John Frieda is making its hair dye debut with the UK's first permanent foam dye, which it claims is easier and faster to apply than existing formats.

The range, which hits Tesco, Sainsbury's, Boots and Superdrug in mid-­November and comes in 20 different colours, is the first permanent foam colourant for home use and will be backed by an £8m TV and marketing campaign next year.

While other brands have focused on reducing the development time with products such as L'Oreal Excell 10 and Procter & Gamble's Nice 'N Easy Perfect 10, John Frieda Precision Foam Colour (rsp: £9.99) promises a shorter application time.

Consumers often struggled to cover all the hair using cream dyes, whereas the foam could be massaged through in eight minutes, giving even ­coverage, said Blandine Langloy, category director at brand owner Kao Brands. "We are hoping for a 6% share of the £185m home hair colour market in the first year," said Langloy.

The product has taken seven years to develop and was trialled in Asia under a different name. Some 38% of users in the trial were new to the dye category.

The foam product would create a new premium tier in hair dye, predicted the company.