The Alfred Collective: Sunkissed

Our newest addition to The Alfred Collective is a traveler’s favorite, Sunkissed. Take a dive into the founding story from the founder himself, Ben Drori. Learn about what makes their fabrics perfect for sun, sand and making everywhere you go feel like a resort.

How long has Sunkissed been in business? Tell us about everything from the inspiration behind choosing the name of each towel to how you came up with the business.

Sunkissed was officially founded in 2019. I moved from Israel to the United States 8 years ago to pursue multiple real estate opportunities. While there, I felt that my creative potential was far from being met; I lacked a sense of fulfillment and purpose that I’ve found in creating Sunkissed. My passion for exploring new experiences and places, paired with my love for art and style led me to create a brand that fits into travelers’ lifestyles but in a fashionable way. During the brand’s earlier stages, I was also looking for an easy-to-carry, stylish, versatile towel for my travels and I couldn’t find one I liked, which guided me towards creating one myself and for others who felt the same need.

At the end of the day, we all want to feel carefree and stress-free while enjoying the many luxuries that life has to offer — these are the principles that Sunkissed was built on. Travel is something that is sexy and chic and at the same time very fluid and relaxing, serving as a total escape from reality and the demands of everyday life. I wanted to create an accessory that mirrored this sentiment. The idea behind naming each piece in our collection after our favorite destinations is to invoke the escapist and easygoing feeling you get while being on vacation. We picked the destinations that inspire pleasure, style and comfort. That is what Sunkissed is all about — an everyday resort living experience with style and class.

Why is the community so important to the brand?

Our community is pivotal to the success of the brand. Our core values are pleasure, style and comfort and we can only grow if like-minded individuals continue to partake in our journey. Adding new members to the family is a pleasure — we love getting to know our user base and encourage them to post with their Sunkissed products wherever their adventures take them. We perpetuate the feeling of community love by creating an environment where people are doing more than just purchasing a product that they think is cool and useful: they’re simultaneously investing in doing good on a larger scale, with a percentage of the profits going towards saving our oceans and reefs.

We love to have an ongoing relationship with our customers because we can learn from one another. For instance, the product’s versatility has grown and been amplified by the way our community interacts with it — what started as a towel/blanket company has evolved into one that supports our users’ active lifestyles. We have seen people use our products for picnics, as yoga mats and tapestries, even as stylish scarves during the colder seasons. We also love to hear the unique stories that people share through their social platforms and as direct feedback. This encourages us to grow not only internally, but together with our community in a meaningful and resonant way.

Tell us what makes Sunkissed so impactful to your community? Could you tell us about your sourcing fabrics and the artisans that weave them?

Our products are handmade in Turkey where our fabrics are sourced locally and sustainably. Sunkissed places emphasis on supporting female empowerment, with 90% of the workforce being local female artisans. Fair treatment in our factory in Turkey is of the utmost importance. Additionally, our in-house departments work collaboratively to not only support our team around the world but also to guarantee a premium product.

Having the ability to be a part of something bigger and giving back to the world is definitely a win-win scenario. People tend to support the fact that we represent a luxurious lifestyle while empowering women and donating a percentage of our profits to the coral reefs. Using a Sunkissed towel is a bold statement with a minimal look. By hand-making and carefully reviewing each blanket or towel, and ensuring meticulous quality control procedures, we aim to give confidence in a high-quality and eco-friendly product. The fabrics have been hand-selected to ensure elegant, lightweight and eco-friendly beach towels. We do this by choosing raw organic Turkish fiber cotton that allows for sand resistance, absorption and quick drying fabric.

Why is sustainability so important to the brand?

Plastic accumulating in our oceans and on our beaches is a global crisis. Sunkissed is dedicated to taking part in an eco-friendly movement to help aid in halting this. We don’t just create a better product for a better world, we also care about the bigger picture including saving endangered coral reefs, marine life, and ruined beaches. My vision as the founder of the company stands between style and sustainability; the beach is the best place to meditate, breathe freely and let your problems drift away. At Sunkissed we believe that the natural beauty of our beaches is a significant matter. Not only do we support the future of marine life, but we aim to create a stylish and relaxed everyday resort living experience.

Who is your customer?

Our customer is made up of a multitude of beliefs and habits: someone who supports sustainability, seeks out comfort and style in his or her everyday life, has a passion for travel and exploration, and lastly believes in our mission to save the oceans. Someone who understands that a towel is more than just a necessary item to bring to the beach or pool, but more so an accessory that could (and does) complete a full look depending on what sunglasses or bikini they chose to wear that day. Someone who yearns for the feeling of permanently being on vacation. Someone who enjoys life’s finer things, but also appreciates the need to kick back, relax, and enjoy.

What excited you most about partnering with Alfred?

Alfred’s mission statement entirely aligns with what Sunkissed is all about — creating a product that is thoughtfully made for consumers who care. Partnering with Alfred means tapping into a new yet relevant audience for us, an audience that values convenience, comfort, and quality. The overall idea that both Sunkissed and Alfred bring to the table is simple in that the goal is to simplify people’s everyday lives in a luxurious way. Alfred’s success in making hotel-style hospitality more easily accessible and approachable is something that Sunkissed also strives to do, and I’m excited to partner with a company that shares similar values and ideals.

What are the brand plans for the future?

Our main goal has and will continue to be saving the oceans, so all of our future endeavors will reflect that mission in some way, shape or form. While I can’t share everything that’s in production at the moment, we’re working on expanding into adjacent products and verticals. Think resort collaborations, swim apparel and accessories… more to come.

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