Scalp Care Brand Jupiter Launches At Target With A New Look And Lower Prices

From the beginning, nearly 5-year-old brand Jupiter has always believed it can disrupt the established order in the dandruff category. Now, it’s going to where the established order reigns at Target.

In its first mass-market retail launch, Jupiter is rolling out to 1,100 stores at the big-box chain sitting between Arcadia Consumer Healthcare-owned Nizoral and Procter & Gamble-owned Head & Shoulders on the shelves with six products. With revamped packaging and lower prices of $14.99 to $17.99, the products are Hydrating Shampoo, Deep Moisturizing Conditioner and Renewing Scalp Moisturizer in the Dry Scalp Care collection and Balancing Shampoo, Nourishing Conditioner and Restoring Serum in the Anti-Dandruff collection.

Industry sources estimate Jupiter’s sales could reach $20 million with the expansion. The brand’s sales climbed 100% last year, and this year it’s on course to break even or cross into profitability. In four rounds, it’s raised a total of $7 million in funding from investors including Willow Growth Partners, Springdale Ventures and InviNext Growth Partners.

“This really is a David and Goliath story. Our competition is one of the largest consumer product companies in the world,” says Robbie Salter, co-founder and co-CEO of Jupiter. “They’re servicing their customer in a way that they have for a very long time. We’re nipping at their toes, and I think we’re doing a really nice job offering the product to somebody who’s been left out of the conversation for a very long time.”

In a male-dominated dandruff segment, Salter specifies that somebody is a woman often going through hormonal changes from pregnancy, perimenopause or menopause and experiencing scalp irritation and flaking. Women have flocked to the dandruff category, which on a global basis is expected to advance at a compound annual growth rate of 6.5% from $9.3 billion in 2023 to $17.5 billion by 2033, according to MarketResearch, and scalp care broadly since the pandemic and triggered increased retail interest.

“This really is a David and Goliath story.”

As Jupiter looks to enlarge Target’s dandruff-related sales, it plans to bring women shoppers to the dandruff section and keep them coming back. Salter says its products are intended for the scalp serious incorporating scalp care products in their routines long term rather than the scalp curious dabbling in them.

“We are and forever will be a scalp serious-type of company,” he elaborates. “As we think about expanding, it’s into areas like launching a styling product addressing one of the biggest violators of creating scalp issues. We are aiming to create a product that’s best in class and advancing the health of the scalp.”

Jupiter didn’t want to strike a deal with Target until the time was right. It participated in the Target Takeoff accelerator program in 2022 and was given a spot at the retailer when it ended, but declined then because it felt it wasn’t ready. To get ready, it conducted a 1,700-person study of consumers and pricing analysis to learn about where they prefer to shop for scalp care products—physical locations came out on top—and what they’ll pay for them.

Informed by its pricing analysis and Target’s expertise, Jupiter slashed its prices to under $18 from $25 for shampoos and conditioners and $29 for serums. With the price reduction, its bottles have moved from 9.5-oz. to 8.5-oz. sizes. However, customers on its website will be able to purchase 14-oz. sizes of its shampoos and conditioners for $25.

“We are and forever will be a scalp serious-type of company.”

Jupiter’s products are sold at a premium in the mass-market dandruff category and considered masstige, a pricing tier between mass and prestige that’s been strong in the beauty industry recently as consumers have traded down from prestige for value or up from mass for improved benefits and formulas. Head & Shoulders, central to P&G’s 20% command of the haircare market along with Pantene, prices many of its products at around $10 or below.

Also to get ready for Target, Jupiter has a new design meant to quickly draw people perusing the aisles at stores. It clearly defines the brand’s two collections, Dry Scalp Care and Anti-Dandruff, the names of which are placed prominently on bottles. Dry Scalp Care products are housed in yellow packaging in a nod to jackfruit, an ingredient in their formulas. Anti-Dandruff products are housed in tan packaging in a nod to the coconut oil in their formulas. The products are sealed with an iridium sticker that reads, “Where science meets the salon.”

To help it with its design refresh, Jupiter hired Mackenzie Gaul, former art director at Weholden, an agency known for alcohol brand clients, last year as senior design director. At the start of this year, it brought on board Amanda Arfman, former director of PR and partnerships at Bubble, as VP of PR, influencer and affiliate. Arfman is busy with content creator and community efforts to spread the word about Jupiter’s arrival at Target. The brand is distributing 500 PR boxes and leveling up paid and unpaid influencer relationships. Out-of-home and direct mail campaigns are on the table.

Jupiter is working with the retail firm The CPG by MPG on its Target partnership. While the chain represents the brand’s mass-market debut, it has been in retail before. It’s carried by Bergdorf Goodman, Dermstore and Beautylish and is sold on Amazon and Peloton Marketplace. In addition, it’s in 150-plus dermatology practices, salons and barbershops.

Succeeding at Target is clearly Jupiter’s focus at the moment. However, it could unlock a larger mass-market retail push for the brand long term. Salter says its overarching goal is “to make millions more confident. So, it’s really who can give us the biggest footprint to reach the largest number of people offering products of the quality that we’re delivering at the scale that we want.”