Introducing Medulla — Japan’s first personalized shampoo

A shampoo product that personalizes to each consumer, Medulla is offering a new genre of haircare product to the Japanese market. But what are their chances when that market is already so crowded? We take a look at what makes Medulla and its sales strategy unique.

Having already made it big in the US, personalized shampoo has finally arrived in Japan in the form of Medulla from manufacturer Sparty.

The service consists of users first answering an online questionnaire with seven questions that cover things like what condition your hair and scalp are in, any peculiarities you may have, and your preferred style and scent. Using this data, a shampoo customized uniquely to the user is then prepared and delivered to their doorstep. In terms of variation, there are potentially over 100 different combinations of shampoo that can be created to suit user’s needs, and pricing involves a 6,800 yen (approx. $62) monthly subscription which will get you your monthly shampoo and treatment requirements delivered to you in timely fashion.

However, the haircare market in Japan is already saturated with over 10,000 different products. Can Medulla, a unique newcomer, hope to stand a chance?

A sales strategy where communication is key

The areas of hair care products, cosmetics and supplements have always been ideal for personalization, as people’s needs and worries are all unique to the individual. Already in the West, such personalizable products have gained large popularity, as seen in brands such as Function of Beauty and Prose, and their companies are rapidly raising funds through venture capital. Especially with countries that are home to a variety of races, such as the US, people’s skin color and hair type vary dramatically, and finding the right products to suit you can be a daunting task. It is primarily for this reason that personalized products are proving so popular.

But in Japan, there is just not the same range of variety in hair type — in fact hair types here can all be divided into just eight different groups. Due to this, instead of honing down the customizable components to even further levels of detailed classification, Sparty has opted to lay importance on product design and communication between customers in order to substantiate the user experience to the fullest.

Specifically speaking, they’ve raised the quality of the Medulla website by focusing on a clean design, an appealing look and ease of use. In giving the bottle and its packaging a more sophisticated image they’ve bestowed it with a look of elegance that fits in well with your bathroom — something essential for the Instagram generation. They’ve also designed personalized tags to go around the product, showcasing the user’s name in order to bring out that special sense of customization.

In addition, Sparty takes in comments and requests from users every month and then incorporates such feedback in the user’s batch for next month. If the user wants it to be a little moister, or to keep the current main ingredients but alter the color or scent, they can look forward to the next version of their shampoo to be updated accordingly. This is an interesting feature that has raised the user persistency rate of the product. Sparty says that the repeat rate from when the service started to just over three months (the rate of second-time purchasing) has surpassed 80%, indicating a high level of customer satisfaction.

On the marketing side, they’ve increased face-to-face contact with users by opening limited-time pop-up stores, which have widened recognition and in turn accelerated online purchases. Here visitors are treated to an explanation of the product, and staff also guide them through the online process of configuring their custom shampoos.

Also, Sparty has teamed up with select salons to allow their customers to try out Medulla in-store free of charge. Although your own personalized shampoo can’t be made on the spot there, the salons do have a set of common assorted patterns allowing you to customize to a certain extent.

Towards the next phase

The next step for Medulla is already under preparation. Along with improving the user persistency rate even further and reducing costs, they’re also aiming to develop new products such as hair oils, expand into other fields, and also work on building fan communities. As for overseas expansion, currently they are considering the Asian market, focusing particularly on Taiwan.

Looking towards the future, Sparty has plans to use the experience from Medulla to release their production line to other companies and individuals in order to allow them to sell their own customized hair care products with their own unique brands. This could allow interesting opportunities for influencers and other enterprises to create their own haircare lines while avoiding inventory risk. Sparty takes the stance that if it will widen the market for personalized products then the participation of other businesses is very much welcome. With such a long term outlook in their strategy, we can’t help but be excited about their future initiatives.

Translation: Ching Li Tor
Original text (Japanese): Jumpei Notomi