The Gnarly Whale co-owners Ashley and Nathan Griffith are partnering with large retailers but keeping it in the family as they celebrate five years in business.

Online PR News � 01-August-2017 � The Gnarly Whale co-owners Ashley and Nathan Griffith (www.thegnarlywhale.com) are celebrating their fifth year in business with the conscious decision to keep it in the family while expanding their consumer reach via partnerships with large retailers.

The Lakewood, Wisconsin-based indie company, founded in 2012, creates low-impact, minimal ingredient beauty, body, and bath products that are 100% vegan and cruelty-free. While Ashley and Nathan started The Gnarly Whale as a hobby and an exploration of how to be self-employed, the company quickly grew into a successful full-time gig, selling its Cotton Candy Shampoo, beard oil, Grand Marnier Lip Balm and more, all handcrafted in small batches, to customers around the world.

Today, The Gnarly Whale is carried by Urban Outfitters, Tilly's, Forever 21, McCaulou's, and many others. The company has been featured in Every Day with Rachael Ray, Vegetarian Times, Pregnancy and Newborn, Woman's Day, and Cooking Light and on Refinery29, MTV, Well + Good, XOVain, Popsugar, Allure and Elvis Duran Show.

"We started the business as a hobby but it's grown into something much larger," says Ashley. "The biggest challenges have been growing as a two-person team. We love working for ourselves and prefer to keep the business small and family owned. We try to meet the balance of growth without stretching ourselves too thin, even though its hard sometimes. We could have easily hired multiple employees to keep up with the workload but thats not what we want out of the business."

The company's most popular product is its Thai Coconut Beach Waves. Carried by larger retailers and numerous beach side shops, and featured in Every Day by Rachael Ray, the Mediterranean sea salt, aloe vera gel, and coconut oil based beach hair spray never leaves hair feeling crunchy.

Ashley attributes part of The Gnarly Whale's success to a focus on creating products customers truly need, versus innovating for the sake of it. She notes, "I always begin the product development process by considering the products I personally desire but cant find. That way, Im assured anything we create is something I can genuinely speak to. And I find that if its something I can use, there are many others out there who can as well."

While taking moments here and there to revel in the company's success, Ashley and Nathan continue to forge a path toward becoming an established lifestyle brand. In May, The Gnarly Whale will have select products included in an exclusive Celebrity Moms Day gift bag sponsored by The Artisan Group. It will also be gifting members of the press at the Consumer Products Holiday All Press Gifting Event, which takes place in New York City later this year.

To learn more about The Gnarly Whale, visit the company's website and contact Ashley and Nathan using the email button. Follow the company on Facebook (@TheGnarlyWhale), Twitter (@gnarlywhaleshop), Instagram (@gnarlywhaleshop).

ABOUT THE GNARLY WHALE
The Gnarly Whale (www.thegnarlywhale.com) strives to provide low-impact, minimal ingredient beauty, bath, and body products to men and women around the world. Started as a hobby on Etsy by Ashley & Nathan Griffith in 2012, their mission to cultivate a greener Earth sparked the idea for The Gnarly Whale. 100% vegan and cruelty-free, the company's brand brings low-impact, minimal ingredient body, bath and hair luxuries to men and women worldwide.

Ashley and Nathan are a husband and a wife team that loves using the products they create and sharing their passion with the world.