Define

Define is a Norwegian haircare brand launched in 2002 [2]. It sells shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling products through grocery and drugstore channels, and is owned by Orkla Home & Personal Care AS, part of the Norwegian conglomerate Orkla [5]. The brand positions itself as professional-grade haircare developed with Nordic hairdressers but priced for everyday retail, and remains active: it relaunched its full range with new packaging and reformulated products in February 2026 [6].

According to the brand, Define was created to make salon-quality haircare available in ordinary shops, with formulas suited to Scandinavian hair and lifestyles. The company describes its products as "high-quality at a good price," developed in collaboration with professional stylists.

Define's own account credits the hairdresser Lise Holm-Glad, described as a recognised Norwegian stylist, as the brand's founder and developer [2]. A stylist team was assembled in 2001, a year before launch, to build the products around professional salon expertise and Scandinavian market knowledge.

A VG advertorial — sponsored content rather than independent editorial — frames the origin slightly differently, stating that Orkla initiated the project to create salon-quality haircare for grocery retail and recruited Holm-Glad, a former Oslo cosmetology instructor, to lead it [7]. The two accounts are consistent rather than contradictory: Holm-Glad is the named founder and developer, while Orkla, the parent company, originated and backed the venture. All sources place the launch in 2002.

Define is owned by Orkla Home & Personal Care AS, the home and personal-care arm of Orkla. The company's transparency-act disclosure confirms that Define operates under Orkla's corporate policies [4], and Orkla Home & Personal Care lists Define among its portfolio alongside brands such as Zalo, Omo, Jif, Lano, Grumme, HTH and Bliw [5]. Orkla describes itself as the Nordic region's leading and Norway's largest supplier of home and personal-care products, operating in Norway with distributing markets in Sweden and Finland.

The brand's stated aim is to give customers quality products, inspiration and advice so they can feel good about their hair every day, with formulas matched to Scandinavian needs. Its tagline, "Utviklet med nordiske frisører" (Developed with Nordic hairdressers), reflects this positioning, and the company emphasises input from professional stylists in product development. Define says it maintains in-house expertise to support its formulations, including chemists and a toxicologist working directly on its hair products [2].

Define is a multi-channel, drugstore-tier brand, and its strongest market claim is reach: the company states it became Norway's largest haircare brand in grocery retail four months after launch [7], and describes itself as Norway's largest haircare series in the grocery trade [2].

Define's range is exclusively haircare, organised into product lines that each pair a shampoo with a matching conditioner: Moroccan Argan Oil, Clean & Healthy, Weightless Shine, Strength & Rebuild and Pure Blonde, alongside treatments such as a leave-in and a repair mask, styling products, dry shampoo and a line for men. Its best-selling products are the Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo and Balsam.

Hero ingredients highlighted across the range include argan oil, seaweed, coconut oil, rice protein and shea butter. The February 2026 relaunch reintroduced the core lines with updated formulations — for example, rice protein in the Weightless Shine line for volume, and coconut oil in Strength & Rebuild for damaged hair [6].

Define states that none of its products or ingredients are tested on animals, describing itself as cruelty-free [2]. Its transparency-act page documents compliance with Norway's Åpenhetsloven (Transparency Act), under which the company follows Orkla's policy on human and labour rights and refers to the parent group's corporate disclosures for fuller detail [4]. No vegan, organic or other third-party certifications are stated.

Define is an active brand. Its most recent recorded activity is the February 2026 relaunch of its full haircare assortment with new design and improved formulations, announced through an Orkla Home & Personal Care press release [6]. The brand's core market is Norway, with its parent distributing to Sweden and Finland.