Track 2: HBCU Alumni and Other Businesses
New Orleans, Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana
Kouture Express Beauty Vending
About the Company
Kouture Xpress makes beauty and hair care products convenient and accessible on college campuses via vending machines. Kouture Xpress kiosks are located in central areas of campuses such as dormitories, study halls and cafeterias to make purchasing items hassle free. Products provided are items such as lashes, hair utensils, accessories, and other products women use to get ready on a daily basis. Kouture Xpress first locations will be in the New Orleans area along with a launch of online shopping on our website in 2024.
Pitch Summary
Kouture Xpress will make beauty and hair care products convenient and accessible on college campuses via vending machines. I started this company because of my hassle of retrieving beauty and hair care products at this university, Xavier University of Louisiana. Freshman year, my friends and I had to walk 20 minutes in the hot Louisiana heat. From seeing other young ladies in passing need the same items to my peers from other campuses experiencing a similar issue, it made me realize that beauty and hair care products are needed on all college campuses.
As I looked into the business opportunity for Kouture Xpress, I found that over 65% of the HBCU college student population are women. This population is only expected to grow over the next few years. Within my perspective locations here in New Orleans, each campus has over 70% population of women students. Both of these factors demonstrate the need for beauty and hair care products on college campuses.
Kouture Xpress will be the solution by providing products like lashes, hair utensils, styling gel, accessories, and more! These products are also subject to change as we will take into consideration the feedback we receive from our monthly surveys to ensure we are providing the products our customers want and need. The vending machine will be located in a central area of the campus such as dormitory halls, cafeterias, or study areas to provide easy access to students
Meet Our Founder
Jace Watkins
Founder/CEO