Colour Brand of the Year

Open to independent professional colour brands with products actively used within salon environments. Brands must demonstrate consistent professional engagement through education, salon partnerships, distribution or stylist adoption during the eligibility period.

Winning this award positions your brand as a trusted choice for colourists, reinforcing performance, reliability and professional loyalty across the professional industry. It gives salons, distributors and professionals confidence in your products while creating a strong point of difference to support growth with existing and new partners, attract new distribution opportunities and strengthen credibility with investors and the wider industry. Winners will also be invited to join the judging panel for the The Indies - Salon & Stylist Awards UK.

• A written submission outlining brand performance, positioning and industry impact.

• Evidence of professional usage or stylist adoption.

• Supporting materials including colour work, campaigns, education or product activity relevant to the eligibility period. Future direction and plans for continued growth, innovation or industry impact may also be included.

• All active activity must relate to a full trading period from 1 May 2025 - 30 April 2026.

How This Category Will Be Judged

Entries will first be reviewed based on the written submission, supporting evidence and overall professional relevance. Judges will consider performance, innovation, education, professional trust and the brand’s impact within the colour industry.

Shortlisted brands may then move into practical colour testing carried out by selected professional colourists from our judging panel. To help maintain fairness and independence throughout the process, colour products may be blind tested during practical judging and scored before the brand is revealed to the judges.

A minimum of 2 models will be competed using your brand to score performance. If shortlisted as a finalist final colour choices will be discussed before you submit for practical testing.

Once practical judging has been completed, judges may then be introduced to the brand, allowing them to understand the wider brand story, positioning and professional offering alongside the practical results achieved.

To keep the process balanced and independent, written entries and practical testing stages may be reviewed by different judges.

Product Submission Requirements

Shortlisted entrants may be required to submit selected colour products from their range for professional testing and evaluation. Requested product quantities, testing requirements and judging formats will be confirmed directly with shortlisted entrants once judging allocations have been finalised.

This category may be tested during one of our in-salon judging days with active colourists from our judging panel. Products may be assessed through practical salon use, tone, consistency, performance, reliability and overall professional experience within real working salon environments. Products submitted for judging will not be returned unless agreed otherwise in writing.

This category is not open to conglomerate-owned or publicly listed companies. Venture-backed brands are permitted, provided the brand operates independently within the professional market. Brands without active professional salon distribution or professional-use colour products will not be considered.

To protect the integrity of the awards, all judges are required to declare any professional, commercial or personal relationships with entrants prior to scoring. Any judge with a declared conflict of interest will not be permitted to review, discuss or score the relevant entry or category.

Entry Recommendations

Strong entries should clearly demonstrate professional colour results, salon relevance and the overall performance of the brand within real working environments. Judges are looking for colour brands professionals genuinely trust for consistency, reliability, education and results across a wide range of colour services.

Before and after imagery, colour transformations, salon usage examples, educational support and evidence of professional industry trust are strongly encouraged.

Entry Deadline

Final entry deadline for this category is 6 September 2026.

Shortlisted entrants may be contacted directly regarding practical judging stages, model requirements, product submission requirements or further supporting information where applicable.