How Blake Lively’s Hair Brand Became Target’s Biggest-ever Hair Launch

It doesn’t matter how famous you are. If we learned anything this year it was that celebrity alone — no matter how large — is not enough to make a beauty brand successful, which makes the launch of Blake Lively’s hair care line, Blake Brown, even more impressive. The brand, which was in development for seven years and launched at Target in August, was the largest hair care launch in the history of the retailer. Comprised of eight care and styling products, it reflects Lively’s own regimen that eschews conditioner, in lieu of alternating shampoos and conditioning masks. Within its first week, Blake Brown had generated $16 million in media impact value, according to Launchmetrics. Its in-store performance was equally as impressive. Blake Brown sustained the momentum it gained at launch (on its launch day alone it had the five bestselling hair care items at Target), significantly outperforming forecast. A star, it seems, is born.