Welly Health Expands Into Over-the-counter Medicines and Supplements
Welly Health is broadening its horizons.
The first aid brand, which was cofounded in 2019 by the entrepreneur behind brands Olly and Method, Eric Ryan, is launching its first over-the-counter medicines and wellness supplements.
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“I always joke that our job is to take things that you need to use, and turn them into things that you want to use,” said Ryan, whose tried-and-true approach is what informed the next step in the Unilever-owned brand’s evolution.
Available exclusively at Target and on Welly’s direct-to-consumer website beginning Aug. 28, the line includes a Stomach Soother, Gas Reducer, Allergy Symptom Reliever, Sleep Champ, Cough Controller, Sinus Congestion Clearer and two kinds of Pain and Fever Reliever (one with ibuprofen, the other containing acetaminophen).
Ranging in price from $10.99 to $19.99, the line’s 13 offerings all come in a gel-tab format and will be rolling out to endcaps at all Target doors nationwide at the end of the month. Ryan did not specify sales expectations for the launch, but industry sources estimate the line will do $3 million in retail sales during its first year on the market.
“I love finding these big categories that I think are kind of unnecessarily complicated for the consumer, and even to some extent, take themselves a little too seriously, and find ways to really reframe the experience,” Ryan said. “The [pain] aisle is arguably the hardest aisle to shop today, and it’s one you often have to shop when you’re not feeling your best, making it an even bigger mental tax on you.”
Seeking to make the process of finding suitable pain and sickness relief more straightforward, many of the ingestibles are formulated to address multiple needs at once, offering consumers hybrid solutions in a single product and thus expediting the shopping process.
The line also includes supplements which target a specific need, such as the Chill Champ, which aims to alleviate anxiety through the use of actives such as ashwagandha, L-Theanine and gamma-aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
“If you walk into a major retailer, this is one of the last categories that has been untouched by somebody trying to build a brand for a younger audience,” Ryan said. “The heart of [the brand’s consumer] is Millennials, and we think a lot about new moms and growing families who are looking for alternative choices.”
This is the first of many forthcoming category expansions for Welly, which aims to staying true to its playful approach to wellness as it continues to expand its turf.
“With Method, we went across home, with Olly we went across vitamins, the goal [with Welly] is simply trying to build a brand that people love, with products they enjoy and growing that relationship across other parts of healthcare,” Ryan said.
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