2021 Influential Businesswoman Awards

54 Acquisition International - Influential Businesswoman Awards 2021 Best Make-Up & Skincare Brand Founder (UK): Grace de Alvaro ports HAI is high-performance make-up with a difference. Designed for, and tested on, athletes, the brand is aimed at those partaking in strenuous activities and is built for endurance. Founded by Grace de Alvaro, Sports HAI (pronounced ‘high’) products are easy to use, comfortable to wear and claim to last all day. Made with the highest quality ingredients, without cruelty to animals or toxins, they are allegedly smudge-proof, waterproof and non-comedogenic – so no pore blocking when you sweat! Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? “We have your back right from the start all the way to the finish line!” Grace enthuses. “Our make-up lasts as long as you, even if that’s all day long.” Grace herself comes from a marketing and distribution background with skills that have stood her in good stead for driving the business forward – but it hasn’t all been plain sailing, as she explains further. “When I started Sports HAI, I was the only one in the space and sports make-up was completely unheard of. Since then, others have come into the space.” Covid-19 and the effects of living in lockdown changed a lot of women’s lives and their daily routines. With everyone taking to home exercise and to outdoor activity. “We sold more SPF, Skin Hydration formulas and Lip complex as a basic care routine,” says Grace. “Online beauty took off and ‘athleisure’ suddenly became the go to look”. Our Lip treatment which deals so effectively with transepidermal water loss (TEWL) was winner of the Best Luxury Lip Balm Award at the Attracta Beauty Awards 2020 and our SPF 50 was the winner of the Best Sports SPF in 2021. Grace made decisions which attracted the right partners for this brand and has recently received got the go ahead to move into the next phase for Sports HAI, which includes rolling out a phased line-up of high-performance products dedicated to those who do sports and those who sweat. “Start-up is a challenging space to enter for anyone,” she says. “Less than 3% of women get funding. It has dropped to just slightly above 2%, however, statistically women who get funding do well. As well as running Sports HAI, Grace works with groups that promote women’s sports. S “Women’s sports can be overlooked and we are aware that there is much we can do to help in that area,” she says. “At Sports HAI, we also support innovative mental health initiatives that both assist people dealing with depression and promote positive, forward thinking that positions them to be happy, healthy and successful.” So, what are Grace’s secrets to success? Building an innovative, HAI Performance brand from the ground up, she has a few words of advice to share. “Keep yourself surrounded by really good people, keep learning, and develop communication skills and know how your business works. You must know your own machine.” There is no doubt that Sports HAI is a brand to watch for the future, with its unique mix of science-based research and problem-solving solutions. “It’s for those who feel the fear and do it anyway,” she says. “In the new Bond film, 007 is a woman! she could have HAI in her bag!” Recently, Grace was bestowed with an Influential Businesswoman Award by Acquisition International and now holds the title of Best Make-Up & Skincare Brand Founders (UK). But for Grace, it is onwards and upwards as she continues to find solutions for those who suffer sweat stress. Designed to tackle the skin’s natural ‘bloom’ that exercise and activity can create, Sports HAI is a High- Performance make-up brand that works and plays as hard as you do! Founded by sports’ enthusiast, Grace de Alvaro, we find out more about the innovative company. Jul21739 Contact: Grace de Alvaro Company: Sports HAI Web Address: www.sportshai.com