Hair Color Innovator Madison Reed Raises Over $50 Million to Continue Omnichannel Expansion
Brand prepares to seize here-to-stay post-pandemic consumer behavior shifts
Feb 24, 2021
San Francisco, California – February 10, 2021 – Madison Reed announced a $52 million financing round to continue to fuel its omnichannel expansion and build upon the 130 percent growth it saw during 2020. The round was led by True Ventures, an investor in Peloton, Ring and Blue Bottle Coffee. The round includes participation from Norwest Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures and Shea Ventures — all of which have invested in earlier rounds. New investors include Goldman Sachs, Motley Fool Ventures, Portfolia Rising America Fund and Portfolia FirstStep Fund.
Madison Reed has been transforming the hair color industry with its commitment to making salon gorgeous hair color made with a Smart 8-Free formula. The brand’s hair color is both affordable and easily accessible online at Madison-Reed.com, Ulta Beauty, and in Madison Reed Hair Color Bars nationwide.
The company experienced 130 percent growth in 2020 and its customer base nearly doubled. During the peak of the COVID-19 surge, consumers bought the brand’s hair color kits every 5 seconds. To meet further demand and seize the moment, the company launched two new products: Madison Reed MR., the brand’s hair color line for men, and Color Therapy, a color-depositing hair mask. In addition, the brand opened 16 new Hair Color Bars.
“What 2020 demonstrated is something we’ve always known: hair color is a category that is essential to every woman,” said Madison Reed Founder and CEO Amy Errett. “Our business surged as hundreds of thousands of customers across the country turned to a brand they could trust to deliver salon-gorgeous results with a formula made with ingredients they could feel good about.”
“We believe consumer behaviors have changed forever and this category is in the epicenter of that change,” added Errett. Madison Reed has continued to offer product and technology breakthroughs, including 1:1 hair color consultations via video with expert colorists as well as a new educational concept called “Hair Color House Parties” that uses Zoom to teach consumers how to color their hair, live, from licensed Madison Reed colorists.
Madison Reed started as a direct-to-consumer business and expanded with a wholesale relationship at Ulta Beauty as well as a growing number of retail locations called Hair Color Bars. Today, the company is a full omnichannel business which gives customers the freedom to color their hair how they want, where they want: at home on their own schedule, or by visiting a Hair Color Bar where they can get their color applied by a colorist with the same great Madison Reed products. The company operates over 30 four-wall locations in a dozen major metro areas. The full list of locations can be found here. The brand will have 60 Hair Color Bars by the end of 2021.
“Amy and the entire Madison Reed team have been laser focused on the changing dynamics of consumer preferences,” said Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures. In addition to investing in Madison Reed with its third core venture fund, True has invested in the company with all four of its Select Funds, which are designed to propel high-growth True portfolio companies of exceptional promise. “Madison Reed has brought transparency to a category begging for it while growing its unique, inclusive, and representatively diverse team internally. Millions of people have benefited from this better, higher quality hair color and care while recreating what their lives look like at home. We’re staying all in with Amy and her team as they continue to show up for consumers in an omnichannel way.”
About Madison Reed
Madison Reed is a hair color company revolutionizing the way women color their hair. The fast-growing disruptor has created a luxurious hair-color formula with a Smart-8 Free formula (free of PPD, ammonia, parabens, resorcinol, phthalates, gluten, SLS and titanium dioxide) that are typically used by other hair color brands. For those who prefer to color their hair at home, Madison Reed uses proprietary color-matching technology and a team of on-call colorists to help women choose the perfect shade of hair color, which is delivered to their door. For those who prefer to have Madison Reed color applied with the help of a professional, there are Madison Reed Hair Color Bars. Products can be found online at www.madison-reed.com and www.ulta.com, or in store at Ulta Beauty and Madison Reed Hair Color Bars.
About True Ventures
Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology startups. With more than $2.8 billion under management, True provides seed and Series A financing to entrepreneurs in today's fastest growing markets. To date, the firm has helped more than 300 companies launch and scale their businesses, creating over 25,000 jobs worldwide. To learn more, visit www.trueventures.com.
Madison Reed has been transforming the hair color industry with its commitment to making salon gorgeous hair color made with a Smart 8-Free formula. The brand’s hair color is both affordable and easily accessible online at Madison-Reed.com, Ulta Beauty, and in Madison Reed Hair Color Bars nationwide.
The company experienced 130 percent growth in 2020 and its customer base nearly doubled. During the peak of the COVID-19 surge, consumers bought the brand’s hair color kits every 5 seconds. To meet further demand and seize the moment, the company launched two new products: Madison Reed MR., the brand’s hair color line for men, and Color Therapy, a color-depositing hair mask. In addition, the brand opened 16 new Hair Color Bars.
“What 2020 demonstrated is something we’ve always known: hair color is a category that is essential to every woman,” said Madison Reed Founder and CEO Amy Errett. “Our business surged as hundreds of thousands of customers across the country turned to a brand they could trust to deliver salon-gorgeous results with a formula made with ingredients they could feel good about.”
“We believe consumer behaviors have changed forever and this category is in the epicenter of that change,” added Errett. Madison Reed has continued to offer product and technology breakthroughs, including 1:1 hair color consultations via video with expert colorists as well as a new educational concept called “Hair Color House Parties” that uses Zoom to teach consumers how to color their hair, live, from licensed Madison Reed colorists.
Madison Reed started as a direct-to-consumer business and expanded with a wholesale relationship at Ulta Beauty as well as a growing number of retail locations called Hair Color Bars. Today, the company is a full omnichannel business which gives customers the freedom to color their hair how they want, where they want: at home on their own schedule, or by visiting a Hair Color Bar where they can get their color applied by a colorist with the same great Madison Reed products. The company operates over 30 four-wall locations in a dozen major metro areas. The full list of locations can be found here. The brand will have 60 Hair Color Bars by the end of 2021.
“Amy and the entire Madison Reed team have been laser focused on the changing dynamics of consumer preferences,” said Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures. In addition to investing in Madison Reed with its third core venture fund, True has invested in the company with all four of its Select Funds, which are designed to propel high-growth True portfolio companies of exceptional promise. “Madison Reed has brought transparency to a category begging for it while growing its unique, inclusive, and representatively diverse team internally. Millions of people have benefited from this better, higher quality hair color and care while recreating what their lives look like at home. We’re staying all in with Amy and her team as they continue to show up for consumers in an omnichannel way.”
About Madison Reed
Madison Reed is a hair color company revolutionizing the way women color their hair. The fast-growing disruptor has created a luxurious hair-color formula with a Smart-8 Free formula (free of PPD, ammonia, parabens, resorcinol, phthalates, gluten, SLS and titanium dioxide) that are typically used by other hair color brands. For those who prefer to color their hair at home, Madison Reed uses proprietary color-matching technology and a team of on-call colorists to help women choose the perfect shade of hair color, which is delivered to their door. For those who prefer to have Madison Reed color applied with the help of a professional, there are Madison Reed Hair Color Bars. Products can be found online at www.madison-reed.com and www.ulta.com, or in store at Ulta Beauty and Madison Reed Hair Color Bars.
About True Ventures
Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology startups. With more than $2.8 billion under management, True provides seed and Series A financing to entrepreneurs in today's fastest growing markets. To date, the firm has helped more than 300 companies launch and scale their businesses, creating over 25,000 jobs worldwide. To learn more, visit www.trueventures.com.