Miiroko: the Japanese-Australian startup revolutionising haircare
Yuki Saito (left) and Claire Chesterton (right), cofounders of Miiroko
While many people were comfortable working from home in tracksuit pants during COVID, once lockdown eased, the rush was on to get into salons for a coveted hair appointment. And for good reason: many of us (especially women) love a good hairstyle. And we appreciate a good hair colour even more.
But with lockdown after lockdown, some people discovered they liked colouring their hair at home. Not everyone has a few spare hours to sit in a hairdresser’s chair (no matter how much they enjoy pampering) every four to six weeks. And others realised they could save money by doing all or some colour treatments themselves.
Enter Miiroko, a sustainable home colouring startup making it easier for people to colour their hair at home. Miiroko was developed by hairdresser Claire Chesterton, who wanted to create a better way to colour your hair. Along with her husband Yuki Saito, they have developed a product that delivers hair salon standard results sustainably and cost-effectively.
From Tokyo to Canberra
Originally from Canberra, Chesterton is now back in her hometown – but this time with her husband/cofounder and their two-year-old daughter, Naho. While her parents remained in Canberra, Chesterton moved to the bright lights of Sydney for work. There she met Yuki and later followed him to Tokyo.
In Tokyo, Saito worked as a consultant for foreign businesses launching their product in Japan. Chesterton worked part-time as a hairdresser. Naho was born in February 2020 during the start of COVID. They could have continued a peaceful existence on this stable path except for one thing: Chesterton had an idea for developing a new hair colour range, one that would use less toxic chemicals and promote sustainability.
How cool would it be if …
“I asked myself – how do I set up a business that is not just about creating more stuff? There is enough plastic in the world.”
One summer in Sydney, Chesterton was invited to drinks at a friend’s hairdressing salon. At that time, Chesterton was working for a hair colour company. They got to talking about a problem one of the clients was facing: the customer wanted a professional, salon-quality hair colour product for touch-ups in-between salon visits, but the salon didn’t have any product to sell her.
‘My friend asked me what she could sell,’ said Chesterton. ‘Could she package up what they used in the salon for the client to use at home?’ But Chesterton discovered there wasn’t anything suitable as the salon's professional dyes were wholesale products that could not be sold to home users. And retail products on the market were not the same standard as hair salon products.
“If you can get results with less chemicals, then why not?”
‘I got thinking about how cool it would be to give our clients and customers a box of everything we use in salons with the tools, brush, kit and colour for them to do touch-ups at home,’ she said. ‘And the more I looked into it, the more I was convinced there was nothing like that out there. But there was also a real need because women were just getting busier. It’s so hard to find time to go into a salon, but at the same time, you want good hair colour, you want good colour results, and you don’t want something that’s going to damage your hair or the environment.’
Sustainability was also front and centre in Chesterton’s mind. ‘I asked myself – how do I set up a business that is not just about creating more stuff? There is enough plastic in the world,’ she said. Miiroko’s starter kit features products that can be easily reused – just like in a salon.
Chesterton began planning and developing Miiroko while in Tokyo. ‘In hair colour, there’s a quite heavy research and development component,’ she said of her formula, which includes healing and restorative ingredients such as jojoba oil, green tea and vanilla essence. She was also encouraged to continue developing a lower-tox solution after witnessing what salons were using in Japan. ‘In Japan, 30 and 40-volume hydrogen dyes are illegal,’ she said. ‘They are highly flammable, so in addition to protecting consumers, banning them from use in salons makes sense in an earthquake-prone environment.’
Chesterton believes it is often unnecessary to use strong and harsh chemicals to get good hair colour results – especially as a lower-tox approach is kinder on sensitive scalps and hair quality in general. ‘If you can get results with fewer chemicals, then why not,’ she said. ‘We can do better in the beauty industry.
Coming home to Canberra during COVID
Chesterton and family returned home with her family in September 2020 – right in the middle of COVID lockdowns. ‘We had to quarantine in our hotel for two weeks with a tiny baby, which was an interesting experience,’ she said. Naho was only six months old and (thankfully) not yet crawling.
