It wasn’t broken, but Onyx Professional fixed it anyway.
Founded in 1990, the Bentonville, Arkansas–based brand has flown under the radar for decades, quietly building unglamorous, workhorse SKUs like Hard As Hoof Strengthening Nail Cream, 100% Acetone Nail Polish Remover, and Cracked Heel Repair Balm into powerful contributors to its bottom line. Jointly owned by founder Marsha Martin, board members, and private equity firm Mason Wells, it’s a mass-market mainstay at big-box retailers, including Walmart and Target.
The October 2024 appointment of Sandra Abdallah as Onyx Professional’s first-ever CEO and an in-depth brand audit changed the company’s trajectory. Conducted with the assistance of research firm Kantar Insights, alongside input from hundreds of consumers nationwide, the audit yielded an upscale new look and tagline—Beauty from the Ground Up—that leans heavily into its foot- and nail-centric product offering.
“The objective [of the audit] was to gain a deeper understanding of how consumers perceived the brand and what they wanted and expected from it going forward,” Abdallah told BeautyMatter. “These learnings ultimately informed the brand’s new positioning around foundational beauty and revealed a clear opportunity to bring a more beauty-forward perspective to the nail and foot care categories.”
The overarching goal of recent efforts, which includes packaging revamps and a smattering of new product names, was to modernize how Onyx Professional presents itself, while honoring its heritage and the immense trust it has already built.
After coming on board as CEO, Abdallah said one of the biggest surprises she encountered was the brand’s rock-solid customer loyalty. “Products like Hard As Hoof and our nail polish removers have amassed tens of thousands of five-star reviews and an incredibly passionate, vocal following,” she noted. “But while the products were deeply loved, there was an opportunity for the brand to show up in a way that fully reflected that authority. Some of our visuals felt fragmented across categories, and there wasn’t a unified platform connecting nail, foot, and bath.”
Freshened up with a pink-and-red palette and unveiled in March via social media, digital advertising, brand ambassadors, and a mobile tour featuring the “Onyx Glambulance,” the new look is already paying off.
“The early response has been incredibly encouraging,” said Abdallah. “Consumers are immediately recognizing the products they already trust, such as Hard As Hoof, while embracing the more polished look and cohesive brand identity, and they’re saying that the brand finally looks the way they expect it to feel: modern, confident, and beauty forward.”
In addition to refreshed hero products, Onyx Professionals is adding to its mix nine SKUs that the company claims are first to market. These include Pedi Please, an exfoliating foot treatment; Bye-ee Cuticles Rapid Remover Gel; Nail Reset Nourishing Nail Pen, for “nursing damaged nails back to health”; the gentle, “family friendly” Non-Acetone Remover Cream Drops, and Smooth It Off Callus Patches.
Beyond key “skinification” ingredients such as acids (lactic, lactobionic, hyaluronic), the new and newly relaunched products feature six different scent profiles. Crafted with top, middle, and base notes, Abdallah believes the fragrances help elevate the offerings, separating them from standard-issue mass fare.
“Scent is a key element in transforming everyday care into a more immersive ritual,” said Abdallah. “As fragrance layering continues to gain momentum, consumers are increasingly exploring ways to discover and personalize their signature scent.”
Surely physical retail, a long-standing core strength for Onyx Professional, is helpful on the scent-discovery front. In addition to Walmart and Target, the brand also counts CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, and Meijer among its retail partners.
In addition, the brand just added more than 850 Ulta Beauty doors to its retail mix. With Onyx Professional showcased across two shelves in the bath and body section, Ulta Beauty will also stock a Hard As Hoof mini in its impulse bins for added visibility.
“The Ulta [Beauty] partnership reflects ongoing conversations about the role of foot wellness as a critical element of overall beauty and self-care,” said Abdallah. “As consumers increasingly embrace ingredient-driven rituals, categories like foot care are becoming an essential part of people’s beauty routines.”
Despite the retail push, more than 30% of Onyx Professional’s estimated $50 million in annual sales comes from digital.
In the highly competitive mass sector, Abdallah is convinced Onyx Professional stands out—now more than ever. She’s anticipating 30%growth this year, largely driven by an uptick in foot care. Currently accounting for less than 25%of the brand’s total sales, foot care is expected to exceed 40% by 2027.
“We combine three things rarely seen together: proven efficacy with over 35 years of consumer trust; accessible pricing that makes high-performance essentials available to all; and beauty-forward innovation, from skin-inspired ingredients to intuitive formats,” she said. “This balance allows us to bring a fresh, modern perspective to categories that have long been overlooked, turning everyday care into a truly elevated beauty experience.”