30. Hair Syrup A viral TikTok sensation, Hair Syrup offers affordable, high-quality oils and haircare treatment to tackle different kinds of everyday hair problems. Written by Helena Young Sponsored by Sage Published on January 12, 2026 About the Startups 100 Now in its 18th year, the Startups 100 is the definitive list of the most promising new UK businesses. There's no fee for entry or for inclusion in our index. The Startups team of new business experts judge all our top 100 entrants in collaboration with specialist industry consultants. See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index. Marketing Award Nominee To recognise the startups that demonstrate the most creative and effective method for building early-stage brand awareness. Go to award Founder: Lucie MacleodYear founded: 2020Website: hairsyrup.co.ukTangles, dryness, dandruff, oily scalps – these are all common hair woes we’d love to wash down the drain. And Hair Syrup founder Lucie Macleod knew these problems all too well.Having struggled with damaged hair in her final year of university, Macleod was on the hunt for a product to help restore its strength and shine.But after scouring the high street, she found that most treatments were either too expensive for everyday shoppers, or offered formulas that lacked natural ingredients and didn’t actually do what they promised.Macleod’s unsuccessful search sparked the idea to start her own haircare brand – one that offers natural haircare without the hefty price tag. Following Hair Syrup’s launch on social media, demand for the products grew faster than Macleod could make them.Friends and family were eager to try her formula, and when her first TikTok video gained over 500,000 views and thousands of comments, she was bombarded with requests to try her products – turning what was once a simple side hustle into a solid business opportunity.Building on her viral success, Macleod took her brand to the national stage by appearing on Series 22 of the BBC show Dragons’ Den, though she failed to secure investment.However, despite the Dragons’ rejection – with guest judge Trinny Woodall commenting that she didn’t “invest in trends” – Macleod wasn’t deterred. Thanks to this appearance, the Welsh brand went on to partner with major retailers, including Boots and Superdrug.Today, Hair Syrup is one of the most successful TikTok brands – where it has 436.3K followers – plus it has increased its turnover from £120K in 2022 to a hair-raising £5m.At just 26, Macleod’s resilience and natural flair for digital marketing left a strong impression on our judges. We’re thrilled to welcome the business to this year’s list and to bestow Hair Syrup with a nomination for the Startups 100 Marketing Award for 2026.View the full Startups 100 Index for 20261. Omnea2. HIVED3. MAGIC AI4. OXCCU5. Lightyear6. Neuranics 7. Hormona8. Burbank9. Better Dairy 10. Lenkie Technologies11. Userled12. Hoxton Farms13. Rensair14. PulpaTronics15. TradeKart16. 32Co17. Carmoola18. cheqd19. Sightline Analytics20. Adamo Foods21. Bold Bean Co22. Beams Renovation 23. Pan Galactic24. Capi Money25. Spotted Zebra26. ANTHROTEK 27. Unravel28. Perci Health29. Untap Health30. Hair Syrup31. Connect Earth 32. spacebands 33. Unfabled34. Lightning Reach35. STOCKED36. Embeddable37. XR Therapeutics38. Literal Labs39. Scooch40. Openr41. Fibe Limited42. Inicio AI43. Peachies44. Better Nature 45. Ctrl Alt46. Resting Reef47. Nila48. ROXFIT49. Finmile50. NavLive51. Volunteero52. Inntelo AI53. Zonova54. A&B Smart Materials55. Ethicronics56. Treeapp57. kennek58. Soil Benchmark59. Vox Aeris60. Asan Cup61. Nuuri62. Mindstone63. MYNDUP64. Enbiosis Biotechnology65. JUX Food66. Danu Robotics67. Wylde Market68. Air Aware Labs69. Mimicrete Ltd70. ALYVE71. Happl72. Living Things73. Grub Club Pets74. Mealia75. PetProov76. Lylo Products77. Chest78. ZIM Connections79. Uptime Labs80. Teal81. Zero Fintech82. Micro Thermal Energy 83. Kanjo 84. Merlin Cloud85. My Skin Feels86. Eleria87. Cashblack88. RevvedUp89. Cosysense90. SuperFi91. Loom92. Legacy Compass93. Meshed94. SWURF95. Main Squeeze96. Sampl Technologies97. Over the Moo98. Pioneering People99. Bikebook100. Recondition Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags 2026 Written by: Helena Young Deputy Editor Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox. From interviewing Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK. With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That's one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses. Sponsored by: Sage Startups 100 Index Sponsor 2026 Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.