Midlands Enterprise Awards 2020

56 | Midlands Enterprise Awards 2020 Sep20682 Best Beard Care Brand 2020 The rationale behind The Sardar Co’s inception in 2019 was the rapidly growing market of Sikh fashion, a key feature of this being beard and hair growth. The firm is working on building an all-inclusive brand that supports and celebrates diversity. Its customers come from all walks of life, and from across the world, and its products cater for all, with no exceptions for faith, colour or language. Co-Founder Manjit Sohal grew up Sikh in a non- Sikh neighbourhood, knowing he was different and often feeling out of place. “Being different can be isolating,” he begins. “But difference can also mean independence, pride, and a sense of true identity. It’s okay to stand out from the crowd, to be true to yourself instead of what others want you to be. We’re proud to be different, to lead rather than to follow; to be sardars.” ‘Sardar’ is an ancient Persian word meaning “leader”. Although it’s most closely associated with Sikh culture, it’s used from the Himalayas to the Bosphorus to denote individuals with strong, independent spirits. These people have often been princes, military heroes or national leaders who exemplify the traditions of courage and self- reliance. It’s these qualities that make a sardar, not the title or the position. Individuals who show respect to others and to themselves, who live genuinely and without falsehood, are the sardars of today. Being at peace with who you are is the foundation of The Sardar Co. Its vision is to offer styling products that complement an individual’s style, instead of replacing it and to enhance identity, instead of dressing it up. Its goal is to be an all- inclusive home for the world’s sardars. The male styling space is becoming quite a saturated industry and therefore The Sardar Co must work hard to ensure that it differentiates itself to stay ahead. It does this by offering a wide variety of products which are manufactured in the UK in its own laboratories and not outsourced to third parties or taken from a drop-shipping supplier. This ensures that the team know exactly what is going into the products and can confirm that the ingredients are all organic and natural. “We’ve positioned our brand as a ‘beard care’ brand, as we want to encourage this and offer products that will help people look after their beards rather than trim or cut them,” he explains. “Our brand aims to be inclusive and diverse. I think this is a key selling point as we have used this to build a community of likeminded people who believe in the power of equality and brotherhood.” The Covid-19 pandemic has had a large impact on businesses the world over, however for The Sardar Co, the impact has been beneficial. Due to more people working from home, Co-founder Manpreet Talwar has seen a definite increase in people experimenting with growing beards and, therefore, more people wanting to use beard care products. It has been a successful year. Regarding the future, Manpreet foresees even more growth for the company and believes that the next couple of years are crucial to build and develop. “Going forward, we will be looking to scale our brand, and keep adding new product lines on a regular basis as we have done. We will be adding more unisex and female hair care products to our range too after the massive success of our Nourishing Hair Oil. “In addition to this, we will be looking to expand our operations to a new, larger office, with more room for production and warehousing. Finally, we will also be looking to expand further afield with a base in either Canada or USA.” Contact: Manjit Sohal and Manpreet Talwar Company: The Sardar Co Web Address: www.thesardarco.com The Sardar Co is an up-and-coming lifestyle brand specialising in beard care products, with a range including beard oils, beard balms, and brushes and combs, as well as turban materials and clothing. We speak to the firm’s Co-Founder about its passion for inclusivity.