Olivia Garden

Olivia Garden is a Belgian manufacturer of professional hairdressing tools, founded in 1967 in Liège by Jean and Micheline Rennette [2]. The company makes hair brushes, shears, combs, curlers, dryers and related salon equipment aimed primarily at professional stylists, and reports distribution in more than 102 countries [10]. Its European headquarters is in Herstal, Belgium, and a separate US division has operated from California since 1985.

The business remains family-run into its second generation and is active. Following the death of founder Jean Rennette in January 2025, his children Pierre Rennette and Anne Maza continue as co-owners [7].

The company grew out of an unusual pairing. According to trade press, Jean Rennette was a former schoolteacher and waterski instructor who met Micheline, a hairdresser and esthetician, while waterskiing in France [11]. After marrying, the couple started a cottage business in Liège in 1967, at first making synthetic wigs and hairpieces that Micheline coloured and styled and that were marketed as fashion accessories.

From those origins the company moved steadily into styling tools and, over time, into the professional brushes and shears for which it is now known.

Olivia Garden's early product record leans toward styling hardware. In 1976 it introduced Formulation, which the company describes as its first non-aerosol, eco-friendly liquid line. In 1979 it released the Silence HP blow-dryer, presented as a genuinely silent dryer built with an unbreakable Lexan casing and described by the company as the first of its kind [10]. Through the 1980s it also launched a line of patented perm curlers made without rubber bands.

In 1985 the Rennette family relocated to California and opened a US division, extending the brand beyond Europe. A generational shift followed inside the company: Anne (Rennette) Maza took charge of US marketing and sales in 1995, and Kai Ziekursch joined as general manager of the European office in 2011.

A significant technical step came in 2002 with the Ceramic + Ion collection, which the company states was the first brush in the industry to combine ceramic and ionic technologies [2]. Later hardware included the NanoThermic brush and Dragon shears (2010), the FingerBrush (2013) and the HeatPro brush (2014). By its 50th anniversary in 2017 the company reported distribution in over 102 countries [10]. In 2020 the brand carried out a refresh and logo redesign and opened an in-house salon, the "OG Salon," at its renewed Herstal headquarters.

Olivia Garden is owned and run by the founding family. After Jean Rennette's death, the company stated that his children Pierre Rennette and Anne Maza serve as co-owners and continue its direction [7]. The packet records no outside parent company or acquisition history; the firm is described as an independent, second-generation family business.

The company frames its purpose around the hairdressing profession. It describes its guiding idea as "Make Hairdressing Be Forever," which it calls its North Star, and states a mission to "make hairdressers protagonists on a healthy planet." In its own words it aims to be a long-term companion to stylists across their careers, and it lists passion, creativity and trust as its core values under the tagline "Empowering Hairdresser."

Its distribution has historically centred on the professional channel — salons and hairdressing professionals rather than direct-to-consumer retail. In 2025 the company launched a separate consumer brand, Olivia Garden Club, aimed at at-home routines and sold through selected lifestyle retailers in Europe; it stated that the professional Olivia Garden brand would remain its master brand for salons while the new line addressed consumers [8].

Olivia Garden's range spans hair brushes, shears, combs, curlers, dryers and salon accessories. The company says it has earned more than 55 patents [10], and it markets a series of proprietary technologies including Ceramic + Ion, NanoThermic, Thermovent, HeatPro and Titanium + Ion. Product materials cited by the company include ceramic, ionic technology, Japanese steel, bamboo, titanium and recycled plastics. A separate barber line is sold under the "JEAN by Olivia Garden" name, presented as a tribute to the founder.

Olivia Garden is a Certified B Corporation [4], the third-party standard for social and environmental performance. Among its stated commitments is a pledge to move all packaging to fully recyclable or compostable materials by 2026, alongside lifecycle assessments and greater use of recycled materials.

The company also publishes an external carbon-footprint report. Its European operation reported 3,378 tonnes of CO2e for 2024 and a 15% reduction in carbon intensity per euro of revenue between 2021 and 2024 [9]. The same disclosure describes a relatively small European business, with 38 employees and revenue of 19.9 million euros in 2024.

Coverage in the trade press has focused largely on the company's founder. On his death in January 2025, American Salon, Modern Salon and Salon Magazine in Canada published obituaries noting his role in building a Belgian wig business into a global maker of hair tools [11][12]. The industry title Estetica Export has also profiled the company's flat-iron lines and its second-generation leadership.

Olivia Garden is active. It continued to launch products through 2024, including a CurlyHair brush line and the NanoThermic SpeedXL, and posted 2025 news covering its carbon-footprint report, a "Think Pink 25" awareness campaign and the launch of the Olivia Garden Club consumer brand. Leadership remains with the founding family under Pierre Rennette and Anne Maza.