Sabrina and Idris Elba on growing S’Able Labs: ‘I do not want to change the way we source to expand’

It has been 15 months since husband and wife duo Sabrina and Idris Elba broke into the market with their first-ever beauty brand S’Able Labs.

Now, the business partners are at a crossroads of how to expand the business further, and whether they do it with or without investment.

The A-list couple’s goal is to turn their five-piece genderless range for melanin-rich skin into a household name in the future. 

Privately funded by the Elba’s and formulated in the UK, S’Able Labs aims to raise the profile of African beauty.

It uses botanical ingredients from East Africa in its formulations that are ethically sourced and sustainable. 

We went into this business strictly out of passion

Not only is the brand exclusively stocked at Space NK’s bricks-and-mortar stores across the UK, but shipped worldwide via the beauty retail giant’s website too, as well as by S’Able Labs D2C site. 

Sabrina says it has been especially well received in America because “there is a very strong identity around melanin-rich skin in the US” and products that effectively address hyperpigmentation. 

The duo are now figuring out how they plan to take their beauty offering to physical retailers in other territories further down the line, with Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Canada all on their wish list. 

But to reach that level of success, the question of whether to reach out for investment is being raised – and it is a tricky one. 

S'Able Labs is a genderless skin care range for melanin-rich skin

The circle of trust

“There are retailers we want to be in that we cannot get into without appropriate investment, so we will have to eventually open ourselves up,” explains Sabrina.   

“But we have been a little bit wary of the investment conversation.” 

The concern is around finding investors who understand the brand’s strong ethos for responsible sourcing and using traceable ingredients only.

Currently, the brand