The Story of Uncle Funky’s Daughter

Uncle Funky’s Daughter has grown so much over the years since I bought the brand in 2014! Many of our new supporters who just recently fell in love with our products may be aware of the insane hold and definition you get from Curly Magic…but may not be aware of the story behind the brand! So, I wanted to share the journey of how I discovered Uncle Funky’s Daughter and grew it to what it is today!

It All Started With Extra Butter!

Like many of you, I discovered the brand by chance. When I first moved to Houston in 2009, one of the first things I did was try to get my hands on some natural hair products!  A naturalista for over 20 years (now going on 30 years), I tried multiple products and nothing seemed to work on my hair! I would always end up with dry twists or my style wouldn’t even last a day. Back then, there weren’t a lot of options out there for us naturals! We didn’t have retailers like Target and CVS giving hair products for kinky and curly textures the level of visibility and access in their stores like they do today. 

However, we did have Google, and I was lucky to find a few natural hair stores in Houston, one of them being Uncle Funky’s Daughter! That’s when I discovered the power of Extra Butter! After using Extra Butter…I fell in love! During my work trips, I even tried venturing out and using other products but nothing compared. It was the only thing that worked on my hair! I was officially a Funky Junky!

From Funky Junky To CEO!

I was a Funky Junky for several years before I bought the company and at a point in my life where I really wanted to do something different career-wise. At the time I worked as a Management Consultant who constantly traveled back and forth from New York, Philly, Memphis, Toronto…I was all over the place! My career was so demanding that I would only be home with my kids from Thursday to Sunday before leaving again on Monday. It was hectic!

My kids were really young at the time, and I knew that I didn’t want to be “that parent”. I couldn’t be the “weekend mom” anymore. Yes, I traveled to various cities, consulting with multi-billion dollar companies and having a “seat at the table.” Sometimes I do miss being in a room full of provocative thought leaders, pushing my colleagues to think outside of the box. But it was more important for me to be home and instill my and my husband’s values into our children. I knew I had to make a career change and I had a lot of soul searching to do! 

As crazy as it sounds…one day I was at the salon getting my hair braided and after talking to my stylist about my current life journey, a thought crossed my mind to look into buying Uncle Funky’s Daughter. I truly believe this was God speaking to me! I dismissed it at first, thinking “they aren’t going to be willing to sell the company,” but even after several days the thought kept gnawing at me. Eventually, I needed to restock on Extra Butter so I went to the store and started chatting with the man behind the counter. Little did I know…this man was the owner of the brand! The timing was immaculate!

I also found out that he and his wife were going through a divorce. We all know that divorce can get messy and I knew that the couple had to figure out what to do with the business they owned together. Typically in these situations, one person either keeps the business, they dissolve it or end up selling.

Later on, after doing more research, I found out that the company was in “receivership”, i.e. when a company is being managed by an attorney who decides what to do with it. At this point, it was as simple as contacting the attorney. To my surprise, they were planning to sell the company and I was able to buy Uncle Funky’s Daughter!

I bought the company because I truly believed in the products and the brand. Extra Butter could not leave my life and I grew to love all of the other original products like Curly Magic! The brand had so much potential and I knew that if I could help grow large companies like Coca-Cola, FedEx, and Johnson & Johnson, I could be the “little engine that could” and help grow Uncle Funky’s Daughter!

How It’s Going.

Since the acquisition, we’ve been doing really well. When I first bought the company we were a boutique brand and weren’t in retail stores like Target, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Wegmans, CVS and HEB! 

This is all due to the support of our Funky Junkies who have been spreading the gospel about all of our amazing products! Not only are our core products like Thirsty Curls, Supercurl and Curly Magic doing well but we’ve even been able to launch new products like Heal & Renew, Bye Bye Buildup, and the Maximum Thermal Protection line! This has been a wonderful journey and I hope and pray that we continue to grow and expand as a company. We definitely can’t do it without your love and support! 

xoxo
Renee Morris (@lifebyrenee)