WAO!

WAO! functions as a curated marketplace specifically designed for the professional hair care industry, connecting hair salons and stylists with a vetted selection of brands. The platform addresses the challenge professionals face in discovering and accessing high-quality, sustainable, and often independent, hair care brands that align with their values. WAO! was established in Milan, Italy, by a team with deep roots in the beauty sector: Andrea Lazzarotti, who serves as the CEO, brings his experience from roles at L'Oréal and as a startup advisor; Pietro Violante, the CMO, has a background in marketing with L'Oréal and Campari; and Nicola Morgese, the COO, contributes his expertise in logistics and supply chain management. The company's business model is centered on a B2B e-commerce framework. It provides a streamlined procurement process for salons, offering them a single point of contact for ordering from multiple brands, which simplifies inventory management and invoicing. For the brands, WAO! offers a direct channel to a targeted professional audience, handling the complexities of distribution, marketing, and sales within the salon market. This dual-sided value proposition is the core of their strategy, aiming to become the primary digital distributor for professional hair care in Europe. The platform carefully selects its brand partners based on criteria such as the use of natural ingredients, commitment to sustainability, and a strong brand identity.

The company's inception was driven by the founders' observation of a gap in the market for a digital solution that could efficiently connect the fragmented landscape of emerging hair care brands with professional buyers. By consolidating distribution, WAO! enables salons to discover and stock products that were previously difficult to source, thereby offering their own clientele a more diverse and exclusive range of treatments and retail items. Revenue is likely generated through a commission on sales made through the platform, and potentially through offering additional marketing and logistics services to its partner brands. The company has successfully completed a pre-seed funding round, indicating investor confidence in its model to digitize a traditionally offline industry. This capital is intended to fuel expansion and solidify its position within the European professional beauty market.

Keywords: professional hair care, B2B marketplace, beauty distribution, salon procurement, e-commerce platform, sustainable brands, hair stylists, beauty tech, digital distributor, Italian startup