Erim Kaur, a London-based influencer and entrepreneur, has turned a personal legacy into a booming business. In 2019, she founded ByErim, a luxury haircare brand rooted in ancient Indian hair oiling traditions. Since its launch, the company has made over £3.3 million ($4.2 million) in verified sales.
Kaur, who has over 700,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, attributes her success to her strong connection with her audience. “I think one of the strongest messages I’ve always had has been that I want to do it for girls or boys that have grown up without a mum and sisters,” she said in an interview to CNBC Make It.
Her inspiration stems from personal loss. At age eight, Kaur lost her mother to breast cancer. “I really wanted to emulate the way that my mother looked,” she said. “It was scary to see her lose the identifying part of what people saw as something that contributes so heavily to her beauty.”
She turned to her grandmother, who introduced her to traditional hair oiling techniques. The recipe she refined during her youth became the foundation of ByErim’s signature product—a lightweight, fragranced oil blend including Amla, Argan, Coconut, and Castor oils.
The rising popularity of Indian hair oiling, once seen as embarrassing by some, has helped fuel the brand’s growth. “How funny is it that ‘to oil’ never used to be a verb that was in everyone’s daily communication but.. now it is,” Kaur remarked.
What sets ByErim apart, she says, is emotional connection. “Influencers cast a very wide net… I was very focused on my followers. They’re focused on me,” she explained. She frequently shares behind-the-scenes moments, from packing bottles to dealing with suppliers.
“People can sniff out authenticity, and they can sniff out fake very quickly,” she said. “They don’t want to feel like they’ve been palmed off with a quick, cheap product that just has your name on it.”
Kaur hopes ByErim has contributed—even “1%”—to normalizing a tradition passed down from grandmothers to generations. “People were buying regardless because they wanted to be part of that journey,” she said.