Henkel Acquires Not Your Mother’s To Strengthen U.S. Haircare Presence

Henkel is expanding its presence in the American mass haircare market with the acquisition of Not Your Mother’s, a fast-growing brand that has demonstrated digital agility and longevity at a time when unrelenting trend cycles have tripped up many beauty businesses.

In fiscal year 2025, Henkel discloses that Not Your Mother’s generated approximately 190 million euros or around $210 million in sales based on the average exchange rate last year and delivered double-digit growth and a strong gross margin. Press reports suggested sales growth of as much as 40% last year. The conglomerate, headquartered in Düsseldorf, bought the brand from private equity firm Main Post Partners in a deal investment bank Barclays estimates at 800 million euros or roughly $927 million, putting its valuation at more than 4X sales.

The transaction extends Main Post Partners’ robust record of beauty deals. It was previously involved in exits for Hydrafacial, Too Faced, Milk Makeup and Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare. For Henkel, a haircare stalwart with brands such as Schwarzkopf, Got2B, DevaCurl, Alterna, SexyHair and eSalon in its portfolio, Not Your Mother’s provides greater exposure in the United States, where market research firm Circana estimates mass haircare sales rose 4% in 2025. North America constituted 28% of Henkel’s 2024 sales. Overall, the company’s sales grew organically 2.6% last year to 21.6 billion euros or about $25 billion.

In a statement, Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel says, “The planned acquisition of Not Your Mother’s reinforces Henkel’s strategy to expand its portfolio through compelling, value‑adding M&A activities. With this transaction, we will significantly enhance our presence in the North American consumer hair segment. This acquisition offers the potential for consumer-focused innovation and to accelerate the growth dynamics of our consumer business.”

Wolfgang König, EVP of consumer brands for Henkel, adds, “Not Your Mother’s is a perfect strategic fit for our hair business. The brand represents a distinct and strong brand equity combined with insight‑driven innovations and strong digital marketing expertise. This acquisition opens opportunities for innovation and synergies with our renowned expertise in hair care and styling in the U.S., the largest global hair market.”

Henkel shares slipped on Monday following the announcement of the acquisition, closing about 2.4% lower to around 72.88 euros on the Frankfurt exchange, down from a previous close near 74.64 euros. Over the past year, the stock has traded within a 52-week range of roughly 65 to 88 euros, reflecting modest performance amid cautious growth expectations for the company’s consumer brands business. The company expects organic sales growth of about 1% to 2% this fiscal year, after lowering its earlier outlook of 1.5% to 3.5% in a softer macroeconomic environment.

Not Your Mother’s was founded in 2010 by married couple Rocky and Bethany Pagliarulo through DeMert Brands, the haircare company they acquired in 2000. Professionäl and Hi Pro Pac are among its other haircare brands. Not Your Mother’s has become a teen favorite, and CMO Charlene Patten told Beauty Independent last year that it was haircare’s leading growth producer on TikTok. Investment bank Piper Sandler’s semiannual survey of American teens released last fall showed that, out of 10,000 Americans aged 13 to 19 years old, 11% named the affordable mass-market brand as their top pick in haircare, besting Amika’s 8% and L’Oréal’s 7%.

Part of Not Your Mother’s popularity is due to a teeming product release calendar. The brand introduces 25 to 30 products a year to help capture teens’ mind and wallet share. Patten informed Beauty Independent that, while trends play an important role in the brand’s product development, it isn’t too fast to jump on them and builds on the successes it’s had with collections like Curl Talk, Clean Freak and Beach Babe.

Curl Talk is responsible for about 40% of sales, with Defining Cream, Activating Mousse and Sculpting Gel the collection’s bestsellers. Not Your Mother’s products are priced from $7.99 to $11.99. Not Your Mother’s is available in over 40,000 stores nationwide, including Ulta Beauty, Target, Walmart, H-E-B, CVS, Walgreens, Meijer and Kroger, and retail accounts for almost all of its revenue.

“What’s interesting about Not Your Mother’s is that it built a strong, accessible brand with a clear voice for younger consumers and proved it could drive real velocity in mass,” says Stephanie Farsht, co-founder and CEO of haircare brand Small Wonder who formerly identified and managed innovations for Target. “That makes it a compelling acquisition for a strategic like Henkel looking for brands with both cultural relevance and retail momentum.”

“The brand represents a distinct and strong brand equity combined with insight‑driven innovations and strong digital marketing expertise.”

Adhesive technology currently makes up more than 50% of Henkel’s portfolio, followed by laundry and home care at just under 30%, with hair and other consumer sectors coming in around 20%. Prior to revealing the Not Your Mother’s deal, Henkel announced last month that it was acquiring Dutch adhesive technology company Stahl for $2.5 billion. Brands under the laundry umbrella include Persil, Perwoll, Somat and Bref.

Barclays predicts the size of Henkel’s haircare business could meet its laundry business by 2030. In getting there, Warren Ackerman, managing director and head of European consumer staples research at Barclays, characterizes the Not Your Mother’s deal as an anomaly for the company. In a note, he writes that Not Your Mother’s as an acquisition target is a bit of a departure “from what we have seen in the past in that it is a local business and more growth-oriented than the value-type deals that Henkel has prioritized in the past.”

Henkel doesn’t appear to be done dealmaking. Barclays estimates it has 10 billion euros of “acquisition firepower.” The German consumer goods giant is reportedly in talks to acquire Olaplex. Ackerman says, “Henkel continues to be linked with Olaplex, and this [Not Your Mother’s] deal today shows that Henkel is prepared to use its balance sheet to dilute the weight of laundry.”

Dealmaking has been active in haircare lately, and beauty industry insiders anticipate the category will continue to be a deal trigger. Color Wow sold to L’Oréal in a $1 billion transaction finalized in September. In July, the publication Axios reported that prestige haircare brand Amika hired investment bank Raymond James to explore options.

Rōz, Odele, Gisou, Crown Affair and Jupiter are among the other haircare brands to watch. Outside of Nexus Capital Management’s acquisition of MAV Beauty Brands, which includes Marc Anthony True Professional, Renpure, Cake Beauty and The Mane Choice, in 2023 for approximately $258 million, it has been relatively quiet in the mass haircare segment.