Founder Series: Psyche & Vontoba Terry, Founders of Urban Hydration

Urban Hydration, offering clean beauty solutions for dry skin and hair, is one of the fastest growing personal care brands in mass retail, with distribution in more than 30,000 locations in the U.S.

Independently owned and operated by a husband and wife team, Vontoba and Psyche Terry, Urban Hydration is all about LUHV. The brand recently partnered with Disney on its release of The Marvels, with a promotional skincare display in Walgreens, and has partnered with the Ellen DeGeneres Show and the Dallas Wings in the past.

We sat down with the founders to discuss the driving forces behind the brand, as well as its wins, challenges and lessons learned in the past year.

1. What inspired you to start Urban Hydration?

After struggling with eczema for most of her life, Psyche started looking into what caused eczema and the ingredients in the creams she used to treat it. She found many ingredients with names she couldn’t even pronounce, and after researching them, she realized how harmful they are for the skin.

After this experience, Psyche decided she did not want to give herself or her kids these products, so she started making her own. Fast forward, Psyche and Vontoba now work together to create Urban Hydration products that are plant-based and safe for all skin types.

2. Can you share a pivotal moment or decision that significantly contributed to your brand's growth in 2023?

In 2023, we decided to hyper-focus on profitability, and through that focus which allowed us to identify the vendors, solutions, and customers that were driving our growth, we were able to optimize relationships with our top contributors. We met three times a week to review each segment of the business, until we felt comfortable with our growth plan for Urban Hydration.

3. What was a challenge you didn't expect in 2023, and how did you overcome it?

Collaborating with a major movie company in Marvel while simultaneously launching a new product line for Urban Hydration. We were also preparing for our first entrepreneur summit, The Good Life Summit. Overcoming these challenges required faith, inspiration, resilience, and the invaluable support of our dedicated team of employees and supporters.

4. What are some strategies that have helped your business gain more brand recognition and awareness?

Being authentically us, Team Terry (Psyche, Vontoba, Vontoba Jr, Jeremiah, and Faith.) A family that is driven by faith, inspiration, and resilience - these values form the foundation of our promotion of Urban Hydration. We are candid about sharing our story, and educating our LUHVies (customers) on the benefits of our natural Urban Hydration skincare products.

5. What's next for Urban Hydration? Any exciting plans or goals you're working towards in 2024?

Continuing to build upon the success and impact we achieved with our Good Life Summit, and planning for an even more amazing Summit in 2025! Driven by our dedication to community, giving back, and contributing to saving the planet through clean beauty. And also through our partnership with WATERisLIFE - we would love to help build even more clean drinking water wells than we have before!

Urban Hydration is not just about skin, hair, and body care; the company has made it its mission to spread love and positivity, and to make the world a better place from the inside out. The brand is committed to giving back and creating a positive impact through its Urban Hydration brand.

Learn more about the brand’s LUHV initiative and how it gives back via this link.