Meena Harris spoke to Vanity Fair about becoming a "Monday Muse" for Kiwi brand Monday haircare. Photo / Getty Images
Meena Harris spoke to Vanity Fair about becoming a "Monday Muse" for Kiwi brand Monday haircare. Photo / Getty Images
Meena Harris, US lawyer and author, has announced she is the latest "Muse" for the New Zealand-founded Monday haircare brand.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair in the US, Meena Harris, niece of US Vice-President Kamala Harris, spoke about her partnership with the Kiwi brand, which has recently entered the US market.
"The packaging [for Monday] is exquisite. It feels a luxury product, but it's more affordable," she told the magazine.
"Making things more accessible in every way is, for me, the theme of the pandemic. I joke that one of my other accomplishments that makes me feel good is just drinking a s**t ton of water in any given day," Harris added.
She "hates" the word "influencer" but does not deny she has the power to affect people's decisions on what to buy and what to wear.
"I think the beauty of the internet and places like Instagram is that anyone can now broadcast that. Often the people that I'm listening to, in terms of quote-unquote influencing me to buy things or do things, are often my peers," Harris explained. "They're not people who have followings or some sort of celebrity. So I think of myself in the same way. I like to— it sounds so cheesy — really talk about things that actually have meaning and a point of view: when you talk about quality and packaging; [brands] that I admire in terms of equity issues; things that are women-founded; focusing on Black-owned companies."
Founded by Jaimee Lupton and her partner Nick Mowbray, of Zuru fame, Monday haircare began in Auckland last year and has now successfully ventured into the US market last month.
"Partnering with Meena Harris is far more than being about Monday as a haircare brand - it's about what she stands for - a mother, a philanthropist, a true leader," Lupton told the Herald.
"She is a woman who has paved the way for female-led businesses and given them a platform. It's about us standing up for more than how we look or how we are supposed to act - it's about challenging the status quo and not accepting how things have been. Meena is exactly what the next generation demand in a role model someone who we can all get behind and support," the brand's founder added.
Lupton says Monday is the first Kiwi beauty brand to be sold in US mass retailers such as Target, Ulta and Amazon.
"We hope that we pioneer the way for other beauty brands to put New Zealand on the map in the global beauty space. We are the first but certainly won't be the last."
Monday Haircare's multi-million-dollar deal with Target
The 28-year-old founder has previously spoken about how the Covid pandemic ended up helping the business.
Lockdown in New Zealand ended up creating the perfect storm for the launch of the brand, as more people had to stay away from salons and shop from supermarkets. Suddenly, that was all that was needed to generate the buzz around the luxury salon-quality brand.
With a higher price tag than regular shampoos, retailing for $8.99, Monday positions itself as somewhat of an "affordable luxury".
In the first week in business, New World supermarkets sold about 40 bottles of the shampoo, per store. At Auckland's Victoria Park alone, the supermarket sold 500 bottles in 12 hours.
Monday haircare launched in the US last month. Photo / Supplied
The same phenomenon happened in Australia, with influencers posting about Monday shampoo from the comfort of their homes in lockdown.
In the US, Lupton says the reception has been "overwhelming".
"With the uncertainty the world is facing right now with the Covid pandemic, consumers more than ever are watching their spending and there is a real need for accessible products. MONDAY is able to fill that gap," the Aucklander told news.com.au last week.
The beauty brand expects to produce 31 million of its signature Instagram-worthy pink bottles this year.
She is also planning to launch a refill pouch, using 80 per cent less plastic than the bottles - so customers can keep and fill up their existing bottles.
"Our team's vision is a big one: When people hear the word Monday we want them to think of us before the day of the week," she told the Australia news site last week.
"It sounds lofty, but at the rate things are going we might just get there."
