Unilever is betting big on the bond repair hair-care category for 2024.
In December, the conglomerate announced its intentions to purchase prestige biotech hair-care brand K18 for an undisclosed amount. The investment demonstrates Unilever’s interest in biotechnology and an expansion into the prestige hair-care space. But, more importantly, it signals its consumer’s growing interest in bond repair technology. For example, starting In January, 2024, Unilever will also begin rolling out bond repair collections in the mass category from brands like Dove, SheaMoisture, Nexxus, and Love Beauty and Planet.
Launched in 2020 by Britta Cox and Suveen Sahib, a married co-founding team also responsible for the Aquis hair towel brand, K18 quickly became the darling of the hair health world.
As Glossy previously reported, K18 began as an in-salon product and, after winning over stylists with its hero Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask, it expanded into Sephora in 2021. The product— as well as the hair oil, shampoos and conditioner that have since been added to the range — are powered by the company’s K18Peptide patented molecule, which was engineered to smooth, strengthen and repair all hair types in minutes. According to the brand, the technology — which brand reps call ‘biomimetics’ and not ‘bond repair’ — took 10 years to perfect.
“The fact that the product performs, together with amazing marketing, created a strong foundation,” CEO and co-founder Sahib told Glossy last fall.
K18’s penchant for social media marketing helped to rapidly grow the brand. “Hair care is all about segregated conversations: ‘This works for Caucasian hair,’ or ‘This works for curly, coily hair.’ At the molecular level, all hair is the same and gets damaged in the same way,” Sahib told Glossy reporter Sara Spruch-Feiner in a 2022 interview. “For us, TikTok is not just about entertainment, but it’s also about education.” Within 18 months of launching, K18 was sold in over 100 countries, he said.
Details of the acquisition have not been disclosed, but the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, according to Unilever.
“K18 is a fast-growing brand that sits at the intersection of beauty and biotechnology,” Vasiliki Petrou, group CEO and evp of Unilever Prestige, wrote on LinkedIn on Friday. “[K18] has been a pioneer of using social media to educate and engage consumers about the science of hair. … We are thrilled to continue to grow our Unilever Prestige portfolio in high-growth premium spaces with the addition of K18. This acquisition complements our fast-growing portfolio of premium, culturally relevant consumer brands. What Suveen, Britta and the team have created is a testament to the importance of brands built on unparalleled science, product efficacy and community love.”
K18 is just one part of the growing bond repair space, which includes a growing number of brands like Bumble & Bumble, Living Proof, Ranavat, Kerastase, Redken, L’Oréal Paris and Paul Mitchell.
While treatments that target hair strength, mostly through proteins, have been popular for years, the bond repair category really began with Olaplex, which was founded in 2014 and went public in 2021 valued at $14 billion. One of Olaplex’s inventors launched Epres, a competing product, in 2022.
But beyond the K18 acquisition, Unilever is betting on bond repair at a mass price point as well. Throughout the first quarter of 2024, Unilever is rolling out several bond-focused line expansions.
Starting in February, Dove will launch a new Bond Strength Shampoo, Conditioner, 10-in-1 Serum Mask and 10-in-1 Super Serum. The line will be available at mass, drug, grocery and online retailers, but the price has not yet been announced.
Meanwhile, Unilever’s sustainability-focused line, Love Beauty and Planet, will compete with two bond repair-powered hair masks, both $8.99 each. Nexxus also has a new bond repair collection with three products: an Amino Bond Repair System Shampoo and Conditioner, and a Serum Intense Rebond Treatment.
SheaMoisture’s bond repair collection is the most robust of the launches, with six products: an Amla Oil & Amino Blend Bond Repair Shampoo, Conditioner, Leave-in Conditioner, Bonding Oil, Repair Masque and Regrowth Treatment.
Each of the four line expansions leverages the same patent-pending molecule, named Bio Protein Care, which Unilever is using across brands.
This exponential category growth, which Glossy reported on in 2021, shows no signs of slowing as more and more brands enter the category at all price points.
