Matt Scalf, owner of Beard Sorcery at 700 Ken Pratt Blvd #105B, set out on a quest to solve a recurring problem with his beard: beard itch. Along the way, he found a group of people, each with their own creative spirit, to help him discover the recipes to aid in many beard-related issues.
Scalf spent part of his career running another business that worked with essential oils. He combined that experience with an eagerness to take care of his own beard. Over the years he has explored many oils and products to care for his beard before he decided to branch out with his own line of beard-care products.
During the pandemic, Scalf worked on developing the idea and was hit with the name Beard Sorcery. The name launched the idea to tie the product to a fantasy theme and to “make it magic to take care of your beard,” Scalf said. His team reacted positively to the idea and began creating names for the products that tied into the Dungeons and Dragons world.
The team plays a lot of tabletop games themselves and is really into adopting their own characters. After attending several conventions and introducing the product, Wizards of the Coast — the company that makes Dungeons and Dragons — reached out to Scalf to collaborate, resulting in officially licensed beard products.
“We’ve built out characters. It is more than it smells this way, we have tried to build a connection to the character in a way that is more than a beard oil would be in most cases,” Scalf said. “We are focusing on the connection; the character’s origin story, why would we make it smell this way.”
Each scent is tied to a character class. Scalf and his team spent considerable time developing the scents they believe the character classes would embody while also paying attention to the ingredients added to each oil. For Scalf it is very important to make sure the products work and don’t leave beards feeling extra oily, dry or uncomfortable.
In addition to tying the scents to the characters, the team developed a storyline for each scent and customers can read about each in a booklet offered with products. As time continues, the team plans to expand the storyline and add additional characters in a graphic novel, Scalf said.
“It makes it fun. It makes it interesting. It adds a little flavor to your day that you don’t get from just putting on this woodsy-scent, manly, masculine lumberjack stuff that our competitors have,” Scalf said.
Scalf said that he has seen a notable change in the acceptance of the “nerdy, gamer persona.” He said many celebrities have announced that they enjoy various games which has helped with acceptance. Recently, Scalf has discovered that people who would not ordinarily fit the stereotype for tabletop gaming have approached him to discuss their connection with his product because of their connection with their own characters.
“It is just so cool,” he said. “Even if you aren’t into tabletop gaming, people are like ‘I totally dig it.’”
Customers have also provided feedback that adding the product to their character allows them to get further into their character and often builds their confidence.
The business launched in 2020 and Scalf and his team worked out of a small room in his home. In September, Scalf found a storefront that includes enough space to mix most of the products, bottle it and sell it. Beard Sorcery also sells its products online.
