With the announcement of Chalon, Jaimee Lupton marks two major launches in the span of eight weeks. Ashleigh Cometti talks to the co-founder of Monday Haircare about her great ambitions for continued growth.
Jaimee Lupton is in a constant state of reinvention.
Like many entrepreneurs, she’s excelled in various areas
Now, Jaimee has reinvented herself once more, this time as a mum to daughter Noa whom she and fiance Nick welcomed earthside on March 21.
Her transition to motherhood has been a smooth one thus far, she says, adding that she’s been able to rely on her “incredible” global team of 100, which brings together top talent situated in New Zealand, Australia, China, the US and Canada.
At just seven weeks old, Noa has made regular appearances at the Zuru Edge office in Auckland’s Freemans Bay — no less than 10, says Jaimee.
“What about maternity leave?” I hear you ask. Well, when you’re busy building a beauty empire, it doesn’t really exist.
“Before she was here, I wanted to schedule my leave — with ‘on’ days and ‘off’ days — but it doesn’t really work like that. I just go with the flow, which is very against my personality. But so far, it’s worked well,” Jaimee says.
A newborn Noa was present at Jaimee’s most recent beauty launch for Osana Naturals in mid-April, a ritual-led range of hair and body care products, which was hosted inside Jaimee and Nick’s Mahoenui Valley mansion in Coatesville.
Jaimee maintains the importance of surrendering to this go-with-the-flow mentality and squeezing in work when she can; mindful that she wants her daughter to bear witness to her mother’s business nous as much as her father’s.
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Advertise with NZME.“I think purpose is important in an environment where she’s going to have access to a lot,” Jaimee says.
“I want her to wake up every day and, like we do, feel passionate about what she’s doing. To look at her mum and say: ‘What dad can do; mum can do’.”
This year is shaping up to be a stellar one for Zuru Edge’s beauty division, with only eight weeks between the launch of Osana Naturals and its next venture: Chalon.
Interestingly, Osana Naturals and Chalon both highlight bodycare formulations, but Jaimee maintains Chalon has a more luxurious bent — drawing comparisons with the likes of esteemed fragrance houses Jo Malone London and Byredo.
“We worked with a Parisian perfumer Alexandre Freile to create three unique scents — Mandarin & Basil, Rose & Sandalwood and Lavender & Chamomile. Each was developed using a patented fragrance technology with double the scent molecules, meaning it lasts longer on your hands or body,” Jaimee says.
“We’re big on bringing experts in to be able to help us curate and develop the brand, so [Alexandre] was instrumental. It’s an elevated offering that’s like nothing that’s been seen on supermarket shelves before.”
By delivering premium fragrance body care en masse (and pricing it sub $10) Jaimee has proven that — once again — she’s successfully democratising beauty.
This has been her mission from the outset, developing products that align with her ethos of being dermatologically tested, cruelty-free, crafted from recyclable materials and free from sulphates and parabens, but at an affordable price point.
Chalon has been in the pipeline for as long as Monday Haircare. However, as Monday gained momentum, Jaimee decided to keep the masstige bodycare brand on ice for a while longer. As of 2024, Monday is available from 100 retailers in 33 countries, and is on track to turn over $300 million in retail sales this year.
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Jaimee teases that in the next 18 months alone 15 new brands are in the pipeline, spanning personal care, deodorant, clinical haircare and personal fragrance. A self-proclaimed beauty obsessive, Jaimee says skincare is her next mountain.
“The reason I got into beauty is I’m a huge beauty consumer myself. I absolutely love it. I love talking to anyone about it,” she says.
“It’s wild to see how far Monday has come. We are doing stuff on a world stage from teams in Sydney, New Zealand, and China.”
Creating products inspired by luxury beauty items at a much lower price point is not without its challenges, but operating out of a custom-built research and development facility in Shanghai certainly helps.
“It’s a fun little journey of what we’re able to produce and democratise. We’re constantly asking ourselves how we can make beauty products for less than $10, and sometimes we can, and sometimes we can’t,” Jaimee says.
“A lot of brands get left on the cutting room floor or put on hold for various reasons.”
With its R&D team spearheaded by Dr Kelly Zhang, an ex-head formulator at L’Oreal, Jaimee explains being able to do everything in-house has meant Zuru Edge’s beauty division can innovate faster than ever.
But with such rapid growth, is it possible for new brands to remain conscious and considered?
Jaimee thinks so. Each brand operates within strict parameters — a laundry list of non-negotiables on what’s left out of formulas, along with an autonomous approach to product testing and ingredient sourcing.
“Our cruelty-free formulas are free from sulphates, parabens, silicones, aluminium and other heavy metals,” she says.
“We procure all our raw ingredients ourselves, which are pure in the sense that they have fewer nasties in them than if we were to source them from a different supplier.”
Despite being Zuru Edge beauty’s figurehead, Jaimee is quick to acknowledge the leverage that Monday and other brands in the stable have benefitted from as part of the Zuru empire.
For years before Monday launched, Nick and Mat were selling Zuru toys at department stores including CVS, Costco, Target and Walmart across the US.
“These relationships with key retailers have been important for Monday. They’ve helped us put the brand on a rocket ship, which has been exciting,” Jaimee says.
“We like to play in the big parts of the sandpit.”
As a result, the Zuru Edge beauty team has developed a handful of brands in response to retailers’ needs — like Being, which is launching exclusively with Walmart in June.
Now more than ever, Jaimee is thinking about the legacy she’ll leave behind for Noa, and the importance of staying true to her mission to democratise beauty for the next generation.
“It’s important to meet those consumer needs and build those communities around beauty lovers,” Jaimee says, adding that while this is commonplace with beauty speciality brands, she’s proud to have been able to achieve this with Monday Haircare, too.
“It’s more than just a product, it’s a community.”
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