Henkel strengthens hair care portfolio as H1 growth holds firm

Henkel has released its 2026 H1 financials, showing strong organic sales and adjusted earnings performance, with its Hair business driving growth within the Consumer Brands unit. Hair was the company’s strongest performing category in its Consumer Brands unit with 4.2% organic sales growth, outpacing the unit’s overall 1.7% growth.

The German multinational consumer goods company’s report shows Hair Colorants and Hair Styling categories as the primary contributors to its sales growth across consumer and professional hair businesses in H1.

The company also underlines the successful execution of its accelerated mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategy as a contributor to its positive financial performance. In H1 2026, Henkel completed the acquisitions of US-based hair care brand Not Your Mother’s (NYM). It also closed its acquisition of Olaplex — a hair care brand — shortly after the H1 reporting period.

Olaplex generated approximately €370 million (US $427.5 million) in fiscal year 2025. According to the company, the acquisition of the brand has positioned the company as the global number two player in the professional hair business.

Consumer Brands’ business unit generated €4.73 billion (US$ 5.47 billion) in sales in H1, indicating a 3.5% drop compared with last year. However, organic sales increased by 1.7%, with the unit showing growth in price and volume.

The body care category presented a weak spot as the Other Consumer Businesses area declined 2.1% organically. This was mainly due to the weak regional performance of body care in Europe. The company reports that the North American region, however, maintained good organic sales growth. 

Adjusted EBIT for the division cashed in at €724 million (US$836,6 million), and the adjusted EBIT margin remained stable at 15.3%.

Looking at M&A for growth

Henkel completed its acquisition of Olaplex last month, strengthening its premium hair care portfolio and expanding its visibility in the international hair care arena.

Henkel states that the Olaplex acquisition strengthens its innovation capabilities. It also outlines its confidence in the potential for cross-selling and expansions through specialtyHenkel is expanding its premium hair care presence through acquisitions. retail and hair salons. The company further sees opportunities to combine innovation and technologies across the portfolios.

“The premium hair care market is highly attractive, with an expected compound annual growth rate of around 5% in the coming years,” states Henkel.

The NYM acquisition focused on cultivating a collection of on-trend consumer brands, boosting Henkel’s US hair portfolio.

“Bringing together Henkel’s… global expertise, and sustainability leadership with NYM’s unique innovation approach, creativity, and agility creates a powerful partnership that delivers meaningful value for Henkel, NYM, and — most importantly — our consumers,” Phil Schaffer, corporate SVP at Henkel Consumer Brands, North America, said at the time of the acquisition.

NYM and Olaplex represent two of the five acquisition transactions Henkel has agreed to. The acquired businesses are expected to contribute approximately €700 million (US$ 808,87 million) in sales in 2026.

“We significantly accelerated our M&A activities,” says Knobel. “We have agreed on five acquisitions with a total value of approximately €5 billion (US$5.78 billion) that will substantially strengthen our two business units. Four of these acquisitions have already been closed.”

“Over the coming years, the acquired businesses [across units] are expected to deliver above-average growth in the mid- to high-single-digit percentage range and contribute around €2 billion (US$2.31 billion) in additional annual sales. This marks another important step in sustainably advancing our growth agenda,” Knobel concludes.

For the remainder of 2026, Henkel maintains its projection of 0.5–2.5% organic sales growth for Consumer Brands, and an adjusted EBIT margin of 14–15.5%. While the company adjusted its forecast for the rest of 2026 for its Adhesive Technologies unit, it did not change its Consumer Brands guidance following H1 findings.