BeautyTalks with Bani Bahari, CEO and Co-founder of Offcourt

How did OffCourt come to be? 

OffCourt started as a class project when I was doing my MBA at Columbia Business School. I interviewed anyone and everyone in my class who would give me 10 minutes and from that I really learned a lot about people’s personal care routines. I learned that most people had some sort of routine before bed, but they didn’t have much routine, or specific products, that they used before or after working out. I also saw that there was a real interest in higher quality products and ingredients – but not a willingness to pay a lot more. From there, the idea of developing well-priced products for active people was born. We then slowly started designing the brand and the product line up. As each step passed, I could see the white space in the market more clearly.

What inspired the name OffCourt? 

We make products for people on the go. For people transitioning from one activity to another. This could be from a literal court to whatever is next, but it could also be transitioning from a commute to the office, or the gym to brunch. We create products for people who give their 100% and the ’court’ can be wherever you give your 100%, on the court or off.

“We create products for people who give their 100% and the ’court’ can be wherever you give your 100%, on the court or off.”

Tell us more about your brand’s mission! 

Creating the world’s best smelling body products, designed with clean ingredients for active people.

How does OffCourt “stick to science and skip the trendy?

We have a chemist in-house who formulates our products from scratch. We test every raw material we use and study their clinical and efficacy testing and only use them when they are proven to work, with the same percentages that are proven to work. We don’t use “marketing ingredients” – which is when companies add 0.1% of a trendy ingredient so they can make the marketing claims. We only use proven ingredients, and we use them at effective levels.

“ We don’t use “marketing ingredients” – which is when companies add 0.1% of a trendy ingredient so they can make the marketing claims. We only use proven ingredients, and we use them at effective levels.”

Tell us more about OffCourt’s carefully calibrated formulas! 

At the core, we are a clean, functional brand with premium fragrances. We need every formula to do more than what people expect, with ingredients that are clean but efficacious. The body category, especially fragranced body care, is commoditized and many similarly priced products in the market are just uninspiring. Our formulas are multi-functional, meaning each product we have can be used in a variety of ways. Our body spray for example, can be used as a deodorant underarm, as a body spray over the body and even as a fragrance on clothing. Our product scents are the cherry on top. The fragrances are what hook most people and keep them coming back for more.

“Our formulas are multi-functional, meaning each product we have can be used in a variety of ways.”

Run us through your morning routine! 

My morning routine is very simple. I wake up around 7 am and always start my day with a cappuccino at home. Getting ready is simple, I wash my face and brush my teeth and I’m ready to start diving into work by 7:30 am. I work from home pretty heads-down until about 9 am, when I transition to our office in Manhattan. I love walking to work. I spend this time speaking with my parents or my friends overseas. Most of my team is based in Europe so mornings at the office are very busy. Things usually slow down around 2pm and that’s when I can start to catch up or start new projects.

How has OffCourt evolved throughout the years? 

OffCourt has been around for 2 years. We launched with 1 product in 3 fragrances and have been able to grow our assortment and our customers significantly in a short time frame. We now have 17 SKUs. When we launched, we were focused more on men but the brand has become more unisex as many women who are looking for clean, premium, fresh scents have discovered us. Now we are very much a gender neutral now.

What is your staple OffCourt product? 

Performance Body Spray. It’s a product that many people don’t use because aerosol gets a bad rep but I think everyone needs one as it’s the perfect product to freshen up on the go, especially in summer months or in hot/humid locations. As for the bad press, this is because historically the propellants used in aerosol products have not been environmentally friendly. However, that has changed. Today, propellants used in most products are much cleaner and safer.

What is your most memorable moment with OffCourt? 

The first TV feature we got was on the TODAY show 3 months after the brand launched. I don’t watch TV so I had no expectation on what the feature would mean from a sales perspective. It turned out that a LOT of people buy the products they see on TV! As the feature happened, we had over 10,000 people on our site and that was such an exciting day for me in one of our early days.

What’s next for OffCourt? 

Expansion in fitness studios and retail stores and continue to introduce more people to the brand.

Besides OffCourt, what are you passionate about? 

Fitness and mindfulness are important to me but my absolute favorite thing is cooking. I love finding new interesting and healthy recipes.