IRIS Founder Iryna Ksenafontova: “The beauty industry has a very bright future in Ukraine”
Ukrainian businesses have proven that even during difficult times of war, they are capable not only of surviving but also of thriving. One striking example of this resilience is IRIS—a leading expert and ambassador for global beauty brands in the Ukrainian market. Since 1997, the company has been shaping the professional landscape of the beauty industry, holding a leading position in the distribution of premium cosmetics, tools, and equipment for salons. During martial law, IRIS not only maintained its market position but is also seeking opportunities for growth, confident in Ukraine’s victory.
IRIS founder and owner Iryna Ksenafontova told UA.News how the company managed to survive, what challenges it faces, what entrepreneurs expect from the government, and what plans they have for the future.
— How did you become involved in the beauty industry?
— I’m an economist by training; I graduated from the Kyiv Economic Institute, where I studied in the marketing department. Back then, it was a new field for Ukraine. I’ve always been interested in understanding customers’ needs and building a business around those needs, which is probably why IRIS, a company focused on the beauty industry, came to be.
To be honest, I ended up in the beauty industry largely by accident. It was the time of perestroika, when many businesses were closing, so I had to look for different ways to make a living. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak. While talking to hairdressers and salon owners, I realized that the market lacked high-quality professional products and, most importantly, people who were willing to listen to the customer. That’s when I started paying close attention to the needs of stylists, and over time, this evolved into my life’s work—the IRIS company. That’s how I ended up in the world of beauty and personal care, driven by a desire to inspire stylists and improve the quality of their professional lives through high-quality products.
When I first started developing IRIS for the professional beauty industry, I didn’t realize that I was essentially conducting market research. When we introduced certain products to hairdressers, we received feedback from the stylists and their clients: what the advantages and disadvantages of the products were. We listened to their suggestions, and it turned out that the clients themselves were telling us exactly which products and brands they needed. Perhaps this is what has become the secret to IRIS’s success over the years.
— How did IRIS develop?
— The company was founded almost 30 years ago in Cherkasy, essentially by one person—me. And it was established during a difficult period for Ukraine’s economy. IRIS was born during the so-called perestroika, when the Ukrainian economy was transitioning to a market-based model.
Gradually, managers, an accountant, and logistics specialists joined the IRIS team… We expanded our market to cover all of Ukraine. Step by step, year after year, the company grew. Today, we serve over 1,000 beauty salons. Of course, before the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas, we had more partners.
IRIS obtained official expert status and established direct contracts with top global manufacturers, thereby providing our clients with the most favorable conditions for growing their businesses.
Gradually, IRIS began supplying products wholesale, such as power tools, equipment, and accessories. Professional stores started reaching out to us. We established partnerships with retail chains—our products are on the shelves of Eva, Mon Chéri, and MakeUP stores. At the same time, IRIS opened its own retail outlets in Kyiv and Cherkasy.
Today, IRIS has its own training academy for professionals, where in-house technical trainers and invited international experts conduct seminars, master classes, and webinars on working with products from leading global brands.
As part of the academy’s activities, we organize on-site seminars at partner salons in any city in Ukraine. We host shows, master classes, and presentations of new products, lines, and collections. IRIS not only develops brands by offering them to hairdressers, but also focuses on the professional development of Ukrainian stylists. Since 2015, over 10,360 stylists have completed training through IRIS’s educational programs, and the total number of seminars held has exceeded 2,066 events.
It’s safe to say that this is one of the main focuses of our business today. Today, Ukrainian stylists are very demanding when it comes to the quality of the products they use on their clients. If a brand doesn’t deliver results or provide training support, it gets replaced quickly. In today’s world, it is not enough to simply supply products; you must be a true partner to your client.
IRIS strives to strengthen its reputation as the most modern beauty brand in Ukraine, remaining a model of customer focus, responsibility, and reliability for each of our partners.
I believe that it is precisely thanks to our approach to work, the trust of our partners, a strong team, and years of systematic work, IRIS has now entered the TOP 10 distribution companies in Ukraine’s beauty segment for 2025 according to the Ukrainian Business Award and ranked 3rd in the rating.
For me, this is not just about sales volumes or the number of brands in our portfolio. It is, first and foremost, recognition of our contribution to the development of the professional beauty industry in Ukraine. For many years, we have been investing in professional training, service, support for stylists, the development of the salon business, and long-term partnerships. This is exactly what our clients and partners value today.
