WYOS Takes Stick-format Skin, Hair Care to Gen Z
A new brand is taking the stick format across categories.
Called WYOS, an acronym for Write Your Own Story, the brand is set to debut on its website Jan. 18 with five stock keeping units, ranging in price from $16 to $24. The products include a face mask, a cleanser, a moisturizer, a shaving stick and a shampoo, all in stick format.
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The idea for the brand came to its cofounders, both L’Oréal alumnae, as a result in shifts in consumer behavior. “We’re both consumer obsessed,” said Jamie Glassman, chief executive officer and cofounder. “Consumers are on the go, they’re traveling more….Gen Z consumers aren’t graduating into five-day-a-week desk jobs. We wanted to make sure we were developing a brand that had products to match that mindset.”
Market research also pointed them to which products Gen Z consumers were buying the most, though the brand is universal in its appeal. “We looked at which categories Gen Z was using the most, and where we can offer the product benefits in a stick format,” said Wendy Charland, chief operating officer and cofounder of WYOS. “We’re launching with the five products, and we’ll continue to expand as the formulas are ready.”
The products are cruelty-free and waste-free, as well as TSA-friendly. Although Glassman and Charland didn’t comment on sales, industry sources estimate it to reach between $10 million and $15 million in sales for its first year on the market.
Focusing on consumer behaviors has also informed WYOS’ retail strategy. “Our position on retail is to be where the consumers are,” Charland said. “For us, that’s starting with social selling, direct selling, communicating to them exactly where they are. The shopping journey is not linear, but that’s where we’re going to start building brand awareness, and we do have plans to expand into physical retail at the end of the year and into 2024.”
The brand’s influencer strategy is also following suit. “We are not a brand with a face, we’d rather have creators with micro-followings that have a loyal following for who they are,” Charland said. “It’s not a typical beauty brand, it’s genderless, and we really are looking for partners who have an authentic voice, which is why we’re not scripting what they say.”
Added Glassman, “Our content creators are our consumers, and they’re telling their stories through the brand and our marketing efforts will back that up.”
The product experience, though, will also play well socially. Charland predicts the brand’s hero to be its face mask. “It’s super visual, very TikTok-able,” she said. “Also, with a mask, you’re always making a mess. This really solves that. It dries down pretty quickly.”
Purpose has also played a role in the brand’s ideation. “We are launching with a pledge of values, sort of our brand’s terms and conditions that you have to sign to purchase the brand,” Glassman said. “It’s all about acting with a little bit more respect to each other. Not only do they get access to purchase the brand, but we donate $1 to the Madhappy Foundation, which is all about moving mental health forward.”
