Dude Wipes, toilet paper industry disruptor, went from being laughed at in meetings…
To advertising during the Superbowl.
The flushable wipe brand went from being operated by three college roommates to…
Doubling it’s sales…
Being featured on Shark Tank…
And sponsoring a Nascar race.
And the company isn’t stopping there. They have plans to take over and revolutionize the toilet paper industry as we know it.
Here’s the story of Dude Wipes.
Roommates And Bathrooms: Origins Of Dude Wipes
In 2011, roommates Jeff Klimkowski, Sean Riley and Ryan Meegan started Dude Products…
The company behind Dude Wipes, after they graduated from college.
The three were all working regular day jobs…
But everything changed when Riley started stocking their shared bathroom with baby wipes.
The roommates were in favor of the change and soon enough, visiting friends adopted the habit, and voila…
THE THREE REALIZED THERE WAS A PROBLEM THEY NEEDED TO SOLVE.
Meegan, Riley, and Klimkowski pooled their money and started developing Dude Wipes.
For years, the company stayed small. Until 2016, Riley was the only full-time employee…
But that all changed when the product went from being a pipe dream to being profitable. The company began stocking at major retailers…
And creating partnerships with other lucrative brands.
The only type of funding that Dude Wipes ever received was on season seven of Shark Tank…
WHEN THE FOUNDERS RECEIVED $300,000 FROM MARK CUBAN FOR A 25% STAKE IN THE COMPANY.
After their success on the show, the company was able to ink new deals with retailers across the country and double their revenue.
But it’s not just because they got lucky…
Dude Wipes’ success is thanks to their ability to be aggressive with competitors…
While keeping their internal structure tight and focused.
Toilet Paper Domination
What started in an apartment in Chicago has led to ripples across their industry.
RIGHT NOW, DUDE WIPES HAS 1% OF THE 11 BILLION DOLLAR U.S. TOILET PAPER MARKET, A RARITY FOR A BRAND GOING UP AGAINST GIANTS SUCH AS PROCTOR AND GAMBLE.
Last year, Dude Products made $110 million in revenue, which is up $70 million from the year before.
The key to their success?
This company provided something new and exciting to a boring, old industry. This brand somehow made something as uncool as toilet paper, cool. And the cofounders did it by studying the industry giants…
And doing the opposite of everything they did.
Instead of using light, soft packaging that featured friendly bears and cherubs…
DUDE WIPES ARE BRANDED WITH JET-BLACK PACKAGING THAT FEATURES SUGGESTIVE EMOJIS AND POTTY HUMOR.
Currently, the company aims to compete not with baby wipes…
But with TP as a whole.
Since this strategy was adopted, business has been booming, partially thanks to Covid-19. As one of a handful of companies that actually MADE money during the pandemic…
The company found that over 75% of customers that made their first Dude Wipes purchase during lockdown, went back and bought more products.
The cofounders anticipate that the company will have a billion dollar valuation down the line. As for now, they’re aiming to finish the year off with $160 million.
Conclusion
As silly as it sounds, a product like Dude Wipes is able to wipe the floor with their competition, despite all the odds.
The three founders were able to find a niche and fill it with a creative, fun solution.
If there’s anything to take away from the success that is Dude Wipes…
It’s to keep up with an idea, no matter how ridiculous to the nay-sayers it might seem.
Be Great,
GCTV Staff
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