Q & A WITH CEO of Mozzafiato, AMY PARSONS

After many years in law, what attracted you to the beauty industry?

The beauty industry is inherently an exciting and dynamic sector and I’ve always been an aficionado and amateur spectator of it. Through my 20-year career in law in higher education, I was able to travel to dozens of countries and loved seeking out the local beauty brands and products, learning about their ingredients and stories. As years went on, I found myself listening more and more to the beauty industry podcasts and really becoming fascinated by heritage brands and industry trends. I was fortunate to visit Italy many times and learned how incredibly unique and special the Italian beauty brands are, and yet how unknown they are in the US. As the US market has continued to evolve to a place dominated by a few massive retailers, carrying thousands of brands and products, with nonstop new launches, I found the authenticity, heritage, and quality of the Italian brands to be very refreshing and real. Eventually, I knew that I wanted to apply my professional experience and personal passion full time into connecting with these brands and bringing them to the US.

Tell us a little about Mozzafiato and its focus on only Italian beauty products.

We feel this is Italy’s moment in time to captivate the North American marketplace with its incomparable beauty culture. In the same way that the Italian culture and lifestyle have created an enduring love for its design, fashion, food, wine, and automobiles, the world is ready to unlock its passion for Italian beauty. American consumers have proven their affinity for exploring multiple and diverse beauty brands in a single location. Mozzafiato transforms that concept into a beautiful, emotional experience with this collection of truly authentic and unique Italian products. Mozzafiato is a retailer dedicated to bringing only the very best Italian beauty brands and products to the US market. We launched with 17 brands just before the holidays in the categories of Skin Care, Bath & Body, Men’s, Personal Fragrance, and Home Fragrance. We started as e-commerce only but plan to expand into physical locations starting later this year, and we will continue to look for brands and categories that fit with us. We will remain true to Italian-only brands and committed to telling their stories and becoming a new force for quality and authenticity in the market. We want Mozzafiato to become known as the definitive Italian beauty authority!

Tell us about Mozzafiato’s website experience and what makes it different?

Mozzafiato’s website experience offers a personal guide into the craftsmanship, heritage, and generational ‘know-how’ of each Italian company and their families. Visitors to the site are transported into the geographical location of each brand’s region, visually enjoying and discovering all of the incredibly diverse Italian cities and landscapes. I think what’s truly special is that we showcase these intimate journeys into the homes, companies, and terrains across Italy. It’s the first of its kind that delivers such unparalleled access and knowledge, telling the stories of beauty ideals and rituals that Italians have been practicing for centuries.

Describe Mozzafiato in 3 words.

Italian, Authentic, Quality

Despite 60% of the world’s cosmetics production coming from Italy, Italian beauty remains overshadowed by other counties like Korea. Why do you think that is?

Given the reputation and quality of Italian Beauty, it’s a bit of a mystery. Many of these brands have been producing their world-class products for decades, even centuries, but have stayed mainly within Italy and Europe and off the radar to customers in the US. Mozzafiato is the first retailer to bring them together under “one roof” and import their products directly to the market here. Italian Beauty is patient and generally formulates to perfection over many years. We believe the US audience is ready for something very different from the current market here and open to the kind of quality and craftsmanship that is completely unique to Italy.

You recently launched in 2020. How did the global pandemic affect your company?

We created and launched Mozzafiato during Covid and all remotely through Zoom with our Italian partners. As Covid impacted everyone, in a way, it forced all of us into innovative mindsets and thinking about new ways of doing business and working together. We found that our Italian partners were open to the novel idea of joining a multi-brand all-Italian retail concept in the US and we were able to form partnerships and work through all of the details remotely. But while Covid enabled us to work faster and more creatively in some ways, the logistics involved with importing have been more complicated as travel between the countries has been drastically reduced. We anticipate the importing logistics will improve as things begin to normalize in the coming year.

What is your selection process in discovering the next “it” Italian brand? Which do you depend on most, intuition or market data?

I would say that we look first to a brand’s Italian origin and story and quality of the products. From there, it’s a mix of market data, our own intuition about the brand, and whether we feel that it’s a good fit within the Mozzafiato collection. We form personal relationships with our brand partners and intend to work together for a long time, growing our businesses together, so we look for partners who share the same vision and dedication to the venture.

Where do you see Mozzafiato in 3 years?

Mozzafiato will be a leading beauty retailer in the US and Canada, through both its e-commerce channels and its physical retail locations across North America, possibly poised to be entering other global markets. We will have expanded in the brands we carry and the categories, but we will remain true to carrying only authentic, high-quality, beautiful Italian products.

Who is your top beauty inspiration and why?

Sophia Lauren is the iconic Italian beauty who inspires us every day with her timeless style, grace, passion, and Italian love of life.

ABOUT AMY PARSONS

Amy Parsons is the CEO of Mozzafiato, LLC, an innovative retail platform representing a wide collection of iconic Italian beauty brands. The Mozzafiato mission is to reinvent the American beauty experience through Italian culture and spirit, with products ranging from ancient fragrances to clinical innovations, and a shopping experience that delights the soul. Before joining Mozzafiato, Amy had a 20-year career as an attorney and university executive, overseeing projects ranging from expanding and developing new campuses in the US and Mexico to building large-scale sports and entertainment venues.

ABOUT MOZZAFIATO

Mozzafiato is an innovative retail platform representing the largest collection of iconic Italian beauty brands ever assembled in one place. Known as “The Italian Beauty Authority,” the Mozzafiato mission is to reinvent the American beauty experience through Italian culture and spirit, with products ranging from ancient fragrances to clinical innovations in a truly immersive shopping experience that delights the soul. Mozzafiato showcases the craftsmanship and heritage of each Italian brand, their families, and distinct terrains with storytelling components that impart knowledge, education, and access to the best of Italian beauty.