Two Kaua‘i young women are hoping to parlay their love of surfing and Hawaiian culture into the sweet smell of success. Literally. Coty Duhaylongsod and Kristy Kinimaka, both 26, and Kaua‘i High School graduates in the Class of 1996, have
Two Kaua‘i young women are hoping to parlay their love of surfing and Hawaiian culture into the sweet smell of success.
Literally.
Coty Duhaylongsod and Kristy Kinimaka, both 26, and Kaua‘i High School graduates in the Class of 1996, have spent the past two years trying to get their fragrance company off the ground and onto shelves.
And, just like a Christmas wish come true, Nalu Fragrances will be ready for retail sales by December.
“It was a lot of hard work. Our main goal is to get the fragrance into Macy’s, and then into surf stores,” Duhaylongsod said.
She described the fragrance as “high end,” with a suggested as “high end,” with a suggested retail price of $40 for a 1.7-ounce, surfboard-shaped bottle of the perfume she described as “citrusy, uplifting and soft; not overpowering.”
Duhaylongsod said the concept for the fragrance, Nalu, which means “surf,” was directly tied into what she described as “how a woman surfer’s image comes into play with her sexuality.”
Finding the right financial wave to ride was no easy matter. The two women offered their product to Coty Cosmetics Inc. of New York City, which handles fragrances bearing the famous names of Jennifer Lopez and the Olsen twins. After being turned down there, and rejected by two banks, the duo went back to basics, and returned to their roots. “We knew what we wanted. So after being turned down, we went to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and took classes,” Duhaylongsod said, referring to the preparation needed to receive an OHA grant to start a small business.
Duhaylongsod declined to reveal how much of a grant she and Kinimaka received, but allowed it was sufficient for the pair to hook up with the East Coast-based Ungerer company to market their fragrance.
Duhaylongsod said finding just the right fragrance was no easy chore. She said they decided that, rather than sitting around like mad fragrance scientists and mixing ingredients, she and Kinimaka received a number of potential samples from Ungerer before deciding on the right blend.
Some she said were “too orangey, some too sweet.” Nalu Fragrances’ principals eventually hope to launch a scent for men. Both women have lived on O‘ahu since leaving Kaua‘i. Kinimaka has earned a degree in marketing, according to Duhay-longsod, who is finishing up her degree in political science.
- Andy Gross, business editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or agross@pulitzer.
