Inside Ethique’s Rebrand and Ulta Beauty Nationwide Expansion

“The challenge isn’t finding ingredients that work, it’s finding ingredients that work and live up to our standards as a brand,” says Erica Cocilova, global brand president, Ethique Beauty. “We are incredibly picky about what we put into our products.”

Ethique’s nationwide expansion at Ulta Beauty has delivered solid hair care for every hair type, texture and need, per the brand. The move also coincides with a rebranding.

The brand’s bestsellers will be offered at the retailer, including the Repairing Solid Shampoo Bar ($17), Curl Defining Solid Shampoo Bar ($17), Everyday Shine Solid Shampoo Bar ($17) and Professor Curl Curl-Defining Solid Shampoo Bar ($17).

The array also includes two new bars, including the Hydrating Solid Shampoo Bar ($17 at Ulta) and Hydrating Solid Conditioner Bar ($17 at Ulta).

Global Cosmetic Industry spoke to Erica Cocilova, global brand president, Ethique Beauty, to learn more about the brand’s revamp and its expansion in Ulta Beauty.

What are Ethique’s challenges in sourcing sustainable, clean ingredients for hair care formulations?

The Ethique array includes two new bars, including the Hydrating Solid Shampoo Bar ($17 at Ulta) and Hydrating Solid Conditioner Bar ($17 at Ulta).Cocilova:The challenge isn’t finding ingredients that work, it’s finding ingredients that work and live up to our standards as a brand. We are incredibly picky about what we put into our products.

They must adhere to the strictest clean guidelines per EU standards, and well beyond that. We dive deep into the supply chain and the origin of our ingredients to ensure that we can trace each back to the source, and feel incredibly confident in saying we’re vegan, palm-oil free, cruelty-free and child-labor free.

Beyond clean ingredient sourcing, we have gone one step further on a few key ingredients–and have found direct sourcing partners. Specifically, our coconut oil is super nourishing for hair and skin, without being heavy or overly greasy. It comes from a women’s cooperative in Samoa.

They produce organic, virgin coconut oil through a network of small farmers all around their native island. Purchasing their oil ensures we pay a fair price for their product, and that the money is reinvested back into their communities and environment.

How has the clean beauty movement influenced consumer expectations for hair care products?

Cocilova:  “Clean” doesn’t have a firm definition in the U.S.–which is why it’s left up to consumers to decide what “clean” means and how important it is to them. Despite the confusion and blurred lines, we know that consumers in the U.S. are increasingly interested (and demanding) a level of clean in their products. We see the effect of this desire in the outsized growth of clean beauty products vs. categories at large, and in the adoption of clean programs and standards by the largest beauty retailers in the world (e.g. Ulta’s Conscious Beauty Program).

We’re proud that we live up to these standards, and we’re continually challenging ourselves to improve our formulations to protect people and planet without compromising effectiveness. And sit alongside the best curation of brands on Ulta Beauty’s shelves as they also pursue conscious beauty innovations, as the consumer comes to expect a clean product inside and out.

Can clean hair care truly deliver salon-quality results?

“We invested in third-party clinical tests to prove this out and were thrilled with the results.”EthiqueCocilova: Absolutely! But it’s a battle that we are unfortunately still fighting every day–that it’s somehow impossible for products to be clean and sustainable and also highly effective, to deliver an incredible result for your hair and skin.

We choose our ingredients and formulate our products to be exceptionally effective–knowing that each hair type and texture requires a different set of ingredients to deliver the healthy-hair benefits they need.

We use a very specific manufacturing process that allows us to not only select, but properly maintain, the full benefits of each of these active ingredients in our bars as a finished good. Said plainly, our bars have 10x-30x the active ingredients than a traditional liquid shampoo and conditioner, respectively.

We invested in third-party clinical tests to prove this out and were thrilled with the results. Really exciting examples of these are our Repairing shampoo and conditioner duo that is clinically proven to reduce breakage by 5x after just one use.

Those are some major strengthening benefits in such a small, concentrated package! And our brand-new Hydrating shampoo and conditioner duo is clinically proven to increase hydration and moisturization by 8x after just one use. These results are undeniable proof that we’ve been able to achieve the most desirable and optimal option for consumers: clean and highly

effective.

What innovations are emerging in clean hair care to address concerns like scalp health or hair damage repair?

Cocilova: Generally, we’re continuing to see huge growth in scalp care across both premium, masstige and mass channels–and getting that feedback from retailers as well. There’s still so much growth to be had, but consumers are starting to really connect the concept of hair health to scalp health. And that having a balanced, healthy scalp creates the best environment for healthy hair to grow. Further, because scalp care is, in essence skin care, consumers are really demanding clean ingredients that are better known in skin care: niacinamides and amino acids, to name a few. We lean toward a few interesting ingredients in our best-selling Scalp Shampoo Bar–neem seed oil and karanja oil–those that have natural properties to help balance the skin on our scalp and boost overall hair health.

When it comes to repair, we see that this hair concern continues to be a top one among consumers–and we’re sure that many brands see and hear the same thing given the number of new products, brands and entrants into the space. True bond repair technology is rare, but there is a lot more consumer awareness around the simple ingredients and regimens that can promote true strength in your hair (more strength = less breakage): that the right mix/balance of moisture and protein is the unlock. For rinse-off products like ours, we focused on rice protein and shea butter to provide an optimal balance.