Function of Beauty vs Dove
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Algorithm-driven personalized haircare brand available at Target and CVS across thousands of US store locations; pioneered mass-market hair customization at accessible price points, expanding personalized beauty from premium DTC to mainstream retail.
About
Function of Beauty is a New York-based personalized haircare brand founded in 2015 by Zahir Dossa and Hien Nguyen. The company uses a proprietary algorithm and quiz-based system to formulate custom shampoo, conditioner, and hair treatment products from a matrix of active ingredients, fragrances, and color dyes. Products are manufactured to order and shipped directly to consumers with their name on the bottle.\n\nFunction of Beauty differentiated from Prose by targeting a broader, more price-sensitive consumer segment and aggressively expanding into mass retail. The brand entered Target in 2020 and later CVS, growing to thousands of store locations nationwide. This retail-first expansion made personalized haircare accessible at drugstore price points rather than premium DTC-only tiers. The company has also launched personalized skincare and bodycare lines.\n\nThe brand faced market headwinds in 2024 as consumer interest in personalized beauty matured, but it retains its position as the most widely distributed customized haircare brand in the US. Function of Beauty has raised over $150 million in venture funding and continues to iterate on its personalization engine with AI-driven ingredient recommendations and expanded formula options.
Parent Unilever 2024: Turnover €60.8B (+1.9%) | Personal Care: €13.6B (+5.2% organic sales growth) | Dove: ~40% of Personal Care, high-single digit growth | Key launches: whole-body deodorant, serum shower collection | Op Profit +12.6% to €11.2B, margin +170bp to 18.4% | H1-Q3 2025: Beauty/Wellbeing +4.1%, Personal Care +5.1% | 2025 target: 3-5% organic sales growth
About
Dove is a personal care brand created by Unilever in 1957, originally launched with its breakthrough Beauty Bar — a soap formulated with one-quarter moisturizing cream that was gentler on skin than conventional soap. Headquartered within Unilever's global personal care division, Dove's core product philosophy has always centered on real skin science: formulations that cleanse without stripping natural moisture, backed by clinical testing and dermatologist validation. This functional differentiation, combined with decades of brand investment, has made Dove one of Unilever's largest and most recognized consumer brands globally.\n\nDove's product portfolio spans bar soaps, body washes, antiperspirants, deodorants, lotions, hair care, and facial skincare, sold across more than 150 countries. The brand launched its "Real Beauty" campaign in 2004 — one of the most studied marketing campaigns in advertising history — which positioned Dove as an advocate for authentic self-image rather than idealized beauty standards. This purpose-driven positioning created emotional brand equity that differentiated Dove in a crowded personal care market and set a template for purpose-led consumer brands. Dove contributes approximately 40% of Unilever's Personal Care division revenue.\n\nDove delivered high-single-digit revenue growth within Unilever's portfolio, contributing to the parent company's overall performance against a backdrop of consumer value-seeking and private label competition. Unilever's scale in manufacturing, procurement, and global retail distribution provides Dove with structural advantages in reaching consumers across both developed and emerging markets. As personal care consumers increasingly prioritize efficacy, skin health, and brand values alongside price, Dove's combination of science-backed formulations and authentic brand identity keeps it at the top of a highly competitive category.
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