From the salon to the shelves: Fudge Professional’s new launch into Superdrug

In the UK, the premium hair care brand Fudge Professional has launched 29 of its products into 550 of Superdrug’s stores, and on to the retailer’s ecommerce site.

The range will include its iconic award-winning purple shampoo, Clean Blonde Damage Rewind as well as styling heroes such as Salt Spray, Aqua Blow Dry Primer and men’s bestsellers Shaper and Matte Hed.

This is the first time the Fudge Professional products have been available on the UK high-street and the brand is celebrating the move by offering Superdrug Beautycard holders one-third off all products for the first month of launch.

The global brand lead for hair care at Fudge Professional, Rachel Austin, said the move was “all about timing.” 

“We have built up a loyal cult following with our professional products since we launched in the UK over 30 years ago, but the retail demand from our end customer has changed since our initial salon professional retail distribution,” she explained. 

“The new distribution has been led by a need for the consumer wanting to buy their hair products alongside their day-to-day beauty essentials.  As such, we’re really pleased to be partnering with the Superdrug team as an exclusive professional hair brand knowing that this is an exciting opportunity for both parties,” she continued. 

More consumers buying hair care on the high street ​

According to Austin, the lines between what is considered a traditional ‘salon professional’ brand and a ‘high street’ hair care brand are now starting to blur.  

“We are a professional hair care brand that is continuing to sell through our salon distribution channel, but the high street is where many consumers are buying their hair essentials, so we are now widening the appeal,” she explained. 

She also added that Fudge hairdressers will continue to provide the expert advise on how to correctly use the products in a salon environment, but that the consumer now has more retail opportunities to buy its products between salon visits. 

“Consumers have been buying ‘salon brands’ online for many years through e-tailers, so this move to the high street is a natural progression,” she shared.   

Salon blondes: the main trend in hair colour ​

The brand’s hero range continues to be its iconic Clean Blonde Damage Rewind category and Austin said this is because the blonde hair care market continues to increase significantly in the UK.

“This tells us that salon blondes are the main trend in hair colour,” she said. “Purple shampoos and conditioners are in high demand and outsell our other haircare products, consistently.”

Men are more loyal to their brands ​

Fudge Professional has also been a leading unisex brand for many years, particularly for its styling range, and Austin pointed out that “Men tend to be very loyal to their brands and will consciously seek out the same product repeatedly.”   

“We will always have our hero men’s products like our very first product and bestselling cult product, Hair Shaper, as well as our Matte Hed portfolio,” she shared.

Fudge Professional global ambassador, Jonathan Andrew, also shared his insights on male grooming hair trends for 2024, stating that it “is all about embracing natural texture for men, so you’ll be seeing more natural curls, waves, and afros. Products that will complement this are needed, so think salt sprays, matte clays and defining products to work with the natural texture.”