Founded in 2004 by Vanita Parti MBE, Blink Brow Bar has become a pioneer in bringing the art of eyebrow threading to the UK beauty scene. With over 15 locations and an award-winning product line, the brand is dedicated to empowering confidence through expert brow and lash care. Inspired by her Indian heritage and driven by a vision to fill a gap in the market, Vanita has transformed Blink into a leading name in beauty while championing female entrepreneurship and innovation.
Define your brand
A female led brand that shapes confidence one brow at a time, leaving you feeling a better version of yourself.
What is your USP?
We ensure that all therapists deliver our promise to our customers ‘fabulous brows and lashes, lifting not only brows and lashes, but spirits too’. Twenty million brows later, customers know that they are in the trusted hands of a blink therapist or a BBB product.
To what do you attribute your brand's success?
Staying focused on one thing and delivering it to the highest standard. It has been so tempting to delve into so many other treatments, but it only ends up serving as a distraction. We invest in training, interiors and a sensory experience. We continuously work to deliver the brand promise, which has not changed since Day 1.
What is your key role in the business today? How has it evolved with time?
I am very involved but more strategically so and less in the day to day. I set out the vision and creatively move the brand forward so that we remain as relevant and as exciting as twenty years ago.
What is your Brand mantra?
Never take your eye off customer needs, or competition and keep evolving to stay ahead.
Why has your brand made headway in such a competitive market?
We were the first to bring threading in a trusted way, to the UK, so we all need to ensure that we remain the market leaders. We invest in training, to ensure an elevated service, consistently across all our brow bars. A wonderful customer experience is vital, and eyebrow shaping should be seen as time out, a respite from the world for a few moments. We have weaved heritage through everything we do so that the sixty second massage is almost as important as the shaping itself. Eyebrows can be overwhelming, so it is important that we build our customer’s confidence. We then also arm our customers with the best advice and products so that they continue to feel supported when doing brows at home. It is the laser focus, expertise that remains consistently good and therefore trusted that makes us stand out.
We have weaved heritage through everything we do so that the sixty second massage is almost as important as the shaping itself.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start their own business in the beauty arena?
Make sure you are fulfilling a need that doesn’t exist and if it already does, repackage it or deliver it differently to make it compelling. Simplicity is key, you should be able to explain your customer proposition in a couple of sentences.
How do you stay ahead and keep your brand relevant in our digital world?
We only have a second to grab digital attention so need to ensure we are constantly engaging our audience. Community is everything and are they are our best ambassadors; we are fortunate that they are always happy to share the love. We produce our own content and do many collaborations which are important in positioning the brand and bringing in new audiences. Educational content comes from our brow stylists and Founder content to ensure we are seen as the true experts in our arena.
Community is everything and are they are our best ambassadors; we are fortunate that they are always happy to share the love.
What can we look forward to seeing next from you, and the brand?
To be the global go-to brand for everything brows and lashes. Development is about service innovation and products to have the same impact at home. We have a new tubing Mascara which gives you a Lash Lift at home. We have just launched a lash serum that has no nasties and promises longer and stronger lashes. In terms of services, the Korean Lash Lift is spectacular, lifted lashes with a kinder solution and I urge everyone to give it a go. We are also looking to open globally and Dubai is the next hot spot.
CEO QUICKFIRE
Coffee Order
Flat white. Simple but crucial.
What’s inspiring you?
The way people are being driven back to bricks and mortar, services and restaurants bringing communities back to life.
Favourite business quote
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning" - Bill Gates
Groundbreaking Brand you love
Vinted – so great to see kids recycle clothes rather than buy fast fashion. It also gives them the experience of running a business, negotiating and making money.
Product you admire/wish you’d created!
Aesop are truly delivering brand success and a great case study for any brand trying to scale up while staying true to values. Such a sensory brand that also looks consistently beautiful, iconic. I wonder why I am prepared to spend so much on a shower gel, time after time. But I do.
Find Blink Brow Bar online and @blinkbrowbar & Vanita @vanitaparti
