Creating the Nespresso of professional hair colour

YUV, which has just launched in the UK, is on a mission to transform the professional hair colouring segment by offering made-to-order colour in salons. The idea is simple. Think of a Nespresso machine, but for hair colour.

Appearing on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den on 16 October, the company raised a record-breaking half a million pounds — the largest investment and highest valuation in the show’s history. Its goal is to bring technological and sustainable innovation to one of beauty’s most vibrant industries.

Founder Francisco Gimenez, Brazilian by birth and European by adoption, is no newcomer. He previously founded eSalon, the at-home personalised hair colouring system, which he later sold for 200 million euros.

So he knows a thing or two about hair colour.

The idea

After building eSalon, Francisco observed how much time and product were wasted in traditional hair colouring. Each client has their own needs, meaning salons must store dozens of shades and tones, often resulting in half-used products going to waste.

With YUV, Francisco aims to digitise professional hair colour and cut waste altogether. The concept is straightforward. Using an iPad, the hairdresser enters the client’s colour preferences into a digital platform. The machine then creates the precise formula on demand.

Personalisation goes down to quarter-shade precision, tertiary tones, pH control and a host of other parameters at the hairdresser’s command. The result is colour that is tailored to each client and infinitely repeatable. Professionals can recreate a client’s favourite shade at the touch of a button, or subtly fine-tune the formula for a new look.

An closed loop system

YUV’s colour system is stored in refillable aluminium cartridges containing primary colours. The process is designed to be circular. Both the cartridges and the machine’s internal components are fully reusable. Yuv collect back empty cartridges to clean them and refill them.

YUV operates as a service. Salons rent the machine for £49 a month, which includes maintenance, and pay separately for consumables such as colour cartridges.

Colour engineering

YUV offers a complete range: permanent, demi-permanent, semi-permanent, cream bleach and developer. The formulas were created by Swiss-based scientists renowned for their research and patents in hair colouration, and validated by expert colourists.

Hair colour is a category defined by loyalty. Clients, hairdressers and colourists all have their trusted favourites. Yet Francisco says that once YUV was tested in salons, resistance was minimal. “Every trial ended in purchase,” he explained — proof that a smart idea paired with solid execution can shift even the most established habits.

From eSalon to YUV, Francisco Gimenez is on a mission to make hair colour smarter, cleaner and more precise. Personalisation might seem counterintuitive to sustainability, but when the goal is to eliminate wasted product, it becomes a win for both the industry and the environment.

Happy clients. Happy professionals.