Salon hair care is a mature, competitive sector dominated by big brands, but even a smaller company can record sales growth that outpaces the gains posted by the category overall.
 
Glop & Glam Hair Products is one such company. The Santa Barbara, CA-based maker of children’s hair care products, tallied 50% annual sales growth in 2014.
 
Company officials point to improved brand and category awareness, strengthened partnerships and increased distribution both domestically and internationally for the gain. In fact, 2014 marked the fourth consecutive year of double-digit annual sales growth for Glop & Glam.
 
But that success can also be traced to products that parents trust and kids like to use.
 
Glop & Glam’s focus is to make hair products of the “next generation,” according to co-founder Andrea Ridgell, who as a stylist and salon owner had fielded many questions about what products her clients could use in their kids’ hair.
 
“Being a hairstylist, my initial thoughts always went toward finding a product that really worked well, the mother in me wanted products that were safe for kids. I wasn’t ever able to find a product that met both the needs of parents and the quality required in professional salon,” she told Happi.
 
She and her husband decided to go for broke and develop a full line themselves.
 
“At the time the market really only had shampoos and conditioners for kids and some lice products here and there,” said Ridgell. I was adamant about creating a line of healthy plus fun products, free from harmful chemicals that not only held up to a professional salon environment but went toe-to-toe with any of the leading adult product lines in terms of quality and function.” 
 
As stylist and salon owner, Ridgell played a critical role in the creation of the line.
 
“ I wanted to make sure each product fulfilled my vision, from formulation to function to the packaging and the branding and most importantly the quality,” she said. “ I spent a long time building my reputation in the hair industry and would not feel comfortable putting my name behind anything less than the best products; so hands-on product development was critical to me.”
 
The top three Glop & Glam SKUs are Banana Spike Molding Putty, Cake Batter Hydrating Conditioner and Creamsicle Mist Moisturizing Detangler.

The most recent offering is Vanilla Styling Cream, a lightweight finishing cream that helps with frizz and fly-aways by providing light hold and shine. The firm also reformulated its Chocolate Controller Styling Paste by reducing the weight of the formula, tweaking the function to reach a wider range of hair types and improving the scent.
 
Scent is big part of Glop & Glam’s identity, according to Ridgell.
 
“My vision was to make a product line that created an experience for our customers, rather than just a product. The scent is often times the first thing someone notices about a product and can be a big factor in whether they continue to use it,” she said.
 
And while the scents have been designed to speak to its core demographic, performance matters too.
 
“The key in cultivating the experience for kids and parents alike is to meet their needs at all levels, fun scents, quality products, safe ingredients and a fun, visually appealing factor with the packaging,” Ridgell.
 
In the second half of 2014, Glop & Glam added new distribution partners, expanding reach into southern markets with Life of Riley Salon Supply (FL, GA, SC, NC, AL), the northwest and California markets with Ron Wilson & Associates (northern CA, WA, OR) and Empire Beauty (southern CA) as well as increased distribution with ABC Kids Salon Supply. The firm has also “several strong retail salon partners” domestically and internationally.
 
Currently, Glop & Glam products are in approximately 1,500 doors nationwide.
 
“We have seen tremendous growth in the chain and independent salon channels as the consumer is starting to become more aware of the need for quality hair care products for their kids,” Ridgell added.
 
Glop and Glam is looking to further spread awareness with parents and kids with interactive, hands-on children’s events throughout California. Starting this month the brand will host events in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, San Diego and San Francisco.
 
“Our products allow kids to take ownership of their hair care from an early age and we think that helps promote healthy hair as they get older.”