Biotech Collaboration Rewrites Haircare Playbook

Untangled

Here's what's happening this week in the world of haircare eCommerce and brand growth:
- K18 fuses molecular repair with biotech fragrance.
- Kids salon franchise races to 35 locations.
- Cohere adds on-site salon to speed R&D.
- Shakira’s Isima lands Ulta-exclusive shelf space.
- Zara enters haircare, testing fashion-to-beauty reach.

⏱️THE MINUTE READ

Juvenon suspected upper-funnel spend were fueling growth, but pixel reporting undervalued them, pushing spend to the bottom funnel.

With Fospha’s Halo, they unified DTC and Amazon sales and uncovered the truth: TikTok was 9X stronger than reported, DTC performance was under-credited by 2.9X, and upper funnel became their growth engine.

• 📈 +18% revenue growth QoQ

• 📉 20% CAC improvement YoY

• 🚀 10X upper-funnel SoW growth

👉 Read the full case study

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

BIOTECH COLLABORATION
K18 And Future Society Launch Biotech Scented Repair Mask

K18 partnered with biotech fragrance house Future Society to debut a limited-edition Floating Forest Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask, merging K18PEPTIDE repair with a biotech-derived scent. This signals a move to elevate sensorial experiences without sacrificing performance, a lever for premium pricing and ritualization. Implication: stronger differentiation for pro-tech brands competing for Sephora shelf space and TikTok-driven discovery.

FRANCHISE EXPANSION
Sit Still Kids Salon To Close 2025 With 35 Locations
Sit Still Kids Salon opened new units in Mason, OH and Salmon Creek, WA and expects 35 operating locations by year-end, citing a national gap of one children’s salon per 92,000 kids. A refined launch playbook under the CMO is accelerating first-to-market traction, pointing to repeatable local growth. Expect rising community marketing opportunities and family LTV plays for adjacent haircare brands.

R&D INNOVATION
Cohere Beauty Introduces The Beauty Lab With On-Site Salon
Cohere Beauty unveiled The Beauty Lab in Omaha, integrating an on-site salon with virtual collaboration and pro expertise to tighten feedback loops in product development. This real-world testing setup can compress iteration cycles, reduce launch risk, and sharpen claims. Brands partnering with agile manufacturers can translate faster insights into stronger PDPs and retail sell-through.

COMMUNITY STRATEGY
Why Community-Centered Haircare Brands Are Winning

North Penn Now highlights the momentum of community-led haircare models that foreground representation, founder stories, and feedback-driven innovation. The shift reflects a broader loyalty strategy: move from transaction to belonging to defend margins amid choice overload. Impact: expect higher CAC efficiency via UGC, tighter cohorts, and organic advocacy when brands embed community into product design and content.

⚡QUICK READS

Shakira’s Isima Launches Exclusively At Ulta: Ulta gains another celebrity-led haircare line, signaling continued retail appetite for culture-forward brands and incremental basket expansion.(More)

Zara Enters Haircare With New Line: Fast-fashion moves into haircare, pressuring mass price points and opening cross-category merchandising plays for fashion-led retailers.(More)

LolaVie Adds Peptide Volumizing Shampoo And Conditioner: Jennifer Aniston’s brand targets fine and aging hair, expanding the high-growth thinning segment with peptide-led claims and 72-hour volume messaging.(More)

ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the DTC eCommerce division