New Flag

What New Flag does

New Flag GmbH, founded in 2010 in Munich by Niklas Epstein and Daniel Haffa (later joined by Felix Haffa and Sophie Trelles-Tvede), is a privately-held European brand builder and distributor in the hair and beauty industry. The company operates through seven wholly-owned subsidiaries across Germany, France, the Benelux region, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic, the UK, and the USA, with logistics reaching more than 80 countries via its New Land warehouse in Reichertshofen and EDI-integrated cloud infrastructure.

Its business combines two revenue streams: distribution of premium third-party beauty brands — including Olaplex, Tangle Teezer, Dyson, Maria Nila, Living Proof, Nails Inc, Evo, Framar, O&M, and Boucleme — through drugstores, department stores, food retailers, and e-commerce platforms such as dm, Rossmann, Amazon, Zalando, Notino, Douglas, Müller, and flaconi; and the development and sale of six proprietary brands (invisibobble, Foamie, Natucain, NEQI, Urban Alchemy, Wild Stripes) created through an in-house incubation team.

The integrated service layer covers NF.PRO (an EU-largest online professional shop for hairdressers and salons), POS marketing concepts, B2B field sales, full-service logistics, marketing and influencer campaigns, industry events and education, and operations supported by real-time EDI data exchange with retail partners. The company sells B2C through retail channels and B2B through both the NF.PRO platform and a field sales team serving beauty professionals in the DACH region and beyond.

Name

New Flag

Legal name

New Flag GmbH

Website

https://new-flag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

New Flag is a Munich-based European brand builder and distributor in the hair and beauty industry, combining six proprietary brands (invisibobble, Foamie, NEQI, and others) with distribution of premium third-party brands across 80+ countries via seven subsidiaries and major retailers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beauty Products Distribution and Brand Building

NAICS

Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (45612)

SIC

Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Label & Contract/White-Label Beauty Distribution (CRAOAEAO)

Keywords

• Beauty brand distribution
• Professional hair products
• Brand building services
• Beauty retail distribution
• Professional salon supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brand Distribution: Distribution of third-party beauty brands through retail and professional channels. Portfolio includes Tangle Teezer, Olaplex, Living Proof, Maria Nila, Dyson, Framar, O&M, and others through strategic partnerships with retailers across 80+ countries.
2. Own Brands: Development and sale of proprietary beauty brands including invisibobble, Foamie, NEQI, Wild Stripes, Urban Alchemy, Natucain, and Boucleme. Focus on trend-driven product development and brand storytelling.
3. NF.PRO Professional Shop: Specialized online shop for hairdressers and beauty salons offering professional tools and products. Features both distribution lines and in-house collections with educational resources and editorial content.
4. Logistics Services: Full-service logistics solutions for businesses and individuals including precise handling of packages, customized solutions for timely deliveries, and international shipping to 80+ countries.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

New Flag is Europe's leading beauty brand builder and distributor, combining proprietary beauty brands (invisibobble, Foamie, NEQI, Wild Stripes, Urban Alchemy, Natucain) with exclusive distribution of third-party brands (Olaplex, Tangle Teezer, Living Proof, Maria Nila, Dyson, Framar, O&M, Boucleme, Evo) across 80+ countries. The company supports these brands with NF.PRO (a specialized online shop for salons), retail marketing and POS services, full-service logistics, marketing and brand storytelling, B2C retail sales and professional field sales teams, and industry events.

Product overview

New Flag is Europe's leading brand builder and distributor in the beauty industry, operating as a unified platform that combines proprietary brands with distribution partnerships and comprehensive operational services. The portfolio includes six own brands: invisibobble (revolutionary hair accessories), Foamie (sustainable plastic-free bathroom products), Natucain (hair growth solutions), NEQI (innovative beauty products), Urban Alchemy (hair treatments), and Wild Stripes (beauty line). Distribution brands include Olaplex, Tangle Teezer, Maria Nila, Dyson, Living Proof, Boucleme, Evo, Framar, and O&M. The service layer encompasses NF.PRO (professional online shop for salons), POS marketing solutions, logistics with shipping to 80+ countries, marketing services, retail and professional sales teams, IT/Operations with EDI integration, and industry events. This integrated ecosystem enables New Flag to bring innovative beauty brands to market with speed, creativity, and precision through strategic distribution, trend-driven product development, and powerful brand storytelling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• invisibobble: Revolutionary hair tie brand, born from idea at a bad taste party in 2011, became bestseller at Amazon and hairdresser salons
• Foamie
• Natucain
• NEQI
• Urban Alchemy
• Wild Stripes
• NF.PRO

