Umberto Giannini

Umberto Giannini is a British haircare brand built around curly and textured hair, made vegan and cruelty-free and manufactured in the United Kingdom. It grew out of the salon work of its namesake founder, the hairdresser Umberto Giannini, and his partner Claire Shread, who developed a range of products aimed at working with curly hair's natural movement rather than styling it flat. The brand remains active, running a live direct-to-consumer store and a separate US operation.

The company describes itself as "salon born," and its positioning centres on curls, summed up in the tagline "curls. we get them." Alongside its curl focus, Umberto Giannini presents itself as an ethically minded business, holding B Corp certification and pledging a share of profits to charitable causes.

The brand traces back to the hairdresser Umberto Giannini, described on the company's site as a UK hairdresser of the year, and his partner Claire Shread. According to the company, Giannini "wanted to do things differently" during the blow-dried styling era of the 1990s and championed a more natural look, and the two set out to create a new range of haircare products. Shread, described in editorial coverage as a lifelong vegetarian with an art-school background, met Giannini in the early 1990s at his flagship salon and went on to co-found and lead the brand [5].

The founding date depends on which event is counted. The company's own B Corp page states the business was founded in 1988 [3], while a 2021 Beauty Independent feature dates the haircare line to 1998 [5]. These describe different milestones: the underlying business dates to 1988, salons opened around 1990, and the branded haircare range launched in 1998 [5].

Umberto Giannini opened hair salons from around 1990 before the move into packaged products [5]. The haircare line launched in 1998 and, according to the company, was vegan and cruelty-free from the start.

The founder Umberto Giannini died in 2001 at the age of 33 from complications of dermatomyositis, an inflammatory condition affecting muscles and skin [5]. Claire Shread continued to run the business and remains its leader.

In 2021 the brand expanded into the United States, entering the retailer Target on 1 February with products from its Flowerology hair-colour range [5]. According to the Beauty Independent report, the launch placed temporary colour masks and boxed hair colour in hundreds of Target locations; it had originally been scheduled for 2020 but was delayed by the pandemic [5].

The brand's stated focus is curly and textured hair across curl types, with products the company says are designed to "work with and maximise curly hair's natural movement." Its wider mission, as described on the company's UGiving page, is framed around helping women feel their best and treating access to hygiene and care products as a basic right, with the brand saying it puts "people and planet before profits."

Umberto Giannini presents its formulas as natural, and in the 2021 Beauty Independent feature they were described as 95% natural and 75% organic [5]. Its product range spans curl jellies, shampoos and conditioners, leave-in conditioners, mousses, curl creams, oils and serums, treatments, and scalp products.

The brand's signature products are curl-focused. Its Curl Jelly (Scrunching Jelly) is described by the company as a bestseller, and is cited across retailer and editorial coverage as the brand's best-known curl product [6]. Other named products include the Crème De Curl Control Cream, Curl Whip Mousse, and Curly Custard.

Umberto Giannini holds B Corp certification, a third-party standard for social and environmental performance, and the company says this means it meets "the highest standards of social and environmental impact" [3]. At the time of the February 2021 Beauty Independent feature the certification had only recently been applied for and was not yet granted, consistent with it being awarded that year [5].

The company states that its products are "100% vegan, 100% cruelty free, 100% of the time" and describes itself as vegan and cruelty-free from its founding [3]. It says its bottles, tubes and jars are fully recyclable, and that it aimed to use recycled or renewable materials, including sugar cane and post-consumer recycled plastic, in 89% of its range by the end of 2021 [3]. According to the company, products are "mindfully made in the UK" through a small group of UK suppliers, its owned and operated locations run on renewable energy, and it pledges at least 1% of annual profits to charitable causes.

Umberto Giannini is active. It operates a live direct-to-consumer site with current curl-type kits, subscription options and new arrivals, alongside a separate US storefront.