Dude Wipes flushes away the competition

“Four college dudes discover wiping ass properly is important, make millions.”

It really is a man’s world.

In the last decade, the DUDE wipes brand has grown from a long-shot idea in a college ‘animal house’ apartment to a lucrative reprobate in the flushable wipes market.

How do you make baby wipes for grown men a multi-million-dollar business?

By leveraging the fact that we’re all a little immature and butt humour will always be a little funny.

But also, by having an insanely clear target audience, and knowing exactly how to speak to them. Something that Dude Wipes has done immaculately. Because the target audience was, well, themselves.

Four college dudes, all living in the same house, with a steady and sustainable diet of burritos and beers. Trust me, I don’t want to think about it, either.

It goes without saying, this wonderful diet generated a lot of commentary on the movements of these bachelors’ bowels.

Sean Riley, 'Chief Executive Dude' of the company, was responsible for buying some of the goods for the apartment at the time. 'I went to Sam’s Club, got toilet paper, paper towels, and a bunch of baby wipes, and stocked the bathrooms.'

He recalls, 'The baby wipes just came in handy, and everyone got hooked on them right away. That was kind of when the light bulb product moment went on.'

Looking at the wipes market at the time, Sean saw a glaring gap--adult men.

Specifically, younger adult men, who had never used wipes because they weren’t marketed to them. But probably could do with some, let’s be real.

As with any DTC start-up, the Dudes started small. They first sold individually wrapped squares of flushable wipes for guys on the go out of their garage. They were on a 'glorious mission to save the world, one dude at a time.'

Demand grew quickly. Before they knew it, they were struggling to deliver to a nationwide customer base while trying to scale their business.

'We were carrying boxes ourselves and shipping things out to customers,' recalls Sean. 'You quickly realize that you're never going to scale if you stay in that mindset.'

Because of their growth, savvy, and drive, Dude Wipes landed a spot of Shark Tank in October 2015. And the guys got the Godfather Mark Cuban's blessing. He offered the Dudes $300,000 for a 25% stake in their business.

They'd cracked it (literally.)

Dude Wipes went from $250,000 in sales, to $3.2 million in less than two years.

While we all can’t get our business backed by billionaires, we can, thanks to the beauty of the internet, steal their marketing strategies. So let's take a look at them, one by one.

First things first, tone.

Get the right tone for your product and audience, and you’re away. Dude Wipes focuses on (slightly) elevated toilet humour mixed with bro slang. Puns like 'on the go' and euphemisms like 'deucing' are a common theme. It’s funny, it’s a little crass, and it’s perfect for the young (messy) males they’re targeting.

It’s also a core differentiator of the brand. The bath tissue category is worth $15 billion dollars. The reason Dude Wipes was able to take a piece of that is due to their clever tone and branding.

You could say it helped them wipe out the competition. Ha ha.

Second, market.

The ones who find the gaps make bank.

The men’s hygiene market is one that has been largely ignored for a long time. Aside from your stock standard razors, shaving cream, and Dax Wax, there aren’t a huge number of products geared toward male personal care and cleanliness.

We all love to hate on the '3 in 1 shampoo, body wash and car cleaner.' But that’s genuinely what men are dealing with when it comes to options.

Dude Wipes totally disrupted that.

On top of this, there’s a common trope that men simply don’t wash their ass. It’s funny when passed around as a joke. But research from Curiosity, which handles strategy and creative for the brand, reveals that many men lack confidence regarding the cleanliness of their keister. This creates the ideal opening for Dude Wipes to enter with its brand promise of greater confidence and peace of mind.

Obviously, there are other factors, like packaging, timing in the market, and bold content that have contributed to Dude Wipes' success. But I think at the heart of it all, the product is what it is because of who it’s made for, and the unique way the brand sells it to them.

-Sophie, Writer