Shark-Ninja : how the international brand became a leader in Israel

The world of vacuum cleaners and hair styling and care devices has been gaining a lot of momentum in recent years, and it seems that the Israeli audience strives to make their daily lives easier with maximum results and a cost equal to every pocket.

The corona epidemic also swept the public to change the rules of the game and led to a recalculation of the route and especially to the realization that it is possible to do at home what we used to do with external professionals. At Shark-Ninja, the international brand, they decided to take the success a step further and these days they are launching in Israel the Shark FlexStyle hair styling device under the Shark Beauty hair category for the first time in their history, through Sharig Electric, the official importer of Shark-Ninja in Israel, with the aim of translating the successful launch of the device abroad and in Israel.

As mentioned, Shark-Ninja, which until today were known for leading products in the field of food and vacuum cleaners, these days enter for the first time in the world of hair care and styling and recently launched in Israel through the exclusive importer Sharig Electric the Shark Beauty category with the FlexStyle device, which has innovative technology that guarantees a transition Simple and easy from a dryer to a styler suitable for all hair types.

Using the new and intriguing device, the hair can be styled without extreme heat, when the FlexStyle measures the air temperature approximately 1,000 times per second up to 110 degrees Celsius at the most, to ensure a stable air temperature every time to prevent heat damage.

Connell Barbuto, senior vice president of Shark-Ninja, and Shannon McSweeney, head of product development for the brand, explain from their seat in Boston, USA, about the reasons for the popularity of the products and talk about the first entry into the world of hair styling and the hope to reproduce the success of vacuum cleaners and Ninja devices those identified with the brand also in the new field. The head of product development at Shark-Ninja Global, Shannon McSweeney, explains about the technology and the connection between the vacuum cleaners and the new device.

What is behind the innovative technology of Shark Flex Style hair styling and drying products? "First of all, the digital engine. It is so powerful, and at the same time small and compact, which allows the engine to use the air flow in many different ways. When we have a strong engine, we easily take advantage of the "coanda effect" and this allows us to use the air flow for diverse designs In the hair. The other key thing in technology is the hinge feature. The ability to transform from a hair dryer to a hair stylist is innovative and definitely changes the rules of the game."

What differentiates it from Coanda's technology to other technologies and how does this contribute to the uniqueness of the FlexStyle? "Interestingly, the "Coanda effect" is not really a technology. It is more of a physical scientific phenomenon in the field of aerodynamics that describes air flowing in close proximity to a surface, to the hair in our case, and we take advantage of this in other hair products that have been launched in the US in the meantime.

The smart utilization of the effect is made possible thanks to the engine in the device that is able to push a large volume of air at such a high speed, and we do creative things with it and effectively utilize the "Coanda effect" for the benefit of hair styling. In fact, this effect is not something that Ninja Sharks invented or discovered, it has existed for years in the scientific community around the world."

They say about the device's research and development process: "First of all, for us at Shark-Ninja it's cool to be new in the field of hair design and care, we are experts in air flow, aerodynamics, engines and fluid flow. All of these are crucial elements in the successful design of vacuum cleaners, And this is knowledge that has been accumulated in the company for over 30 years. We've learned over the years, we've grown. It's not just about the amount of time we've developed and worked only on the FlexStyle, but in a broader sense, for more than thirty years we've been specializing in these fields."

"The design of the product has a lot to do with the knowledge we have accumulated over decades. All the science, development, research, in all the subjects and fields in Shark-Ninja - all of them together have accumulated and helped bring us here. Even things we learned in Ninja, because heat is not something we use In vacuum cleaners, so working with teams and departments that specialize in that, for example, and sharing the information that was carried out really helped to become professional in this field."

Which technologies in Shark vacuum cleaners were a source of inspiration for Shark Flex Style? "The engines.

Our motors are perfected and become smaller, more powerful, and we manage to do great things with them in our vacuum cleaners. They produce a more efficient suction power and this results in a light and comfortable vacuum cleaner that weighs less. These technologies of suction power and a small motor are two significant things that have guided us in the field of hair styling as well, and we will continue to take advantage of them and get as much out of them as possible when we expand and produce more products.

Another thing is our specialization in the field of air flow, whether it is air flowing into the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner or creating a strong air cyclone inside the suction chamber. These are the cornerstones in which we specialized. We are building on them in the future to be the most efficient and the best at FlexStyle."

"At the heart of what we do, we try to provide solutions to our consumers, this is something we at Shark-Ninja dedicate our lives to. At the end of the day, we will not go to market with a product that is not as valuable as possible to the customer. This leads to our products becoming game changers , and significantly affect people's lives. This is our ultimate goal. Personally, the product was a complete "Game-Changer" for me and I use it every day for hair styling."

What can you tell about the successful penetration of the product into the world market? 

"In the USA and England, over a million Flex Style devices have been successfully sold so far for a total of nearly 170 million dollars, so consumer behavior speaks for itself. In each of the markets where we are active, the reviews are very positive. Some of them are five stars detailing how good the product is Influenced people's lives and gives them self-confidence and I, as a product designer, that's what's most important to me. Not the numbers and sales, but the ratings and the impact of the product on people's lives, what they say about the product and the warm reactions it receives."

Do you think the brand will start to be associated with hair styling products?

"I certainly hope so. We want to make people happy and solve problems and I'm always thinking about the next step - what will we open? What will we produce? And this concerns me a lot. We want people to come and buy hair styling products from our brand as well. It's definitely a dream of mine. Over the years we see Slow progress in the technological development of hair styling products, could you share a little about the development of these products and how it progressed over the years?

"If we look back in time and think about old products on the market, they are very limited. What we tried to do with FlexStyle is really stand out as a product that can solve all problems. We care about the consumer, their needs, their problems and how we can help them solve them. Look at the needs His and we made sure that we manage to provide a strong solution for everyone."

What trends do you see in general in the field of hair design? "The key here is to generalize and be diverse, the more we manage to provide different lesson design solutions, the more we will be able to provide products and solutions. And this will lead to a place where we might design a product for a certain need and then discover that it has a different use altogether. The key here is to diversify and generalize as much as possible and provide solutions for different and diverse people I can say that we hope to expand our portfolio in the field of hair styling in the near future."

Shannon's colleague, Connell Barbuto, believes that the combination of the benefits of Shark-Ninja products and the cooperation with the team in Israel of the exclusive importer Sherig Electric is important for the popularity of the products in Israel. In your opinion, what are the different parameters that made Shark-Ninja a leading brand in the Israeli market? "In my opinion, everything starts with the product, which solves the hardships and problems of the consumer, and especially of the Israeli one who identifies and needs it.

In addition, we have established close and very good relations with our partners in Harig Electric, who have taken our products and really helped the Israeli consumer to understand their advantages. Of course, we have seen success in additional markets around the world, but as mentioned, this does not always guarantee success in all the markets we operate in.

The team members at Sharig Electric actually function like team members for everything in Shark-Ninja, they have passion and are proud of our brands, they are actually our ambassadors not only in the business sense , but also in the cultural sense. This is very dear to us and is the root of our relationship. Our cooperation in Israel also serves us as a flagship case in front of other partners in the world, we show them what we do in Israel. It needs to be adapted and this is what the team at Schrig Electric is successfully doing ".