Meet Gntl, the Brand Reimagining Multiuse Skin and Body Care
Skin care founder Sydney Dake wants beauty enthusiasts to clean up by paring down.
At least, that’s the mission propelling her brand, Gntl, which debuts Thursday with its singular Skin Wash, a pH-balanced cleanser formulated for allover face and body use, retailing for $38 per pouch.
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“I think that multiuse, especially for face and body, has traditionally been kind of utilitarian and very male focused as a category,” said Dake, formerly the chief marketing officer at Gloss Ventures, the incubator behind Sacheu Beauty and Vitamin Bounty.
Rather than introducing multipurpose products that meet the bare minimum expectations for each of their intended functions, Dake is striving for a more comprehensive approach to simplification with Gntl.
“There’s a little bit of a consumer hurdle when people start to think about combining face and body, just because we’ve been so trained to think about their products separately. Face wash is one of the most challenging and high-expectation products, so we wanted to start with that,” she said.
Tested through its varying formula stages on a focus group of roughly 100 friends, family members and beauty industry veterans all representing varying skin types, the Skin Wash is designed to lather, lift dirt and makeup, and even serve as a shaving gel and bubble bath in addition to its cleansing capabilities.
Just as integral to the product as its versatile formula — which taps a number of surfectants, citric acid and aloe leaf juice — is its minimal, bioplastic packaging, intended as a temporary vessel before consumers pour the wash into an existing container of their own.
“It’s a little bit of a behavior change for people, for us to say to refill with what you have, but at the end of the day we’re trying to reduce our plastic footprint, and for this launch, this was the most sustainable option possible,” said Dake, adding that a limited-edition drop of handmade vessels made in collaboration with a ceramicist friend of hers is on the horizon.
With the recent “de-influencing” trend taking over TikTok, in which consumers increasingly express a disdain for the amount of product peddled to them through the platform (with many expressing beauty-specific gripes, thanks to the category’s prominence on TikTok), it appears to be an opportune time for this messaging.
“We’re trying to target the beauty enthusiast and eco conscious consumers together. There’s already so much overwhelming choice and options out there, I feel like this simplified approach is what consumers are craving, and what they’re going to be looking for in the future,” Dake said.
Plans are in the works for a second Gntl product drop later this year, which Dake anticipates could propel the brand to around $500,000 in sales during its first year on the market, with the potential to double or triple that once Gntl enters retail. While the brand is exploring potential retail partners to help amplify its mission, direct-to-consumer is the focus for the time being.
“This isn’t to say that Gntl is intended to replace absolutely everything in your skin care routine; there’s always a place for those additions and specialized products,” Dake said. “I don’t think Gntl will ever be a massive line; we want to stay small and intentional, and simplify those broader-appeal products for consumers.”
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