NEW YORK (AP) -- The $6 billion U.S. hair care market is flooded with products. But Unilever believes it has a fresh offering with a line focusing on scalp and hair health, called Clear.
It's the Dutch consumer goods maker's first new U.S. shampoo line since Unilever acquired hair-care company Alberto Culver Co. for $3.7 billion last year.
That deal made Unilever the world's largest maker of hair conditioner, the second-largest shampoo seller and the No. 3 maker of hair styling products. It was one of several recent acquisitions in the personal care sector by Unilever, which bought the home and personal care products of Sara Lee in 2010 and the hair care company TIGI in 2009.
Clear is already sold in 42 countries. It was launched in China in 2007.
The company says it's different from many hair products, which focus on the ends of hair rather than the root.
Unilever says that in the U.S., there will be three different versions of Clear, marketed to men, women and African-Americans.
It goes on sale May 20 at Target and Walmart, drugstores and supermarkets.
