Hair color business evolves as beauty school supplier Burmax acquires Product Club

The color accessories company Product Club supplies colorists in the field with tools and accoutrements—everything but the color, as it were. By buying up the brand and operating it as a stand-alone division, Burmax will be able to engage with the next generation of professionals.

“While Product Club's main focus has always been reaching colorists via the store networks and outside sales teams at full service distributors, the acquisition by Burmax will allow the Product Club brand to gain direct access to the future stylists and colorists of tomorrow through Burmax’s school network,” ​explained Anne Moratto in her Modern Salon article​ on the business venture. 

Burmax, a family company operating out of Holtsville, New York, has been supplying wholesalers and beauty schools for over 60 years, according to the company’s site, and has nearly 10,000 items in its catalog. Product Club functions in a more specialized space and will augment the Burmax inventory with its own portfolio of 200 hair color accessories.

In the lab ​
Scientific research is shaping the future of the hair color industry too. Product formulation will invariably be adapted to incorporate new findings, like the discovery of a molecule that can determine and shift hair color. Stanford University scientists have recently found “that one of the most crucial signalling molecules in mammalian development also affects hair color,”​ said David Kingsley, PhD and professor of developmental biology.

The researchers discovered that “blonde hair is caused by a single change in the DNA that regulates the expression of gene that encodes a protein called KITLG, which is known as stem cell factor,”​ explained Simon Pitman, Cosmetics Design Senior Editor, in his article on the new science.

Out of the box​
Traditional, at home color is getting a bit high-tech itself as brands look to innovate for the future. Last month, eSalon took its custom color service global with e-commerce. The US-based brand “provides an automated service where consumers complete a survey, get attention from a remote colorist and purchase a personalized at-home hair coloring kit that comes by mail,” ​reported Cosmetics Design​ when the company began serving consumers in Canada, the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden.

Down the road​
Advances like these in the business and science of hair color contribute to not only growth in the market value but to a more diversified hair color industry as well, with consumers seeking solutions in ever more specialized segments. “In the coming years as well, this trend [for more hair care segments] is projected to continue, especially as millions of consumers in developing economies are now becoming conscious about styling their hair, coloring grey hair, and maintaining a healthy scalp,”​ according to an industry forecast report from Transparency Market Research.

Additionally, the forecast notes that “the men’s hair care market is on an upswing and holds immense potential for innovation and new marketing strategies.”​