Cheap cult haircare brand Kristin Ess to launch in Priceline after selling out in Target US stores
THIS brand is so popular in the US that it can’t keep the products in stock for too long, before it sells out again. Now it’s about to launch in Australia.
WHEN American celebrity hairstylist Kristin Ess launched her range of haircare products in Target stores across the United States, she thought she had prepared for every possible scenario.
But what she didn’t expect was for six months’ worth of stock to sell out in two weeks.
“It was insane. Target thought they bought enough for six months and so did we. But all the stock was gone and were just like, ‘What do you mean it’s gone?’” Ms Ess told news.com.au.
Even two years later, her products still sell out every time they’re restocked.
“Now when we go to labs and tell them how much we need to order they say, ‘It’s impossible, you can’t do that. That’s an impossible amount of product’,” Ms Ess said.
“We’ve been told no many times by big labs that can’t keep up with demand. So I know that’s a good sign. The looks on people’s faces says enough to me. It’s exciting.”
Australians will be able to get their hands on Kristin Ess products at the end of this month, when the range launches in Priceline.
The products include shampoos and conditioners for different hair types, a mask, a rose gold temporary tint, a leave in conditioner, dry shampoo, texture spray and beach wave spray.
They range from $19 to $25 — a price point Ms Ess describes as “affordable luxury”.
The packaging is simple and chic, in millennial-approved pink, grey and black. Each colour represents where the product should be stored.
“All the pink stuff goes on in the shower, the grey stuff goes on when your hair is wet and the black stuff on dry hair,” Ms Ess said.
Ms Ess wanted to create her own line of products after years of doing hair tutorials on YouTube with celebrities clients such as The Hills’ Lauren Conrad and Lucy Hale from Pretty Little Liars.
Her viewers and fans on social media wanted to know exactly what products she was using.
“Of course as a hairstylist, I’m using the best products. But women said to me, ‘I can’t afford that. What’s the affordable equivalent?’ I realised there really wasn’t one,” she said.
“If there was something it was only stocked in a salon and it was hard to find, you had to track it down. I really wanted to hit that sweet middle space as far as price point but making it feel like affordable luxury.”
Now that she has seen what it takes to create cheaper products, Ms Ess says she doesn’t understand why so many brands keep their prices so high.
“I’ve been in the thick of it. I’ve seen how much it costs to make the product and I’ve seen how high things are marked up. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” she said.
“It’s not just mark-up for no reason. It’s mark-up for marketing. We don’t do marketing. We’ve never spent a dollar on traditional marketing … it’s all through social media. We don’t pay bloggers, we don’t have a celebrity face. Marketing is expensive. People put hundreds of thousands of dollars into marketing but I don’t have to charge people for that, which is very cool.”
The range will launch in Priceline stores at the end of October.
rebecca.sullivan@news.com.au