The buzz around MONDAY Haircare is loud. The range can barely be kept in stock at Coles, while reviews of the line are glowing — not something you might expect from affordable shampoo and conditioners that are stocked at the supermarket.
Entrepreneur, beauty enthusiast and MONDAY co-founder, Jaimee Lupton, comes from a PR background and has harnessed these skills to create a cult-worthy product line, which currently includes four shampoo and conditioner duos called Smooth, Sensitive, Repair and Volume.
The product itself is high-quality, with the formula containing 11 amino acids and a variety of plant extracts while also being SLS and paraben-free. Meanwhile, the packaging is the perfect shade of millennial pink and is made with recycled plastic.
MONDAY has also successfully managed to create an engaged following on social media, and because the product itself is so adored, customers are going out of their way to post reviews online.
“Social media has played a huge role in allowing us to connect with our audience and understand what they think about the product,” Lupton told TheLatch—. “Reviews are so relevant in this digital age and if your product doesn’t work like it should you will be found out very quickly.”
As a beauty lover herself, Lupton was confident in the MONDAY product, but she didn’t expect the response the brand has received over the last few months.
“Being coined ‘Liquid Gold’ in the media, it’s been incredible to see the response and to cultivate a community of like-minded women who are all sharing their stories,” Lupton said. “It’s been a little overwhelming, to say the least!”
We chatted to the New Zealand-based founder to find out how Monday Haircare came to be and what we can expect to see from the brand in the future.
Alexandra McCarthy: Can you please tell us a little bit about how MONDAY came about?
Jaimee Lupton: The need for salon-quality haircare stemmed from my expensive beauty habit. Beauty shouldn’t be expensive — it should work without breaking the bank. My girlfriends and I always wanted quality products but didn’t want to spend all our money on them.
The beauty and skincare industry has been over-saturated for a while, but I felt the hair industry needed a refresh. Coming from a luxury PR background I’ve always had a passion for beautiful brands. It’s been exciting to build on that experience and see MONDAY come to life over the past 18 months.
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AM: MONDAY has disrupted the haircare industry and the response to the product range in Australia has been massive! Did you have any expectations about how you thought people would react to the products?
JL: As a beauty-obsessed person myself, I knew there was demand but I think we underestimated the demand. Being coined ‘Liquid Gold’ in the media, it’s been incredible to see the response and to cultivate a community of like-minded women who are all sharing their stories. It’s been a little overwhelming, to say the least!
“Being coined ‘Liquid Gold’ in the media, it’s been incredible to see the response.”
AM: How did you find the process of starting the business and launching the product line? Was there ever moments when you doubted what you had started?
JL: In the very beginning, the development phase was initially a challenge for me — I was constantly second-guessing myself — but once I got some great feedback from industry heavyweights like Jo Horgan of MECCA, I found the confidence to better stick to my guns [when] making big decisions.
Launching this product has had its challenges, it takes a lot of hard work, but I’m lucky enough to have an incredible team around me and have loved every minute of it. This is my passion!
AM: Let’s talk about the packaging because it’s so aesthetically pleasing while also being made with recycled plastic. Was that something you had in mind from the very start of creating the products?
JL: Yes definitely — I wanted a product that everyone was excited to show off and felt good about buying. I love pink and as soon as I saw the bottle I knew it was the right choice. It was also so important to me in the development process that MONDAY was created and manufactured cruelty-free, without nasties such as SLS and Parabens, and that the bottles were made from recycled plastic because I know that customers, like myself, care very much about the products they purchase and put either onto and into their bodies.
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AM: How has social media played a role in the success of MONDAY?
JL: Social media has played a huge role in allowing us to connect with our audience and understand what they think about the product. Reviews are so relevant in this digital age and if your product doesn’t work like it should you will be found out very quickly.
MONDAY not only looks good but it works — like it should at a salon-quality level. We have been inundated with incredible reviews after just a few weeks on the market and many of those reviews are from hairdressers, which means the world to us.
Social media has also allowed us to connect with customers that have questions about our product — transparency is so important and social media has meant that we can communicate with our customers in real-time.
“We have been inundated with incredible reviews after just a few weeks on the market.”
AM: You’ve also teamed up with your childhood friend, model Georgia Fowler, as well as eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher. How important has it been to bring in other people during the production of the product line?
JL: I wanted to work with women who inspired me; women that are business-minded that I know and trust. Georgia and I have known each other for over 15 years now and she is someone that I felt could really add value to the development stage given her experience and knowledge in the industry — not only is she the face and brand muse for the brand in Australia and New Zealand, but she is a business partner and was very involved in the creative direction of MONDAY.
The same goes for Kristen, who is a dear friend of mine and a successful businesswoman who inspires me every day, so having her on board as a brand muse, alongside Maggie Marilyn, Samantha Harris and Beck Wadworth was so important to me. I want to build a community of diverse like-minded women and these women all represent that.
“I want to build a community of diverse like-minded women and these women all represent that.”
AM: The last few months have been a rollercoaster given the current health crisis. How have you found this time? What have you been doing while in isolation to keep busy?
JL: What a time to launch a brand (no previous PR experience could have prepared us for this!) but we pushed through and have had such incredible success in such a volatile and unknown new market place.
I am so grateful for all of the support we have received, it’s honestly been overwhelming. Launching a new brand in this environment has been keeping me very busy in isolation, but I’ve also loved spending more quality time with my partner Nick and my family.
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AM: What does the rest of 2020 hold for MONDAY?
JL: There is a lot more in store for MONDAY in 2020! We have a range of new products in development as we’re always looking to expand our range of products available at affordable prices, so keep your eyes peeled.
We’ve also loved seeing our communities’ suggestions for new products via our social media channels — it’s this kind of feedback that is invaluable. We’re currently planning on launching in the US and the UK early next year, and COVID-19 has affected some of our timelines but we’re lucky that we’ve had such an amazing uptake so far.
You can shop MONDAY Haircare in-store and online at Coles.