Maria Nila

Maria Nila is a Swedish professional haircare company founded in 1999 by Ann and Ulf Wikström [7]. It makes vegan, colour-protecting shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling products, sold through salons and retailers in 45 countries across three continents [2]. The brand is headquartered in Stockholm, with its own production plant in southern Sweden, and remains run by the founding family.

By 2022 the company reported turnover of EUR 45 million and was described in trade press as the leading professional haircare brand in Sweden. In 2023 the LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton took a significant minority stake, and in 2024 Maria Nila became a certified B Corporation [4].

The company began in 1999 in a garage in southern Sweden, where Ann and Ulf Wikström's interest in professional haircare grew popular with local hairdressers. Production is still based near that original site, and editorial coverage notes the brand is "still run by the founding family" [9].

The name comes from Ann's great-grandmother, Maria Nila, a Sámi woman from northern Sweden. According to the company, she was known for her respect for nature, wildlife and community, and that outlook is presented as the root of the brand's ethos. Marketing director Hedda Mirow has described the story as going back to "the Sámi woman Maria Nila in northern Sweden, rooted in care for nature, wildlife, and community" [6].

Maria Nila remained independent and family-led for its first two decades. In September 2023, L Catterton's Europe fund acquired a significant minority stake; the terms were not disclosed [7]. L Catterton is a private equity firm backed by LVMH that manages roughly USD 34 billion in equity capital across several platforms. Marcus Wikström continued as chief executive following the investment, and the company has continued to describe itself as family-run.

The company positions itself around professional, fully vegan, colour-protecting haircare. According to Maria Nila, it creates products that are "friendly to your hair, animals, and the planet," and it summarises its mission as innovating "beauty towards a friendlier world for nature, wildlife and humanity." The brand frames its work around three stated values: friendly, curious and honest.

Its products are aimed at salon and professional clients as well as consumers seeking vegan, ethically positioned haircare. Liberty London has described the brand's audience as a "cult following" [6].

Two launches anchor the range. Colour Refresh, introduced in 2014, is a semi-permanent, pigmented home-colour line; Head & Hair Heal, a shampoo and conditioner duo launched in 2016, is positioned as a multi-concern scalp treatment. The Heal formulas combine aloe vera, Vitamin E, piroctone olamine and peptides, which one retailer review credited with soothing the scalp and supporting hair growth [9].

Across its colour-protecting lines, Maria Nila uses a proprietary Colour Guard Complex, described as reducing colour loss caused by washing, heat styling, UV exposure and free radicals, alongside ingredients such as pomegranate extract and argan oil [5]. The company states that its entire range is free from sulphates and parabens and is certified by PETA, The Leaping Bunny, Vegan Society and Plan Vivo [2].

The Swedish pop artist Zara Larsson collaborated with the brand on three Colour Refresh shades — Poster Girl Pink, So Good Copper and Uncover Violet — in a campaign developed at the company's Stockholm head office [8].

Sustainability is central to how Maria Nila presents itself. The company operates a solar-powered production plant in Sweden and says it donates 2% of net sales toward environmental, wildlife and community causes [4]. It climate-compensates its carbon emissions through Plan Vivo and reports having contributed to planting more than 280,000 square metres of forest in Nicaragua since 2016.

In 2024 Maria Nila became a certified B Corporation with a score of 114.3, against a minimum of 80 points required, and states that it was the first Swedish professional haircare brand to earn the certification [4].

The brand has drawn coverage from beauty-industry and retailer publications. BeautyMatter reported the 2023 L Catterton investment and characterised Maria Nila as the leading professional haircare brand in Sweden. Liberty London, in a Beauty Hall of Fame feature, described the Head & Hair Heal duo as "swiftly on its way to becoming the most covetable name in haircare" [9].

Maria Nila is an active, expanding business. It reported EUR 45 million in turnover for 2022, secured private-equity backing in 2023, achieved B Corp certification in 2024, and continues to release new products such as Bond Builder and Mirror Gloss [4].