— How did you manage to save the business and find the strength to even grow it during the war?
— It was difficult at the start of the full-scale war, but the IRIS team decided to remain in the Ukrainian market. IRIS also began its history during the difficult times of economic restructuring. It was very difficult back then; then we weathered one economic crisis, then another… But during those crises, we actually showed growth. In other words, people continued to take care of themselves, and our products were in demand, which is why it made sense to stay in the Ukrainian market now as well.
In the first months of the full-scale war, there was simply no one to handle many of the processes. So I had to temporarily take on the responsibilities of several specialists at once: HR, finance, imports, and operations management. This was a serious challenge both for me personally and for the entire team, and for Ukrainian business as a whole. But by March 8, we had already started shipping products across Ukraine. In other words, beauty salons continued to operate!
A little later, entrepreneurs began opening new salons and resumed investing in their development. This is precisely what gives us confidence in the future of the beauty industry in the Ukrainian market.
— How painful was emigration during the war for IRIS?
— Today, the main problem in Ukraine is a shortage of skilled workers. Population migration and the migration of specialists are affecting all sectors of the Ukrainian economy. The beauty industry is no exception. Some specialists have moved abroad and even changed the focus of their professional activities there. Therefore, finding professionals remains one of the key challenges for the business.
At IRIS, we did everything we could to retain our specialists. We found ways to support those employees who, due to the war, were temporarily unable to work fully or were forced to leave Ukraine.
It was important for us to keep the team together, so we sought a separate solution for each key specialist. In some cases, we waited for the person to return; in others, we quickly reinforced the team with new specialists. Already in the first months of the war, we began actively rebuilding the team and adapting to the new realities.
At IRIS, we’re always happy to welcome new professionals; we’re always happy to have strong specialists who want to grow with us. We are currently considering candidates for the positions of regional managers for salon business development in the western region of Ukraine. We are strengthening our sales and marketing teams. We are ready to hire both experienced managers and leaders in specific areas.
Our doors are also open to promising and ambitious young people who want to make their mark in the beauty sector. To them, I want to say: you have a wonderful opportunity to build a career at IRIS.
Today, IRIS continues to grow and is inviting top-tier professionals in sales and marketing to join us. I always say this, and I want to emphasize it once again: people are the greatest asset of any company. And IRIS’s greatest achievement during the war is that we didn’t stop; we didn’t lay off people, and we didn’t slow down our growth. We continue to invest in both our employees and in training our clients.
— What assistance did the government provide to help your business survive these difficult times and gain momentum for growth?
— I haven’t felt enough support from the government for my company to have an impact on business development. And given that businesses today face additional regulatory requirements and inspections—it’s impossible to talk about support.
For example, this year they want to add new requirements to the existing certification procedures, specifically the notification of certain product categories. For medium-sized businesses—not to mention small entrepreneurs—this means additional costs in terms of both money and time.
I would like the government not to, as they say, put a spoke in the wheel, but to actually start helping businesses. Entrepreneurs are ready to continue working in Ukraine and are ready to invest, but it is important that the regulatory burden on them does not increase and that no new administrative barriers appear. If businesses are confident about the future, they will find opportunities for growth on their own.
— What are your expectations for the future?
— I am optimistic about Ukraine’s future, although skepticism sometimes creeps in. In recent years, the business sector has proven its resilience and flexibility, and after Victory, I expect an active economic recovery. I hope for a resumption of investment and the return of some specialists, which will give a boost to business development as a whole.
As for our beauty industry, I am confident it has very good prospects. People always strive to take care of themselves, as it gives them self-confidence and positive emotions. Therefore, there will always be room for growth here.
And given that salons continue to seek not just a supplier, but a long-term partner capable of helping with business development, IRIS has every opportunity to increase its customer base. There are many products on the market, but not every company has years of experience in this market and is capable of supporting partners by even organizing training for their employees.
REFERENCE:
IRIS is the official representative, distributor, and importer of the following brands:
- professional hair care products: Davines, Barba Italiana (Italy);
- beauty salon equipment: Ceriotti (Italy), Ayala (Poland);
- professional hair tools: Soifin, GA.MA (Italy), Babyliss (France), Artero (Spain);
- hairdressing accessories: Olivia Garden (Belgium), Comair (Germany), Eurostil (Spain); UnBrush (USA);
- premium aroma diffusers and home fragrances by ROOMOI (Italy).
