KMI offloads Noughty natural hair care brand as category accelerates
Key takeaways
- KMI Brands has sold its Noughty hair care brand to UK-based Komerz.
- KMI says the sale will help it focus on licensed partnerships across fragrance and beauty.
- The deal comes as major beauty players expand further into hair care through acquisitions and launches.
KMI Brands has sold its Noughty hair care brand to UK-based Komerz for an undisclosed amount. The brand boasts a 97% natural ingredients profile, and its sale comes as KMI searches to secure licensed partnerships across fragrance and beauty.
Noughty was launched in 2018, and reports delivering consistent annual growth. The brand’s lineup is sold across international retailers such as Tesco, Holland & Barrett, and Superdrug.
KMI hopes Noughty will benefit from Komerz’s international distribution network and that the UK company will scale it into further markets.
“Noughty’s consistent growth since launch is a testament to the strength of the brand and the team behind it,” says Herbie Dayal, chairman at KMI Brands.
“Komerz brings the scale and distribution expertise to take it further. This marks an exciting next chapter for the brand, while enabling KMI to focus on the next phase of growth across our core categories.”
The Noughty divestment marks the latest in KMI’s strategy to offload some of its names. The company previously divested Naked to L’Oréal and Fish Haircare to Brand Architekts.
Doubling down on hair care
Recently, multiple big names have made strategic business moves to capitalize on hair care.
Earlier this year, Henkel announced taking over Olaplex for a value of US$1.4 billion. The brand focuses on science-driven solutions to repair damaged hair, and Henkel noted that adding it to the company’s lineup is part of a “purposeful growth agenda.”
Months later, the German consumer goods giant also announced sealing the deal on Not Your Mother’s hair care brand, having acquired it to boost its US portfolio.
The two acquisitions complement the multinational’s current brands, such as Schwarzkopf, Göt2B, DevaCurl, Alterna, SexyHair, and eSalon.
Moreover, E.L.F. Beauty made its debut in the hair care category last week with the launch of its first six-part product series.
The company aimed to translate its ethos of making premium beauty financially accessible into the hair market, and noted that the newly launched lineup responds to consumer demands for “E.L.F.ordable luxury” in the category.
