Shane Wolf, Global President of Aveda and Bumble & Bumble at the Estée Lauder Companies, discusses the principals that drive the brand across the world and the innovations that hair professionals can look forward to.
In July 2024, Shane Wolf took on the role of President of Global Brands Aveda and Bumble & Bumble at the Estée Lauder Companies.
With more than 25 years of hair care experience across brand management, marketing, education and artistry, Wolf is a veteran in this space. As part of his new role, he is focussed on the brand’s growth strategy – an endeavour that brought him to Indian shores at the re-launch of Aveda for hair professionals, in association with Streamline Beauty.
In an exclusive interaction with Kanishka Ramchandani, he discusses the principals that drive the brand across the world and the innovations that hair professionals can look forward to.
With Indian hair professionals having access to Aveda, what is the plan going forward?
Aveda was founded in the salon industry by a hairdresser – Horst Rechelbacher – who had his own salons and created the brand in order to ensure that he had safe products for him to use, for his guests to use, and safe for the environment as well. So, the professional channel has always been the heartbeat at Aveda. There was a moment where the idea was that maybe to reach consumers broadly and quickly, we should do some other channels, and that’s okay—there’s nothing wrong with that in today’s world.
But there’s never been any such thing as a prestige professional haircare brand that has succeeded sustainably without having a strong foundation in the salon channel. We, as hairdressers, have always been and will always be what makes prestige professional haircare unique in the market. So, the salon channel will be the heartbeat of everything we do going forward.
How did this association with Streamline Beauty come about?
By divine intervention, I believe. We really needed to have a partner here locally who has the respect of the salon community and who has at their heart the same priority that we have, which is to ensure the success of every salon and every hairdresser that we work with. And that really underscores perfectly how Streamline operates as a company.
What are your plans for India?
First, to be here as often as I possibly can be because I love it so much. To grow the salon channel in a meaningful way, and by that, I really mean to ensure that the fastest-growing and most successful salons in India are partners of Aveda.
In India, hair care is very popular, and given our population, there is room for everyone. However, hair colour is a very niche segment, and you already have all the big players here. How do you perceive competition in that sphere?
Well, first, competition is a really healthy thing in the market. It ensures that we all deliver our very best. It provides options to make choices. Transparently, Aveda hair colour is very unique and may not be for everyone, and that’s okay. What I mean by that is Aveda hair colour is naturally derived, it is vegan, and it is ultimately personalised because we don’t sell pre-mixed hair colour. We sell pure tones that the hairdresser mixes to suit every individual consumer need.
So, for some stylists who prefer the simplicity of just choosing a shade that’s already been mixed for you, we might not be the right partner, and that’s okay. For an advanced hairdresser who really understands hair colour theory and who wants to create a formula that is ultimately customisable, naturally derived, and vegan, then we’re an ideal choice. So, I consider the addition of Aveda hair colour in the market to be very complementary to what is already available.
How important is hair education for Aveda?
Critical! Horst himself was a hairdresser. I’m a hairdresser as the global president of the brand. I started my career in education—it was my first job. I believe, as Horst always said, there’s no such thing as sales. There’s only education.
Do you think all the Aveda ranges and all its products should work in India on Indian hair?
Not all of them. We have a few particular ranges that have been optimised specifically for the launch in India, including Invati, which is a range designed specifically to address concerns about hair fall, which we know is a huge concern in India, especially after the pandemic. We’re all so nervous about losing our hair.
Scalp Solutions—being very much this notion that healthy hair begins with a healthy scalp—is very much in line with Indian principles of beauty. Botanical Repair is a range for a consumer base that is becoming increasingly interested in hair colour and texture services, bringing a remarkable level of repair for the hair using powerful plant extracts. So, these three ranges, in particular, stand out to me as being the most interesting for Indian hair.
I’ll also say that our future plans, if I could give you a little hint about what’s to come, will definitely be targeting the opportunities in the treatment space for Indian hair. So, watch out for something really disruptive.
One last question, the most difficult one—which is your favourite product?
Oh, that is really difficult. Can I have one per category?
In haircare, my favourite is Invati shampoo and conditioner. I have very fine, thin hair, and so I count the hairs in my brush every morning. The good thing is with Invati, I don’t have to know how to count very high. So, that’s good.
In our skincare range, my favourite is the Botanical Kinetics Purifying Gel Cleanser. The aroma is divine—I love it so much.
In our body care range, my favourite is Rosemary Mint Body Wash because in the morning, I need a little extra pep to make it through my morning ritual, my morning run.
And in our aroma category, my favourite is Chakra 6.