When Jaimee Lupton launched Monday Hair six years ago, she had just one mission: make premium haircare accessible to everyone. It seems like a simple goal, but before the pandemic, budget offerings were scarce. Beauty sections at Coles and Woolworths were nothing like the full-blown aisles we now know and love, often resigned to small sections with just a few offerings across each category.
But economic shifts and tightened financial conditions have made affordable options a “must have” for many, with Ms Lupton leading the way. Fast forward to today, and Monday Hair is now sold in more than 100,000 stores across 47 countries, with its budget-friendly product range regularly increasing. “When I look back at those first little pink bottles, I’m still blown away by how far we’ve come,” the 32-year-old told news.com.au’s The Beauty Diary.
“We initially launched nationally into Coles across Australia and Foodstuffs across New Zealand. The response told us very quickly we weren’t alone in feeling like something was missing. We sold six months’ worth of stock in the first six weeks.” Since then, the brand has expanded to the US with a Target deal worth $40 million as well as landing Tesco stores across the UK supermarket. But now Ms Lupton is celebrating another win much closer to home, after securing a partnership with Big W to stock its full range of shampoos, conditioners, hair masks, and styling products.
Accessibility at the Core
“Our mission has always been anchored in accessibility, and if we’re only available in certain places, we’re limiting who can reach us,” she explained. “We launched exclusively into Coles over five years ago, so this is our first significant retail expansion in a while. Big W is where so many everyday Australians shop. It’s trusted, it reaches communities that aren’t always serviced by specialty beauty retailers, and it feels like a natural home for us.” Shoppers are already excited by the brand’s arrival, particularly the two new products: its Repair Hair Oil and Smooth Heat Protectant.
On social media, videos showing results using the items – priced between $10 and $15 – have been flooded with praise. “I seen this at the store but wasn’t sure if it really worked, looks amazing,” remarked one. “No wayyy!!! Look too good,” shared another. As one added: “Looks beautiful and so shiny.”
Community-Driven Innovation
Ms Lupton said every product Monday Hair creates starts with the community asking for it. “We’re a social-first brand, and that gives us something genuinely rare, an honest, real-time signal from the people using our products every day,” she explained. “They tell us what they want and what they don’t want. From there it goes to our in-house formulation team, who are some of the most beauty-obsessed people I’ve ever worked with – and we won’t launch something unless the full experience delivers. That means the formula, yes, but also the fragrance, the texture, the packaging. The whole ritual of using it.”
While it’s clear there are many fans of the brand, Ms Lupton – who hails from Auckland, New Zealand – said there’s a clear favourite when it comes to Aussie shoppers. “We sell a Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner every 6 seconds globally, these are the products that started everything,” she said. “But what’s really exciting right now is the response to our new Repair Hair Oil, which launched earlier in the year, is already one of our top three best-selling treatments globally, tracking at 144 per cent of forecast and we are expecting it to do well over $US 2m (almost $AU 3m) in its first year.”
