Erin Kleinberg has had a rich career. She started as an intern watt magazine; then, at 21, she launched and designed her eponymous clothing line, further venturing into the fashion world, attracting retailers such as Barneys New York and Harvey Nichols. She returned to publishing in 2011 by co-founding Coveteur (which closed earlier this year). Work), currently Augustinus Bader, Chanel, Saie, Oribe, etc. What’s the latest addition to her extensive resume? Beauty Entrepreneur.
After her grandmother Sidia passed away in 2020, Kleinberg embarked on what she calls one of her “most personal projects yet”: turning the self-care habits her grandmother taught her into a body care brand named after Sidia. With her grandmother—the “Queen of All Things Care”—as the brand’s blueprint (“She always sparkled,” the founder recalls), Kleinberg was also motivated by her own passion for non-greasy care. Need for hand cream and hand lotion.
“I really wanted to create amazing, effective, clean body care products that contained skincare-grade ingredients but were truly paired with sophisticated fragrances,” Kleinberg told Fashionista. “I felt like I always had to go one way or another, either find a super-scented body care product or find a cleaner, more effective moment. I just wanted to do something that blended both worlds.”
Kleinberg initially launched apparel (such as loungewear sets and robes) before branching out into fragrance, focusing on building Sidia’s community while the brand perfected its body care and signature scents behind the scenes. Because of this emphasis on community, Kleinberg went through an angel round of funding in Sidia’s early days, with two customers and one of Kleinberg’s late grandmother’s best friends investing in the brand.
Photo&col;Courtesy of Siddia
In early 2022, Sidia launched its first two candles: Braless (a warm, spicy scent with notes of amber, bamboo, and sandalwood) and Wired (a vibrant blend of citrus peel, eucalyptus, and tonka bean) ).
“The inspiration for all Sidia scents really comes from igniting and celebrating the emotions we experience every day,” says Kleinberg. “So my first candle aha moment [Braless]it just stimulated my mind and I was like, Oh my god, the best feeling on the fucking planet is going braless, taking your bra off at the end of the day. There is no better feeling than this.
Following Braless and Wired, Sidia’s growing arsenal of fragrances includes: Soaked, a lush, spa-like scent with spearmint, cypress and pine; Pyro, a fiery blend of Rainier cherry, charred rose and pepper Blend; Nirvana, a calming scent with vanilla amber, cactus flower and bergamot peel. While it might seem like she’s picking a favorite child, Kleinberg actually does have a favorite Sidia scent: Soaked, which she says some Sidia fans note “smells Like a handsome guy.” “It’s so androgynous, so universal, and so androgynous,” she said of “Soaked.” “That’s true for everyone.”
In addition to the $65 candle, Sidia’s scented body care products include hand creams, body creams, serums and exfoliants containing shea butter, avocado oil, aloe vera, prickly pear and prickly pear flowers. The company recently launched The Soaked Duo ($86), an outdoor-scented hand and body wash, and Nirvana and Soaked Hand Serum ($36). The brand has also branched out into the bathroom, launching a car fragrance that fills the car’s four-door space with Soaked’s pine scent.
Photo&col;Courtesy of Siddia
“Our fragrances are designed to really connect you to where you are, whereas other fragrances try to take you to those faraway places,” says Kleinberg. “We want to keep you here and create fragrances that can live with you every day, every week, over time. Maybe one day we will offer very rare fragrances for occasions, but for me, I Just care about perfume for daily use.
Sidia’s packaging (a black and forest green bottle offset by a white serif logo) brings a “sexy mood and clean aesthetic” and is designed to stand out on a customer’s vanity or their wallet, but the product’s Features are just as important as what the product does. Body care often comes last in your beauty routine—if not skipped entirely—so Sidia aims for convenience: Its body serums come in spray bottles, and its in-shower body exfoliators use flip-top caps instead jar, and its hand serum comes in an airless pump.
Since launching its first candles two years ago, Sidia has amassed a wide range of retail partners across Canada and the United States, including Goop, Revolve, Moda Operandi, ShopBop, Detox Market, Credo Beauty and more. This month, Sidia also added Nordstrom to its stockist roster, placing the body care and fragrance brand alongside some of the best-performing brands in the industry.
Photo&col;Courtesy of Siddia
With Kleinberg’s retail background and the help of clean beauty consultant Geri Hirsch introducing strategies to Sidia, Kleinberg said she chooses retailers based on who can best tell Sidia’s story. With the brand positioning itself as offering “a touch of luxury,” Sidia has also ventured into amenities as partners with the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles and Canada’s medispa Formula Fig and Tracy Anderson.
But most importantly, Klineberg’s ultimate goal is to open a physical Sidia store that is sensory and “otherworldly.” (The brand experimented with pop-up stores two years ago.) “I’m old school, I love touching, feeling, smelling, especially smells,” she says. “It’s hard to smell through the screen.” Until then, Kleinberg will focus on growing gradually and continuing to work with brands and retailers that align with Sidia’s values.
“We’ve seen some amazing growth, but we’re taking our time to make sure everything feels right to build this into a brand 20 years from now,” Kleinberg said.
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