dotson, a former hairstylist, and Krishan Jhalani, who previously ran an Indian human hair export company. Parfait co-created a wig with Bean and will later develop a broader line with her slated for release later this year.
At Indique, Dotson says, “We are thrilled about our endeavor with Parfait. With this partnership, we’re not just introducing a new offering, we’re revolutionizing the way our customers experience beauty. By incorporating Parfait’s groundbreaking AI into our shopping journey, we’re able to offer a bespoke experience that celebrates individuality, one perfectly tailored wig at a time.” Igbinedion says, “Indique is one of the largest and the oldest players in the market, which marks a really exciting transition and milestone for the industry as a whole as we finally move wigs and extensions into the 21st century.”
The technology integration and consumer experience depends on the client. Tapping Parfait’s technology, Indique’s customers are invited to take four selfies to capture the dimensions of their hairlines, head shapes and skin tones to ensure they receive the correct wig size and lace tint color. Parfait then manufactures and fulfills orders. Parfait’s digital tools allow Waeve customers to edit the cut, style, lace, hairline, cap size and lace tint of the DTC brand’s wigs and make additional requests.
Parfait has raised $5 million in funding from investors such as Upfront Ventures and Serena Ventures. It’s in the process of raising further funding. Waeve has raised $2 million in funding form investors including Pillar VC, Chord Commerce co-founder Henry Davis, former president and COO of Glossier, Bryan Mahoney, former CTO of Glossier, and Ali Weiss, former CMO of Glossier.
Waeve founder Mary Imevbore connected with Igbinedion in 2023 to see if the pair could join forces, a rare move in a wig category that saw several startups hit the market and draw funding in the early 2020s. “When you’re in the VC space, there’s definitely a tendency towards competition. It’s a very winner-takes-all mindset,” says Imevbore. “Iso was like, OK, all these companies want to achieve similar aims, how can we actually work together to deliver better products for the customer and be more successful together than we would be if we were trying to all do the same things alone?”
In 2022, Parfait partnered with singer Justine Skye on a collection of wigs in 2022. Igbinedion envisions the company increasing its partnerships with influencers and celebrities on wigs and lists production studios, retailers and salons as potential clients, too. Parfait didn’t disclose the amount it charges clients for its technology.
Igbinedion says, “We’ve built the infrastructure to produce any product with any material at any price point, and so pricing is based on each brands/companies’ desired offering…This really is just the beginning for Parfait. We really have been the first to transform how wigs and extensions serve consumers, and I think you’re going to see our technology continue to scale our ability to provide customized and personalization in the beauty industry.”
