According to my Pinterest mood-boards and one-way trip I’m thinking about booking to Stockholm next spring, I’m practically a born-again Swede. After visiting the sophisticated Scandi city earlier this season, there were a few things I knew I needed to replicate when I touched down in New York City; Fika, for one, and the life-changing Swedish style, for another. If you’re looking for the former, go to Fabrique. If you’re looking for the latter, follow none other than Bianca Ingrosso‘s lead — the Swedish It girl and Caia Cosmetics founder knows a thing or two about leading an industry.
“First and foremost, everything we do is to help our customer become the best version of themselves — their own Caia,” the 28-year-old told Who What Wear during an interview at her colorful, dream-like headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. It’s hard not to get lost in the world of Caia — a self-created cosmetics brand that’s dominated the Nordics. Since launching in 2018, the skincare and makeup brand has taken over Sweden, Norway, and Finland, with several European countries following suit. In 2021, the brand was projected to gross over $35 million in the next three years alone, something they’re no-doubt hit as Ingrosso explains the brand’s next steps in conquering the United States market.
Ingrosso, who grew up around theatre and stage makeup due to her musically-acclaimed mother, knows the comparisons are there: record-breaking social media following, famous family, and beauty empire. To her, though, it isn’t so much about replicating the secret sauce that celebrity beauty founders in the United States have found success with; it’s about introducing the rest of the world to Caia, the self-created, alter-ego that embraces confidence, sex appeal, and “boss energy,” that propels the brand forward.
“Caia is just an extension of who we all want to be, which is the best version of ourselves,” Ingrosso explained. “Some days, I just want to get ready at home, play some music, feel incredible about myself, and unleash that cool, sexy energy. Other days, I’m more calm and just want to relax. It’s all about putting on a character and stepping into that.”