The family relocated to Australia with the express purpose of starting Miiroko. They originally planned to live in Sydney; Canberra was going to be a temporary destination to spend time with Chesterton’s family. But she soon discovered that Canberra was a great place to start a business.
‘So much had changed in Canberra,’ she said. ‘When I left, Lonsdale Street only had one good coffee shop and a whole bunch of second-hand car dealerships. It is exciting to see new businesses starting up in all fields. There are entrepreneurs doing software, eCommerce and pushing boundaries on everything from hospitality to industry products.
‘We got involved with the Canberra Innovation Network, (CBRIN),’ she said. ‘We found there was big support here in Canberra for our product both from the customer side but also from the business side – and it just made sense to stay.’
Part of the Network
Chesterton learnt about CBRIN after searching for grant programs and courses. ‘I looked for any courses – anything that helps businesses launch,’ she said. ‘Although the product was 90 per cent there at that point, there was still a lot more left to do.’
Miiroko was one of 12 standout startups recently chosen to pitch at CBRIN’s Innovation Showcase end-of-year event. Quietly and confidently pitching before a crowd of an estimated 500 people, Chesterton took out the award for the most Creative startup. The year before, she won the Optus challenger award at the Innovation Showcase.
‘CBRIN has been great for helping us work out how to nail a pitch,’ she said. ‘I’ve now had plenty of opportunities to practice.
Miiroko participated in CBRIN’s 2021 Idea to Impact program and was a 2021 Innovation Connect grant winner. Miiroko was also chosen to participate in CBRIN’s 2021 Griffin Accelerator Program.
‘We learnt a lot from Idea to Impact,’ Chesterton said of the program. ‘By being challenged to make 100 calls to potential customers, we learnt that consumers wanted video instructions and also to be able to see colour on other people.’
They also got to meet other entrepreneurs. ‘You are often set up with a table of five people for two hours, and you’re given a problem and have to work around solutions together. So, it was an interactive and cooperative course. I really enjoyed it. It was more than sitting there and taking notes.’
When she applied, Chesterton didn’t think she was ready for the Griffin Accelerator program. ‘We thought we might be a little too early for it, but I’m so glad we applied because of the mentors that we got.’
Miiroko’s mentors provided the fledgling startup with advice on issues including streamlining software and R & D tax incentives. Mentorship also enabled Miiroko to redevelop the website to understand the touch points better to ensure customers felt supported through the journey.
Subscription
Miiroko sells its demi-permanent colour product as either a one-off or a subscription product. ‘We offer it as a subscription purely for convenience,’ said Chesterton. ‘Because your hair grows at the same rate, a lot of people like to have the colour in their cupboard, so they are never caught out.’
Miiroko’s demi-permanent formulation is strong enough to cover grey hairs and lasts for about four to six weeks. In contrast, many supermarket products only have semi-permanent options that last up to 12 washes.
‘Demis are ideal for touch-ups and maintenance in-between professional salon visits because it gives a beautiful shine and its gentle on the hair,’ she said. ‘In contrast, because the supermarket doesn’t know who will be purchasing the product, they cater to people with really resistant, thick, strong grey hair. If you have hair that is fine to medium, it can get damaged easily by alkaline. It’s going to be way too strong for you and unnecessary.’
Early success
Miiroko launched its product in January. So far, the company has had 2,500 orders. ‘We’ve tested it for a year, we’ve got some great feedback and some awesome customers, and we’re ready to take this to the rest of Australia,’ said Chesterton.
Miiroko’s goal is to be the number one Australian brand for sustainable hair colour. Then they want to take it overseas. ‘We believe it’s not just an Australian phenomenon of wanting fewer chemicals and less plastic waste,’ said Chesterton.
With big Australian and international ambitions, Miiroko is expanding and is currently seeking $500,000 in investment; so far, investors have been keen to back the startup. The funds will be used for sales and marketing to expand their product range.
Good luck, Miiroko. We look forward to seeing your success on the domestic – and international – stage.
