Katherine Ruiz

The supermarket aisle that nobody fixed, until Katherine did. From a childhood feeling of embarrassment to national Coles distribution, the capital decisions, hard lessons and founding instincts behind People Haircare.

Key Takeaways:

• Embarrassment can be the most honest brief you ever write. The gap between "affordable" and "premium" had existed for decades. She just refused to accept it.

• National distribution on day one is a milestone. Without promotional spend behind it, it is a product sitting on a shelf.

• Promotions in grocery stores are not discounting. They are visibility, trial and the mechanism that gets you into more baskets.

• Cash flow is not revenue. In retail, you fund inventory, promotions and production months before any return comes back.

• Repeat purchase is the architecture of a real business. Revenue is exciting. Repeat is what builds something lasting.

There is a detail from her childhood that Katherine has never forgotten. Sitting in a hairdresser's chair, being asked what shampoo and conditioner she used and feeling embarrassed. Because the answer was, she was using something from the supermarket.  There was a stigma, a quiet but persistent one, that supermarket meant inferior. That premium haircare happened somewhere else, at a different price point, for a different kind of person.

That feeling stayed with her. Years later, it became a business.

People Haircare was built to prove that the supermarket aisle could be something different. That high-performing, beautifully designed haircare could sit on those shelves at a price that didn't ask anyone to choose between their hair and their budget. Haircare for all people and all hair types without the complexity or the premium markup.

Katherine spent years building consumer brands through Anatomy Studios, working across FMCG and retail, watching categories evolve and mature. Through all of it, one aisle kept catching her attention for the wrong reasons. The supermarket haircare aisle hadn't moved. There were affordable products. There were premium products. But there was almost nothing that brought together performance, design and accessibility in the same place.

"I wanted products that performed at a high level but were also accessible and convenient to buy," she says. "The supermarket haircare aisle hadn't evolved in the same way other categories had."

What makes People Haircare different is not a single ingredient or a clever piece of packaging. It is the intentional combination of salon-performing formulas, thoughtful design and everyday accessibility, built as a complete range. Wash, treat and style, in one place, without visiting multiple stores or spending a fortune.

Every product formulated by industry experts, using proven ingredients and available where Australians already shop.

If you ask Katherine to name her favourite product, she will hesitate. But the All-In-One Leave-In Treatment will always be the answer.

It was designed from the beginning to be a hero product, because it embodies exactly what People is about: making haircare uncomplicated without compromising on performance. Heat protection. Frizz control. Shine. Strength. Moisture. Detangling. Repair. All in one step that actually makes sense in a real person's routine.

The other product that holds a particular place is the Curl Range.

As someone with curly hair, she understands how personal that category is. For a long time, curly-haired customers were under-served in supermarkets, especially at an accessible price point. The feedback from that community has been some of the most heartfelt the brand has received, because customers with curls feel seen in a space that had long overlooked them.

"Making premium, high-performing haircare accessible to all people and all hair types," she says. "That's what People is about."

When it comes to capital, she is careful about the word "mistake." Every decision taught something. But in hindsight, there is one she would revisit.

In the early days, the focus was on the product, the brand, getting onto the shelf. What she underestimated was just how much promotional spend matters in grocery retail. In Australia, customers are conditioned to shop the yellow ticket. Promotions are not a concession, they are one of the fastest mechanisms for trial. They are visibility. They are the thing that gets a new product into more baskets.

People launched with national distribution from day one. That is an incredible foundation. But without enough budget behind promotions in that first year, momentum took longer to build than it might have.

"What did it cost us? Probably speed," she says. "We still grew. But I think we could have built momentum earlier if we had understood that promotions are not just about discounting, they're about visibility, trial and getting into more baskets."

What She Would Do Differently | More intentional capital allocation, from day one.

In the beginning, there is pressure to move on everything at once… PR, social, paid ads, sampling, retail support, product development, content. Some of that testing is necessary. It is how you learn what works. But if she were starting today, she would build a clearer capital plan around the things that directly drive trial, repeat purchase and long-term brand equity. Not all of it at once.

She would also hold more cash for the realities of retail.

Being in a major retailer is a significant opportunity. It also comes with real working capital pressure. Inventory, promotions, production timelines and growth all need to be funded before any cash comes back in. That rhythm needs to be planned for, not discovered.

"I'd still be ambitious," she says. "But I'd be more disciplined around cash flow and more focused on the highest-impact levers."

The Most Profitable Decision | Being available nationally in Coles.

The decision was there from the beginning, because it had to be. If the mission was to make high-performing haircare accessible, then the brand needed to be where most Australians actually shop for it, alongside their groceries, not as a separate trip or a considered purchase in a specialty store.

The second decision that has driven real profitability is less dramatic but more instructive: building a strong core range before chasing trends. Products like the All-In-One Leave-In Treatment have become repeat-purchase products. Customers who buy them come back for them.

"Revenue is exciting," she says. "But repeat purchase is what builds a real business."

What She Knows Now | Every dollar in a business has a job to do.

Early on, there is a temptation to chase every opportunity, because growth feels urgent and everything looks like an important lever. The discipline she has developed over time is asking a specific question before any investment: will this drive trial, repeat purchase, brand equity or long-term growth? If the answer is not clear, it is probably not the right investment.

But capital is only part of the picture. Some of the biggest milestones in People Haircare have come not from spend, but from relationships. Trusted advisors. Manufacturing partners. Retail buyers. People who believed in the brand early and acted on it.

"Building a successful business is about more than managing money well," she says. "It's about surrounding yourself with the right people, investing in strong relationships and knowing where to focus your time, energy and resources. The combination of those things is what creates sustainable growth."