Good Dye Young, the vivid hair-dye brand founded by Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams and her hairstylist Brian O’Connor, is making its way into all Ulta Beauty stores and online.
The brand is part of Ulta Beauty’s Conscious Beauty program. It is already available on Ulta Beauty’s website, and its full product lineup will be available in all Ulta Beauty stores nationwide on May 8.
“If you think of Ulta from the consumer vantage point, it’s such a first stop for people interested in beauty. And it’s such a great hub,” said Williams on the May 4 episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast. “But also, from a business owner’s perspective, Brian and I look at this like, ‘Man, so many brands have really taken off because of an opportunity with Ulta.’”
The launch is “huge on so many levels” for the brand, said O’Connor on the podcast. “Personally, I think for Haley and I, it was one of the places in the very beginning that we said we wanted.”
The brand has seen a 67% year-over-year compound annual growth rate since it launched in 2016, with projected retail sales of $20 million for 2023 and $35 million for 2024.
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With its line of semi-permanent dyes that include the cult “Riot” orange shade that is Williams’ signature, the brand is especially focused on attracting newcomers to the world of vivid hair dye.
“Launching full-fleet in Ulta is such an unlock in getting the brand in front of new customers. It’s a great way to really introduce people, and we know that there’s a lot of interest out there. It just opens the door, ” said Ashley Floto, svp of sales and marketing at Good Dye Young.
To coincide with the launch, Good Dye Young created an Ulta-exclusive, beginner-friendly starter kit to overcome what Floto calls the “fear factor” of dying hair for the first time.
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“When you go and you color your hair, it can be sort of intimidating. We all see the TikTok of the girl that bleaches her hair and her hair falls out, or all of these horror stories on social media,” said Floto. The starter kit features everything needed to dye for the first time, including the lightening kit, the dye, and tools including the brush, bowl, gloves and hair clips. “What we wanted to do with the kit was to create something that’s an all-in-one that gives you the confidence,” she said.
“The barrier to entry is lightening, because everyone’s afraid that, by bleaching your hair, your hair is going to become brittle,” said Ashley. The brand’s marketing emphasizes the dyes’ botanical ingredients and education on following the correct steps for at-home hair coloring.
Colorful hair-dye looks worn by Williams a decade or more ago have come full circle with Gen Z. For example, the split-dye look worn in her 2013 “Still Into You” music video has returned on TikTok as “Gemini” hair.
Also sold at Target, Walmart, Sally Beauty and on Amazon, the brand is especially prioritizing brick-and-mortar sales channels, said Floto, who added, “There’s an impulse component to vibrant hair. You wouldn’t believe how many people are like, ‘I broke up with my boyfriend last night and I drove to Sally and I did my hair purple. New day, new me.’”
Good Dye Young is also expanding into international retailers. Currently sold at Beauty Bay in the U.K., it also launches at Selfridges this week.
Now with 78 SKUs, up from 11 when it first launched, the brand is planning on a salon line and additional retailer in the future.
