German conglomerate Henkel launched its newest brand, Authentic Beauty Concept, in the U.S. on Tuesday in a bid to re-energize its hair-care portfolio.
Sold in the US through Ulta.com and SalonCentric.com, Authentic Beauty Concept is vegan, cruelty-free, and free of parabens and sulphites; in addition, it uses unretouched models in its marketing. Authentic Beauty Concept launched in Europe in July 2019. Henkel, which also owns Dial soap brand and Schwarzkopf hair care, in addition to laundry and adhesive brands, opted to incubate ABC, versus acquiring or pivoting existing hair brands.
In addition to being an outwardly progressive brand, the internal structure of ABC also represents a modern departure for Henkel. Traditionally, Henkel employees have not worked on specific brands, but instead on broad categories or products like hair care and shampoo. ABC, however, has a dedicated team of 11 people, giving it a “start-up-style” functionality, said Matt Lowenthal, Authentic Beauty Concept VP of Marketing.
“In order to create a brand that truly fits the way the market is moving, which is toward wellness, mindfulness, sustainability, veganism and cruelty-free, Henkel took the approach of building a brand from scratch,” said Lowenthal. “Authentic Beauty Concept was born out of a desire to fit authentically with the trends that we were seeing in the market.”
