EXCLUSIVE: Meet ‘And Repeat,’ A Wellness Brand by Beauty Editor Jayme Cyk
And Repeat is here to combine wellness and design.
The supplement and accessory brand, founded by beauty editor Jayme Cyk and her husband and digital design entrepreneur Ben Rabb, launches Monday direct-to-consumer with its AndAgain 7-Day Pill Case, $68, and AndFocus Supplement, $38. According to industry sources, the brand is expected to reach $1 million in sales its first year.
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For Cyk, mental health has been a years’ long journey rather than a wellness buzz word.
“Throughout my entire childhood and teen years and adulthood, I’ve struggled a lot with my mental health,” she said. Cyk first began treatment for anxiety and depression 25 years ago.
With And Repeat, Cyk wanted to combine her passion for the beauty world — she worked as an editor at WWD and director at Violet Grey — with her mental health experience.
“I was focused on the thing that was missing for me. That was how I lived my every day,” she said. “I was using a pill case daily for all the medication and supplements that I was taking and it was this ugly, geriatric thing… I would look at all my skin care products and everything that was beautifully lined up and I was like, ‘This is the missing link.’”
From there, Cyk and Rabb set out to create a functional, yet beautiful pill case. The AndAgain 7-Day Pill Case is BPA-free, food-safe and recyclable.
“We wanted to create something that you would proudly display,” Cyk said.
In addition to the seven-day version, Cyk and Rabb also created the AndAround On-the-Go Pill Case, $24. As the brand launches Monday, customers will be able to join the waitlist for this travel-friendly version, which will be available in the summer.
While Cyk was reflecting on her own mental health journey to create And Repeat, she also recognized a white space in the supplement category itself, specifically around focus. After weaning off ADD medication, Cyk’s psychiatrist recommended she try an ingredient called L-tyrosine.
“It was completely game-changing,” Cyk said. This experience ultimately led to the formulation of the brand’s AndFocus Supplement, which comes in a capsule format and only features two active ingredients.
“We created our own version with a plant based formulator adding both L-tyrosine and Bacopa extract. [L-tyorisine] helps to boost your dopamine and helps with focus and then the Bacopa extract was to help you maintain presence,” said Cyk.
Recently, brain health, both in terms of mental health and focus, has been a trending topic. The hashtag #BrainHealth on TikTok has more than 559 million views.
As Cyk worked with her psychiatrist to find the right supplement routine, she and Rabb knew the brand needed a similar medical backing with a health council, which includes Dr. Patti Kim, a naturopathic doctor and licensed acupuncturist; Dr. Hemalee Patel, a doctor of osteopathic medicine; and Annie Armstrong Miyao, a licensed marriage and family therapist.
“They are there to do two things: to help inform future products, so talking to them about ingredients, what they’re seeing on the market and then also to provide educational editorial content,” Cyk said.
In 2021, when they were first developing the brand, Cyk and Rabb also launched a complementary editorial platform, where they interview people at home about their mental health. They’ve created content with a slew of executives in the beauty and wellness space like Dianna Cohen, founder of Crown Affair, and Chris Ball, CEO of Ball Family Farms.
“With building this community, we’ve definitely brought together a lot of people and it’s important for us to have people share their own experiences,” Cyk said.
Rabb added: “Because of both of our backgrounds, we are able to do a lot in-house: content creation to in person from panels to events… We have a lot of hats to wear, but we’re wearing them. A big piece of getting the word out is driving content across all different platforms but having it be anchored in mental health.”
While the duo have talked to an array of people about their mental health for the editorial platform, the brand’s mission is to expand the conversation even more.
“We wanted to try and make this as unisex as possible,” Cyk said. “We want to make sure that everyone can lean into this. We do see this definitely more of a Gen Z and Millennial play in terms of core customer.”
While the brand launches Monday, the duo said there is more in the works, specifically centered around mental health. “We definitely are still looking at ingestibles and have a format that we’re looking to create…[and] also building on products that support your mental health overall,” Cyk said.
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