Kiwi business Monday renews Costco Warehouse US contract

A Kiwi business has broken into the US Costco market. Photo / Supplied

A Kiwi business has renewed its contract to sell its products in the giant United States membership-only Costco Warehouse.

Making it big in the US is every Kiwi manufacturer’s dream come true: the chain has 572 US and Puerto Rico stores alone.

Monday hair care co-founder Jaimee Lupton said the company’s second programme was launching this week, following its January launch.

She initially got a three-month contract.

“Based on success, you get a 12-week slot. In our first 12 weeks starting in January, Monday became the number one hair care brand in Costco US for that period,” Lupton said.

According to Costco’s annual report, net sales for its 52-week fiscal year in 2021 totalled US$192 billion ($299b), up 18 per cent. Net income for the year was US$5b.

Costco Warehouse New Zealand opened on September 28 at 2 Gunton Drive, Westgate.

Lupton is the partner of billionaire entrepreneur Nick Mowbray, who with his family established a global toy manufacturing company Zuru.

The products are manufactured in China with “best-in-class ingredients and manufacturing facilities in China, in compliance with all regulations in the countries they’re sold in”, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and the UAE.

Lupton announced the renewal at Costco on social media this week. She said the brand pitched to Costco US more than a year ago and quickly became “very successful” with American customers.

Lupton said it’s “great to be a truly global brand”, but said getting the products into the US market was “extremely hard”.

“They only take brands they know will be a success.”

The Herald reported Monday hair care’s defence against criticism about the products in 2020.

While some users said the product was the best on the market, others said their hair had been “burned” and blamed the silicone in the Monday shampoo reacting with bleach when they coloured their hair.

The company said four customers had complained of experiencing a chemical reaction during colouring, but “after doing thorough due diligence, we have not been able to draw any direct links between Monday and the interactions”.

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Lupton said she and her team had contacted those who raised issues with the product. Monday stated it is always open to receiving feedback on its website and social media and encouraged consumers to contact it directly so it could help provide adequate resolutions.

The co-founder said this digital focus is the key to their international popularity.

“We’re the number one hair care brand on TikTok and we’re targeting a younger Gen Z/Millennial audience.”

Monday has gained more than 260,000 TikTok followers on its “Cult hair without the cult price tag” branding. The online attention has allowed the business, which launched two and a half years ago, to expand to 23 countries, including Germany, Canada, the UK and the UAE.