Organic nail polish co. sprouts in metro Detroit
Cindis Naturals is a new nail polish company started by families from Grosse Pointe and Clarkston. The business plan is twofold: to develop a polish without harmful chemicals and to give nail professionals a product that their clients can only get from them. The polish, which has been in salons in metro Detroit salons for about two months and will soon be sold in six locations of Windsor Beauty Supply, grew out of a relationship between husband and wife John and Melodie Scherer of Grosse Pointe Farms and brother and sister Cindy and Rick Lieder from Clarkston. Cindy Lieder, a longtime manicurist who decided she wanted to create a safer artificial nail, one without chemicals linked to pulmonary, neurological and gynecological side effects, started her company CindiNails in 2005. In the meantime, the Scherers, veterans of the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, saw an opportunity to sell nail polish exclusively to nail professionals who had lost their go-to brands, OPI and Esse, after they became available to all consumers, not just professionals. In doing research and interviews the Scherers also heard that manicurists wanted a product that was more organic, less chemical, John Scherer says. The Scherers had been successful in nail polish in the 1990s but left the business when stores became too difficult to work with. It was a call from an industry consultant in California several months ago, telling them about a void in polishes sold only to nail pros that got the ball rolling on forming a new product. During the research and development process they learned about the Liebers' low-chemical system for artificial nails and the top coats and base coats that came with it. The Scherers decided to approach them about their new polish formula that could be made minus five dangerous chemicals, including formaldehyde and toluene, and with an organic not synthetic plasticizer (hardener). They asked if the Lieders wanted to combine products. They did and the foursome formed Colors Cindi Nails Naturals LLC. "We had our polish colors. The thing we didn't have was our top coat or base coat," says John Scherer. "We thought we would find someone doing it in California, and it turned out we found someone doing it right here in Clarkston, Michigan. We wanted it to buy it in gallon cans from them initially, but they wanted to buy colors and it was perfect. It was a marriage made in heaven." New salons and independent nail professionals are ordering Cindis Naturals every week, he says, salons in Grosse Pointe, West Bloomfield, St. Clair Shores. While the business side is looking promising what's been most rewarding, he adds, is how the product has helped nail professionals not only avoid smelly, potentially harmful fumes but also boost their bottom line. The polishes are sold in full size bottles for manicures and pedicures and come with a Skinny Mini that can be sold to clients for touch-ups, etc. and in a bottle size that won't dry up before it's used up. It gives consumers a way to keep their nails fresh and the nail pro a small source of income. "It's working like a charm," he says. "The pros are happy. Their clients are happy. A safer product is out there. It's working out just beautifully." Writer: Kim North Shine Source: John Scherer, co-founder Cindis Naturals
