By George C. Ford
The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) In October 2013, Krista Dolash launched “Root”, an organic, gluten free and vegan makeup, skin care and hair care retailer. She initially developed the products in the kitchen of her home.
The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
When Krista Dolash was pregnant with her son, she became very concerned about what she was eating and putting on her skin.
“I became one of those people who read every label,” Dolash said, “I thought the makeup that I was buying was natural, but little did I know that it was not.
“I took the foundation that I was wearing and stripped out all the nasty fillers and made a purely mineral makeup.”
In October 2013, Dolash used that product to launch Root, an organic, gluten free and vegan makeup, skin care and hair care retailer in Waverly. She initially developed those new products and made them in the kitchen of her home.
“We follow all regulations of the federal Food and Drug Administration,” Dolash said. “Certain ingredients must comply with FDA regulations and we follow all FDA guidelines.”
In 2015, Dolash moved out of her kitchen by opening a brick-and-mortar store and production facility at 100 E. Bremer Ave. in Waverly. A full-time production manager and two assistants handle the manufacturing of cosmetics and other products. Root opened a store at 116 Main St. in Cedar Falls in July 2016. Many of the company’s total of 15 employees and customers are students at the University of Northern Iowa.
And early next month, Root will open a store at 115 S. Dubuque St. on the Ped Mall in Iowa City, Dolash said the company plans to hire two assistant managers and 10 part-time beauty assistants for the Iowa City store.
“Iowa City is the perfect place for Root,” Dolash said. “With a college town, we definitely will have more people hearing about us through social media.
“We expect to be more submerged into the college with our location on the Ped Mall.”
Nate Kaeding, retail development director for the Iowa City Downtown District, said in a news release that entrepreneurs such as Dolash are the backbone of the downtown business community.
“Root is a proven omni-channel retailer with an inspiring ‘made-in-Iowa’ story,” Kaeding. “We couldn’t be more happy to welcome Krista and Root to our community.”
Dolash said the addition of the Iowa City store likely will trigger hiring additional people in Waverly to handle increased production. She said plans for Root probably will involve opening a store in Des Moines.
“We have some labs that can help us produce much higher volumes of product if we need it,” she said. “I’m still very protective of all our products, so I prefer to keep it in-house for now.”
At a glance
Business: Root
Founder: Krista Dolash
Address: 100 E. Bremer Ave., Waverly
Phone: (319) 290-5746
Website: www.rootpretty.com
