SheaMoisture Kicks Off Major Rebrand

The brand's parent, Unilever, acquired its founding company, Sundial Brands, in 2017 when Sundial's turnover was approximately $240 million. The deal was designed to keep Sundial as a standalone unit, with founder Richelieu Dennis continuing as CEO, and included a $50 million initial investment to create the New Voices Fund to empower women of color entrepreneurs. This isn't SheaMoisture's first attempt to broaden its market, which has led to friction with its core customers. In 2017, the brand faced significant backlash for an ad campaign that featured several white women and was perceived as diluting its focus on Black women, who were instrumental in its growth. The 2026 rebrand moves beyond aesthetics to focus on sustainability and ingredient science. A key innovation is the "Zero-Waste Jar," made from 100% post-consumer ocean-bound plastic and compostable mycelium, with labels printed with algae-based ink. Ingredient sourcing is also being overhauled with a "regenerative" model for its shea butter, investing over $12 million since 2023 to replant 500,000 shea trees and train 12,000 women in West African cooperatives in agroforestry. To enhance transparency, new packaging will feature QR codes that link to sourcing maps and third-party lab reports. The brand is also partnering with the University of California, Davis, to clinically validate the efficacy of traditional African botanicals, such as Baobab extract, which was shown in trials to increase hair tensile strength by 39%. For major CPG companies like Unilever, managing the transition of old packaging is a key supply chain process. Unilever systematically moves discontinued or surplus inventory, including items in legacy packaging, through liquidation channels in bulk to discount retailers and wholesale buyers. This established pipeline allows for efficient clearing of warehouse space to make way for new products.