PE Firm Makes Minority Investment in Sustainable Hair Care Company Hairstory

Summit Partners has made a minority investment in sustainable haircare brand Hairstory. 

Hairstory was founded in 2015 by a team of haircare industry veterans. The brand’s core product, New Wash, is biodegradable and cleans hair without any detergent.

Sustainability and the environment are core to the brand's DNA. Hairstory products are delivered in recyclable, refill pouches, and the company's subscription platform, the Refill Club, enables customers to consume nearly 90% less plastic and produce 80%+ fewer CO2 emissions during cleansing as compared with traditional haircare products.  Hairstory also donates 1% of the proceeds from every 8-ounce pouch sale to water-related causes.
 
“We are passionate about the environment and challenged ourselves to think differently about our environmental footprint from the start,” said CEO Eli Halliwell. “One of the biggest opportunities we identified was our ability to reduce plastic consumption. We launched with refill pouches for our subscriptions at the outset and quickly realized people were ok abandoning their plastic bottles, so we switched everything over to refill pouches. We are just starting to apply the same strategy to our styling products and our goal is to be the first beauty company to be 100% refillable.”

Hairstory's Jackie Gilbert Bauer, head of product development, discussed the company’s approach to formulation and the consumer in this June 2021 Happi.com webinar.

Hairstory launched a new “direct-through-stylist” business model that enables hairdressers to participate in ecommerce in a way designed to respect their relationship with their clients. Once a hairdresser introduces Hairstory to their clients, they can earn commissions on all future purchases, regardless of where the client buys. This perpetual affiliate model is designed to enable local entrepreneurs to compete in a world increasingly dominated by global giants.

Melanie Whelan, a managing director with Summit Partners has joined Hairstory's board of directors. 

“We believe Hairstory's differentiated and effective products, customer loyalty, profitability, and consistently smart and deliberate growth decisions make them a rare brand. We are delighted to partner with Eli and this passionate team to support the company's next chapter: working to deploy a more expansive growth strategy while furthering sustainability-focused product innovation,” said Whelan.