Canadian brand Cake Beauty is bringing its cult-favourite haircare collections to Walmart and Shoppers Drug Mart locations across Canada, expanding access to the brand’s fragrance-forward, vegan and cruelty-free formulas and iconic pink packaging.
Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, Cake organizes its lineup around specific hair goals, from curl definition and volume to hydration and styling, bringing more specialized routines to the drugstore aisle.
The Canadian-born brand has built a following around each collection, pairing performance-driven formulas with distinctive dessert-inspired scents, from Fluffy Lemon Meringue to Delicate Lemon Cookie and Creamy Coconut Pie, for a little bit of playful indulgence in everyday haircare.
Maria Osorio, Brand Director, Cake Beauty, said Cake started in 2003 out of the kitchen of the founder Heather Reier, who wanted to create some products that were “delicious, indulgent, but also clean.”
“As it evolved in 20 years, now we are in different retailers. We’re online. We’re at Shoppers, Walmart, because we are a very high-end brand but at very affordable prices, catering to that consumer that doesn’t want to compromise quality but is price sensitive,” she said.
“For our haircare line, we have curls, so products specialized for curly hair. We have volume, so everything to get that bombshell ’90s supermodel look. We have styling, and we also have a current moisture collection. All these products are beautiful because they have indulgent textures and scents that make everyday care into a ritual.
“For body care, it’s basically the same, but the collections are guided by fragrance because that’s how the consumer shops. So we have a heavy cream one, very decadent vanilla; one called Deserted Island, smelling like the beach with very tropical, delicious notes. We have another one for milk, and another one, our hair and body mist, that went viral last year and has given the brand a lot of momentum. So we have different fragrances there as well.”
Osorio said every day self-care is a ritual.
“Even if it’s a one-minute ritual, like just applying hairspray, when the scent is so indulgent, it becomes this mini ritual. So we want everything to be an indulgent self-care ritual, even if they’re your basic products, your shampoo, your conditioner, your curl cream. How can we make that fun and delicious for consumers as an experience? Every day deserves cake,” she said.
“I think there are many brands that are tapping into this gourmand trend. Right now you see a lot of things that are vanilla or dessert-inspired, but we were the first ones stepping into this. Right now it’s a trend. Since a couple of years ago, gourmand fragrances have been a craze across markets, not only in mass, but in prestige. You see it even in luxury.
“But back in the early 2000s, this was completely new and different. It was like, “Okay, I want to smell edible. I want to smell like cake.” And right now we’re gaining a lot of traction, not only because consumers love gourmand, but because there’s this gourmand craze going on and we were there first.”
Osorio said it’s exciting for the brand to be in big stores like Walmart and Shoppers.
“We were in body care before, and we’re seeing a lot of momentum in-store with body and a lot of momentum online with haircare. Having those haircare products available to consumers at Walmart, who maybe only know us for body care or maybe don’t know us at all, and the fact that with brick-and-mortar you can actually smell the product, it’s a whole new level of engagement,” she said.
“It helps us acquire new consumers and get them acquainted with the brand. So I think it’s a big one for us. It’s bigger distribution, more visibility. We’re super excited because we’ve been seeing a lot of momentum in body care at Shoppers and Walmart. It’s great for us.
“Canada-wide, we are in other retailers, but we’re excited about Walmart and Shoppers for haircare because they’re the bigger ones and that’s how we’re going to reach more and more people.”
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