Dive Brief:
- As it continues to build out its assortment of Black-owned personal care brands, Ulta will exclusively carry Sunday II Sunday's latest shampoo and conditioner launch in its stores and online, according to a press release emailed to Retail Dive.
- The product line will be available on Ulta's website and in 300 Ulta Beauty locations first before being sold on Sunday II Sunday's website and at other retailers later this year.
- Launched in May 2020, the athleisure hair care brand's latest line features ingredients such as probiotics, papaya extract and green keratin designed to reduce inflammation, loosen dead skin cells and strengthen hair. The company plans to unveil more products later this year aimed at removing sweat and buildup for women with textured hair, per the press release.
Dive Insight:
Ulta first added Sunday II Sunday to its product assortment in August 2021, bringing the up-and-coming brand into physical stores for the first time. At that time, the Black-owned DTC brand had been featured in women’s health and beauty publications like Allure, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Self, per the press release.
“We launched Sunday II Sunday to provide women with hair solutions to issues that prevented them from being active, like sweat buildup and environmental damage,” Keenan Beasley, CEO and founder of Sunday II Sunday, said in a statement. “Any typical exercise regimen is made up of active workout days and recovery days. While the Moisture Balance Kit is our answer to supporting her throughout active workout days, the shampoo and conditioner can now become part of her recovery day routine to ensure her hair gets the same level of care and attention that she extends to her overall wellness routine.”
Ulta has focused on making itself a destination for new direct-to-consumer brands and integrating them into its product assortment over the past few years. In 2019, the company launched Sparked at Ulta Beauty, a platform highlighting DTC brands that were making their brick-and-mortar debut. The retailer, as well as rival Sephora, have been working to land exclusives with some of the newest brands to drive discovery for customers. The two have become increasingly competitive in other ways as well, with both rethinking their physical store presence and landing shop-in-shop deals with major retailers to better reach customers.
Expanding its assortment of Black-owned beauty brands has also been a focus point for Ulta. The company in February last year said it would double its Black-owned brands by the end of the year and in June joined the Fifteen Percent Pledge. This year, Ulta pledged to spend $3.5 million on merchandising support for the Black-owned, founded and led brands it sells so customers can more easily locate them in stores, as well as $8.5 million on marketing support for those brands.
