11.29.22
Indie beauty incubator Maesa has been sued by celebrity hairstylist and social media influencer Kristin Ess. In her suit, Ess said she is reclaiming her rights to her eponymous hair care brand, and get free from “unreasonable restraints” on her business.
Ess is the co-founder of tutorial site Thebeautydepartment.com. She codeveloped the Kristin Ess Hair line with Maesa. It launched exclusively in Target in 2017.
In a series of Instagram posts, Ess revealed the lawsuit:
“I am suing my partners for several reasons, but the primary one being that I was misled during this partnership,” she wrote. “They sold themselves to me as a beauty brand incubator, touting their ability to launch, grow [and] eventually sell my brand to ensure its continued success. Instead of holding true to their commitments, they’ve continued gripping onto my brand, using it as a piggy bank to fund their many other ideas. Their actions are not fair to me, or to the long-term growth of Kristin Ess Hair.”
In a statement, Maesa Chief Executive Officer Piyush Jain said: “Since its inception, Maesa has been dedicated to the growth and expansion of the Kristin Ess brand. Maesa appreciates the early insights and contributions Ms. Kristin Sivesind made to the brand. We’ve provided various affordable salon quality luxury hair care products to consumers worldwide. Unfortunately, the parties have several disagreements about aspects of our commercial agreement. We adamantly disagree with Kristin’s allegations about Maesa and the parties’ relationship. However, even during this time of disagreement, Maesa remains committed to focusing on and continuing the success of the Kristin Ess brand and providing consumers with exceptional haircare products worthy of the trust of the Kristin Ess community and consumers. We cannot comment any further on this matter at the current time.”
A long-time private label manufacturer, Maesa began incubating indie brands like Drew Barrymore’s Flower Beauty as well as Kristin Ess Hair. In September, Gianni Pieraccioni, the company’s CEO since 2021, stepped down for personal reasons. He was replaced by Jain, a Unilever alum.
Ess is the co-founder of tutorial site Thebeautydepartment.com. She codeveloped the Kristin Ess Hair line with Maesa. It launched exclusively in Target in 2017.
In a series of Instagram posts, Ess revealed the lawsuit:
“I am suing my partners for several reasons, but the primary one being that I was misled during this partnership,” she wrote. “They sold themselves to me as a beauty brand incubator, touting their ability to launch, grow [and] eventually sell my brand to ensure its continued success. Instead of holding true to their commitments, they’ve continued gripping onto my brand, using it as a piggy bank to fund their many other ideas. Their actions are not fair to me, or to the long-term growth of Kristin Ess Hair.”
In a statement, Maesa Chief Executive Officer Piyush Jain said: “Since its inception, Maesa has been dedicated to the growth and expansion of the Kristin Ess brand. Maesa appreciates the early insights and contributions Ms. Kristin Sivesind made to the brand. We’ve provided various affordable salon quality luxury hair care products to consumers worldwide. Unfortunately, the parties have several disagreements about aspects of our commercial agreement. We adamantly disagree with Kristin’s allegations about Maesa and the parties’ relationship. However, even during this time of disagreement, Maesa remains committed to focusing on and continuing the success of the Kristin Ess brand and providing consumers with exceptional haircare products worthy of the trust of the Kristin Ess community and consumers. We cannot comment any further on this matter at the current time.”
A long-time private label manufacturer, Maesa began incubating indie brands like Drew Barrymore’s Flower Beauty as well as Kristin Ess Hair. In September, Gianni Pieraccioni, the company’s CEO since 2021, stepped down for personal reasons. He was replaced by Jain, a Unilever alum.