New Jersey

Risa Barash went from performing stand-up comedy in New York City to building Fairy Tales Hair Care, a children’s hair care brand shipping 3.5 million bottles a year. What started 26 years ago with a single rosemary lice-prevention product,sold door-to-door to salons,has grown into a multimillion-dollar business with Amazon driving half of sales. After losing over $1 million annually to unauthorized sellers, Barash used Amazon’s Transparency program to reclaim her brand. She also leaned on Amazon to make a critical pivot during COVID, growing the business toa projected $20million in 2026.The fourth-generation entrepreneur says she’s just getting started.

It’s a sign of success, but one that could spell disaster for many small businesses. The more popular the product, the more likely it is for counterfeiters to try and steal a share of their business. For Brian Yoo and his patented bristleless broom, Broombi, stopping bad actors would be a full-time job without the support of Amazon’s Brand Registry services.

“Patent infringement is actually the biggest challenge for us as a business,” said Yoo. “It’s not advertising, figuring out the supply chain or even customer acquisition.”