Rihanna appears to be looking to launch a new brand – Fenty Hair – to capitalise on the growing Black haircare market in the US. On Thursday, her company Roraj Trade LLC filed an application for “Fenty Hair”. According to the document filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the brand would produce shampoo, hair straightening items, hair waving preparation products, bleaching and coloring products as well as hair glitter. Despite last month’s closure of Rihanna’s ready to wear fashion label, Fenty, the other branches of her fashion and beauty empire continue to flourish. Fenty Hair follows Fenty Beauty (the cosmetics label was launched in September 2017) and Fenty Skin (specializing in skincare and made available in July last year), both of which were seen as democratising the beauty industry. Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation set an industry standard, following in the footsteps of brands like Iman Cosmetics by having 40 shades for different skin tones. “That was very important to me,” the singer told In Style at the time, “I wanted everyone to feel included.” Dior and Revlon followed suit. Fenty Skin made $7m before it even had launched last summer, according to WWD. Like other arms of the Fenty brand, it is expected that Fenty Hair will push an ethos of inclusivity and diversity, which, in market terms, are key brand qualities for younger, generation Z shoppers. Not to mention the industry’s acknowledgement around the importance of giving shelf space – the 15% pledge – to black-owned brands. The market for black haircare in the US is growing and changing. Essence reported that on average African Americans spend $1.2tn a year on hair care products but only a fraction of these are purchased from companies who serve the specific needs of the black consumer, “opening a strong opportunity for new companies to enter this space”, according to The Business of Fashion. Sales of damaging chemical relaxers fell by 40% in the last decade and the boom of black haircare brands like Tracee Ellis Ross’s Pattern, leaves a space for Fenty Hair to flourish.