OLAPLEX: Business Transformation, Not Just Brand Transformation

In late 2023, OLAPLEX was in need of a transformation. The business was trapped in the category it created.

What followed was a full business overhaul: a redefinition of what OLAPLEX is that unlocked a larger market and drove brand, product and operational innovation. In 2025, Henkel signed an agreement to acquire OLAPLEX for US$1.4bn at a 55% premium.

This session brings together OLAPLEX and value creation company FUNDAMENTALco to examine how brand strategy built around genuine business logic, not aesthetics, becomes the most powerful lever for creating enterprise value.

• When is a brand problem actually a business problem in disguise? And how do you tell the difference?
• How does a repositioning become a roadmap?
• What makes a brand acquisition-worthy, and how do you build toward that intentionally?