Gaye Straza Rappaport

Gaye Straza Rappaport, who spent part of her childhood in Hawaii, was drawn to natural, uncomplicated scents while running an upscale women's boutique in Malibu, California, where she found heavy commercial fragrances bothersome. She developed the fragrance Kai to capture the scent of Hawaii, working with a small boutique fragrance house, initially making it for herself before selling it in her store when customers began asking about it. She sold her boutique in 1999 to focus on the fragrance line full time, growing Kai from small batches into a cult-classic brand now sold widely.