Nyakio Grieco

Nyakio (pronounced Neh-Kay-Oh) has long been an advocate for clean beauty for all skin colors, types and needs. Using beauty secrets she learned from her Kenyan background and travels around the world, Nyakio successfully launched her eponymous beauty brand nyakio™ to a marketplace desperately in need of clean beauty products in 2002. Today, nyakio™ is carried at Target stores nationwide. In 2020, when the world was profoundly impacted by the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement, Nyakio noticed a plethora of Black-owned beauty brands finally getting due recognition from mainstream media – yet there was no main community hub in which consumers could seek them out efficiently. Additionally, she noticed the misconception that BIPOC beauty founders were only creating products for BIPOC consumers. She launched Thirteen Lune with co-founder Patrick Herning to highlight BIPOC-founded brands in one shoppable location and show that true amplification and allyship last beyond a particular time of year.

“What I love most about my work at thirteen lune is that I get to build an incredible business while also helping to make the beauty industry more equitable,” said Nyakio. “My hope is to be a catalyst to helping make this world more inclusive through the lens of beauty.”

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