An 18-year-old cosmetics business owner is putting in effort to change the trajectory for the beauty industry, which includes fighting for more inclusivity. Kavya Odari was raised in refugee camp in Nepal. As a 3-year-old girl, she moved to the US with her family, seeking refuge after being discriminated against for being ethnically Nepalese in Bhutan. She recalls how her father started selling bags of rice to make a living at the age of 10 while in Bhutan. Today, she's following in his footsteps as a young entrepreneur.
Through her business, K.O. Cosmetics, Kavya celebrates her Nepalese heritage while also aiming to be inclusive of all skin tones and types. She founded the beauty brand in 2020.
"If he could do that, I'm pretty sure I'm capable of doing so much more," the teen told ABC News, referring to her father. As the first female entrepreneur in her family, she explains that she was inspired to start her business after being bullied for her culture and appearance.
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"I was shamed for having body hair or hyperpigmentation on my skin, or being too dark, or smelling like curry even though I took a shower," Kavya said. "It was just dumb things, dumb comments that I would hear because of the way I looked and because of the shade that my skin tone was. So that kind of played a big part in developing, like, resilience."
She went on to share that she'd always been interested in cosmetics, but found it challenging to find products that fit her skin tone. She recalls times of shopping with her mom for foundation, concealer, and contour and having a hard time finding shades that matched them.
Those experiences inspired her to fight for inclusivity in the beauty industry. She uses her brand as a platform to provide and advocate for skin inclusivity and hopes that other big-name beauty brands will follow her lead.
"We want diversity, and growing up if, if that had just started in the beginning, maybe the brands would work better," the young entrepreneur said. "Maybe everybody will feel more inclusive and not left out."
She incorporates storytelling throughout her brand, weaving in product names such as "Rānī" which means "Queen" in Nepalese. "Because I faced so much discrimination myself, it makes me want to bring change," she said. "Through my line through the products that I sell and the target audience that I sell to are females or women, so every product has a message, has a description that empowers others."
"My dad always told me to focus on step one, a set of 900 and he always told me to keep going. That's why I'm so determined," Kavya noted. "That's why I'm the person I am today. Because he told me to never stop, never give up and if you fail, you fall down, you come back up."
