Jonah Kaner, son of Oribe cofounder Daniel Kaner, is launching a new hair care brand built on making the category feel less serious. The venture brings together established creative talent from across the beauty industry to challenge conventional approaches to hair products.
Kaner's entry into beauty carries significant pedigree. His father built Oribe into a luxury powerhouse known for high-performance styling products and prestige positioning. Rather than replicate that formula, Jonah is charting a different course. The brand aims to inject personality and playfulness into hair care, a category often dominated by clinical product claims and minimalist aesthetics.
The strategy involves collaboration with recognized creative voices rather than a solo founder model. This approach mirrors how successful indie beauty brands have gained traction by leveraging expert networks and distinctive points of view. The emphasis on "funner" positioning suggests the brand will lean into humor, accessibility, and perhaps irreverent marketing to differentiate itself in a crowded market.
Hair care remains one of beauty's most profitable categories, yet consumer sentiment reveals fatigue with overly technical messaging. Brands like Ouai, Prose, and Olaplex built followings partly by humanizing product development and dropping the salon-exclusive mystique. Kaner appears to recognize this shift in consumer preferences, particularly among younger demographics that expect authenticity and relatability from beauty brands.
Details on formulation, price point, and distribution remain limited, but the involvement of industry veterans suggests serious infrastructure backing the venture. Whether the brand launches direct-to-consumer, through retail partners, or hybrid remains unclear. Given the Kaner family's existing relationships with prestige retailers through Oribe, retail placement wouldn't require building from scratch.
The real test lies in execution. Playful positioning requires products that deliver results without the brand becoming a gimmick. Jonah Kaner enters