Brand Architects: Laura Schubert and Lillian Tung of Fur

Bora Celik chats with the founders of Fur, Laura Schubert and Lillian Tung. This is their story.

It's 2014, and Laura Schubert is having a lightbulb moment. She's chatting with her sister about body hair and grooming habits, realizing they've never had this conversation before. Curious, she turns to Google, searching for "pubic hair care." The result? Nothing.

"There are a lot of smart people out there, why has no one done this?" Laura wondered. The answer, she suspected, was simple: taboo.

But where others saw shame, Laura saw opportunity. She envisioned a world where body hair care wasn't just accepted, but celebrated. A world where, as she puts it, "This is a style choice and they're all elevated and they're all legitimate."

Enter Lillian Tung, Laura's best friend since seventh grade and soon-to-be co-founder of Fur. When Laura approached her with the idea, Lillian's initial reaction was... less than enthusiastic.

"You are absolutely crazy," Lillian recalls telling Laura. "The market in beauty is so saturated. Every dollar is stretched so thin from the consumer. Every minute of their getting ready is already packed with makeup and skincare. And every retailer shelf is already fighting for inches to put the products out there in front of a consumer."

But Laura wasn't deterred. She handed Lillian a sample of their first product, the Fur Oil. And that's when everything changed.

"That formula was magical," Lillian admits. "It did everything she said it was gonna do and more."

From that moment, Fur was born. But creating a new category in beauty isn't easy. Laura and Lillian knew they had to do more than just make great products. They had to change the conversation around body hair.

"We take it very seriously to create a brand... that makes people feel welcome into this conversation, no matter what their grooming choices are," Lillian explains. "Never do we want as a brand to be unwelcoming or scary or shameful."

This welcoming approach extends to every aspect of Fur, from their marketing to their product development. They've set high standards for themselves, going above and beyond industry norms.

"We've always been dermatologically tested for our entire line, gynecologically tested," Lillian proudly states. "It doesn't matter what the product is."

But it's not just about safety. It's about changing perceptions. Take their approach to deodorant, for example. Instead of shaming people for sweating, Fur embraces it as a natural bodily function.

"Sweat actually is a good thing," Lillian points out. "We're not trying to erase any part of the human function. We're just here to elevate it and make sure that you still feel good."

As Fur continues to grow and evolve, Laura and Lillian face new challenges. Measuring success across multiple channels, staying nimble as they scale, and navigating changes in digital advertising are all on their radar.

But through it all, they remain committed to their original vision: creating a world where body hair care is normalized, celebrated, and most importantly, a personal choice.

"We've always been about whether you wanna like laser your hair, wax your hair, you know, go more natural," Laura reflects. "We've always come from this position that... this is a style choice and they're all elevated and they're all legitimate."

From a taboo topic to a trendsetting brand, Fur's journey is far from over. But with Laura and Lillian at the helm, it's clear that the future of body hair care is in good hands.

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