Zeus Beard – Brand Spotlight

In our brand spotlight, we feature Abound brands who are ready for retail. This week we sat down with Zeus, God of Thunder and Beards, CEO of Zeus Beard. Zeus Beard sells men’s grooming products, is based in sunny SoCal, and has been in business for six years. 

Robin: Why did you decide to start Zeus Beard?

Zeus: On one of my trips to Earth, I noticed that humans had facial hair like I did. Back in Olympus, I have my own special blend of natural ingredients that I use to keep my facial hair soft and healthy.

As I explored, I noticed that some of the humans beards were in need of care. I returned home and my wife Hera encouraged me to share my beard care products with those on Earth.

She knows my relationship with humankind is complicated, so this seemed like a good way to strengthen my relationship with them. After all, beards are one of the few things I have in common with them. 

R: What’s the number one misconception about beard health?

Z: The humans seem to think it is very easy to grow a healthy beard. Beard growers must consider their hair and skin types, and that the hair on top of their heads is not the same as the hair on their chin. It takes patience to understand the needs of the almighty beard.

R: How did you make your first prototype? What changes have you made to your product since then?

Z: With a growing demand for godly beards, I knew I was going to need some help with manufacturing. I reached out to my son Hephaestus, who is the god of craftsmen and artisans here in Olympus.

He found some amazing manufacturers local to our business location on Earth. It’s important to us to support our community as well as provide the best product. 

Some ingredients are sourced from Olympus, but I can’t get into that too much. We always start with small batches and rely on our bearded ambassadors to test and review each product before we give something the lightning bolt of approval.

R: How did you find the right manufacturer? What advice would you give to those looking for manufacturers?

Z: Well, I don’t want to give away any secrets. But, it took some time to search and find the few that we are currently working with. My best advice is try to source local first.

It’s important to try to support your community. Having a local manufacturer also means that one can be more involved in the creation of the products for their business and really understand what their product is for better marketing. 

R: What separates a godly beard from a normal beard?

Z: The answer is quite simple: a well cared for one! I’ve seen across Earth and Olympus beards being compared against one another for length, width, age, you name it. It always seemed so strange to me. The mightiest beard is one that is moisturized and tamed.  

R: What’s your day to day like? Do you have any favorite and least favorite parts?

Z: My day to day is never quite the same. Some days are spent placing orders and reviewing the needs of suppliers. Other days, I spend time collaborating with my small, but mighty team. It’s also very important to me that I make time to review customer comments across our many platforms.

Also, I go into disguise here on Earth and listen in to what men are saying about their grooming needs. I think my favorite part is finding opportunities for new products that will make humans look and feel godly.

R: How do you come up with new product ideas?

Z: Usually ideas just come to me. You know, one of the benefits of being godly. But I will say that I must give credit where it is due. My team is great at identifying the needs of humans that I sometimes overlook.

For example, different skin types or getting into head hair care. We usually brainstorm in a group to discuss what we could make next and how it will benefit our customers. 

R: Where was the first place you sold your product?

Z: We started off first on our website, Zeusbeard.com. Then we started selling on various third party marketplaces, eBay was a great start for us. Soon after, we began selling with the Amazons… I mean on Amazon.

Our wholesale channels have been fantastic as well. We have wholesale customers throughout the world and across Olympus. From barbers to boutique owners to larger brick-and-mortar chains, we are friendly to all who want to help us spread our godly products.  

R: Where do you sell your product now?

Z: Zeus products can be found in Town and Country Markets and Metropolitan Markets. We supply to many independent barber and grooming shops like Vixen and Beard, and can be found in boutiques like West of Camden.

Beyond our website, we can also be found on eBay, Amazon, and WalMart. Zeus has also been lucky to enter into limited partnerships with Birch Box and Hautelook. 

R: Where would you love to sell your products in the future?

Z: We’d love to partner with those who have a passion for unique and natural grooming products. We are hoping to expand our community beyond what we already have both on Earth and in Olympus.

And, we are interested in creating products that our non-bearded friends can use. We think partnering with those whom we can have a mutually beneficial relationship is best.

R: What’s your marketing like? Is social media an important part of your business? If so, how?

Z: We have a younger following, so social media is pretty important to us. We have found it very helpful in launching new products and raising awareness.

It has also been a great way to connect with bearded brothers, and even those without beards. We try to create content that will be appealing to both new and experienced members of our community.

R: What specific strategies do you use on social media? How do you tell what’s working?

Z: One of my personal policies is honesty. So I have to say that I honestly don’t understand these ‘social media’ things. My wife Hera is amazing at it though, so she runs that part of the business. She tells me the customers really like Insta…..Instagrams? Instagram? Something Insta. 

Anyway, she gets a lot of interactions and uses those moving picture things to get feedback from our community. Last I heard, she plans on going full force on YouTube. Great place to watch videos of my lightning storms. Anyway, I suppose our strategy is to interact and personally connect as much as possible. 

R: What are some of your greatest achievements and victories you’ve had with Zeus Beard?

Z: Our greatest achievement so far has been being able to help beards thrive! When we first started, my advice on keeping a beard long and comfortable was often sought. While it was a no brainer to me, I realized that so many beards were being shaved a week into their growth because of the discomfort some were experiencing.

It’s been a true victory to provide products friendly to all skin and hair types. It’s been reported that the number of beards here on Earth and in Olympus have multiplied because of us!