Products and services

• invisibobble Proprietary hair accessory brand featuring revolutionary hair ties; sold via drugstores, department stores, food retailers, and e-commerce platforms including dm, Rossmann, Amazon, and Zalando.
• Foamie Proprietary sustainable personal care brand offering plastic-free bathroom products for retail and e-commerce consumers.
• Natucain Proprietary hair growth and care brand in New Flag's portfolio of beauty brands.
• NEQI In-house beauty brand launched in 2024 with innovative beauty products that exceeded sales expectations.
• Urban Alchemy Proprietary hair care brand launched in 2019 as part of New Flag's own brand portfolio.
• Wild Stripes In-house beauty brand launched in 2024 as part of New Flag's proprietary brand portfolio.
• Olaplex Distributed premium hair care brand known for bond-building technology; sold through retail, e-commerce, and professional salon channels.
• Tangle Teezer Distributed hairbrush and detangling brand featuring innovative brush designs sold through drugstores, e-commerce, and salons.
• Maria Nila Distributed Swedish hair care brand offering sustainable and cruelty-free beauty products.
• Dyson Distributed premium hair styling technology brand featuring hair dryers and stylers sold via professional and retail channels.
• Living Proof Distributed hair care brand known for scientific approach to hair styling and care.
• Boucleme Distributed curly hair care brand specializing in products for textured and curly hair.
• Evo Distributed professional hair care brand known for innovative formulas and styling products.
• Framar Distributed professional hair tool brand specializing in brushes, clips, and salon accessories.
• O&M Distributed Australian hair care brand offering natural and organic professional hair products.
• NF.PRO Specialized online shop providing hairdressers and beauty salons with professional tools and products, featuring exclusive distribution lines, in-house collections, and educational/editorial content.
• Logistics Services Full-service logistics solutions including warehousing, order fulfillment, and international shipping to over 80 countries, serving retail businesses, professional clients, and the B2C market.

Quantifiable outcome

• Shipping to 80+ countries worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• dm Germany & AustriacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor retail distribution partner for beauty products through drugstore chain. Key channel for B2C sales of distributed brands and own brands including invisibobble.
• RossmanncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDrugstore chain retail distribution partner for beauty products in DACH region.
• AmazoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal e-commerce platform partner for online beauty product sales across multiple markets.
• ZalandocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorE-commerce platform partner for fashion and beauty product sales.
• DouglascoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPremium beauty retailer chain partner for high-end beauty products distribution.
• NotinocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEuropean beauty e-commerce platform partner for online beauty product distribution.
• MüllercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDrugstore and retail chain partner for beauty product distribution in DACH region.
• flaconicoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline beauty retailer partner for beauty product distribution in Germany and beyond.
• Tangle TeezercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributed brand in portfolio - professional hair detangling brushes and tools.
• OlaplexcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributed brand - professional hair care and bonding products. Contact initiated at US trade fair in 2013, added to portfolio in 2014.
• Living ProofcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHair care brand added to distribution portfolio in 2024.
• Maria NilacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwedish hair care brand added to distribution portfolio in 2016.
• DysoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPremium hair styling tools distributed through professional and retail channels.
• FramarcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional hair color tools and accessories brand in distribution portfolio.
• Nails InccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNail care brand added to distribution portfolio in 2024.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cosnova GmbH: German-headquartered beauty company owning mass brands (Catrice, L.O.V., essence) and distributing through the same European drugstore and e-commerce channels (dm, Rossmann, Müller). Closely mirrors New Flag's combination of proprietary brand building and large-scale European retail distribution.
• LR Health & Beauty: European beauty and personal care company combining proprietary brand development with multi-channel distribution (direct sales, retail, digital). Comparable in offering a portfolio of own beauty brands alongside partner brands across multiple European geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Wella Company: Global hair-care brand owner (Wella Professionals, Nioxin, Sebastian, ghd) with strong professional salon channel presence in Europe. Comparable to New Flag in building a hair-care distribution footprint but at materially larger scale and across a broader product range.
• Henkel Beauty Care: Schwarzkopf parent and one of Europe's largest hair-care players, with broad retail and professional distribution. Overlaps with New Flag on the professional salon channel (Schwarzkopf Professional) and mass-market hair styling/color products.
• Coty Inc. Global multi-category beauty company with a portfolio of owned brands distributed through mass, prestige, and professional channels. Comparable to New Flag's model of building and distributing multiple beauty brands across retail and salon channels, though at much greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Kao Corporation: Japanese multinational with a sizeable professional hair-care business (Goldwell, KMS) distributed across European salons. Comparable in serving the professional channel with premium hair brands, though Kao's overall portfolio extends well beyond beauty.
• Beiersdorf AG: Major European personal-care company (NIVEA, Eucerin, La Prairie) with deep retailer relationships across drugstore and e-commerce channels. Comparable to New Flag in mass-market European beauty distribution but with much broader scale and a more curated single-brand heritage.

Regional players

• SalonCentric: Leading US professional beauty distributor (L'Oréal-owned) serving salons with multi-brand assortment. Highly comparable to New Flag's NF.PRO professional shop, but US-focused and part of a much larger parent — a useful benchmark for NF.PRO's potential scale.
• CosmoProf / Beauty Systems Group: North America's largest professional salon product distributor (part of Henkel). Comparable to NF.PRO as a multi-brand professional channel distributor, with direct overlap in brands (e.g., Olaplex) — illustrative of the operating model New Flag is building in Europe.

Others

• Douglas GmbH: Europe's largest premium beauty retailer and a current New Flag customer. Adjacent rather than direct peer — illustrates the buyer-side counterpart to New Flag's distribution business and potential competitive overlap in private-label/own-brand strategies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-flag-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/newflaggroup/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@newflagpro
• Facebookfacebook.com/newflaggermany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New Flag