Soft Rows × Elise Burnett Boyd
Product Concept Evaluation and Performance Communication 

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Overview

Soft Rows is a textured haircare line designed for versatile styling, supporting natural texture, heat styling, and protective styles without forcing consumers to choose between performance and hair health.

As the brand developed, the founder needed to evaluate early product concepts, understand consumer needs within the textured hair category, and ensure products would perform as promised in real-world use. My work focused on product concept evaluation and performance communication, helping translate formulation intent into clear guidance consumers could trust.

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Scope of Work

I partnered with Soft Rows across three key phases as the brand evolved, supporting early decision-making, performance communication, and the development of a scalable product education system.

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2022 — Concept Alignment

During early product ideation, I consulted with the founder to assess product direction and category opportunity.

The work focused on identifying gaps and unmet needs within the textured hair market, informed by professional experience working directly with textured hair consumers. I also provided insight into consumer behavior patterns, purchase drivers, and how performance expectations differ across styling choices, helping guide concept decisions before further development.

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2024 — Performance Communication

As products moved closer to market, the focus shifted to how performance would be communicated.

I created stylist-led product demonstration content that linked formulation science to real-world results, showing how the products performed across different hair types and styling techniques. The goal was not persuasion, but clarity—translating technical benefits into consumer-friendly language that helped users understand what to expect and how to achieve consistent results.

This content became a key credibility asset for the brand.

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2025 — Product Education Strategy

To support long-term growth, I built a framework for communicating product performance consistently across all customer touchpoints.

This included developing content pillars that explain what the products do, how to use them, and why they work. The result was a reusable product education architecture designed to support packaging, the website, and retail partner training, ensuring alignment across internal teams and external partners.

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Strategic Value

This work supported several core business outcomes:

• Reduced purchase friction through education that helped consumers understand what to buy and how to use it, decreasing returns and “didn’t work for me” feedback

• Increased confidence and repurchase behavior by setting accurate expectations and supporting correct use

• Scalable product communication through a shared education framework that enables consistent messaging across teams, retail partners, and influencers

• Product-forward content that demonstrated real-world use, built credibility, and aligned performance with claims

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Outcome

The education system developed through this work now informs Soft Rows’ content, messaging, and training approach. It provides the brand with a durable foundation for explaining performance clearly as the product line and distribution continue to expand.

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Founder Quani Burnett described the process as “one of the most inspiring and aligned strategic efforts in the brand’s development.”