goodwipes Is Disrupting The Dry World Of Toilet Paper

Ever wondered if your bathroom routine could be a little more… luxurious? Charlie Siciak, co-founder of goodwipes, is leading a charge to transform the traditionally unglamorous toilet paper category into a vibrant, beauty-inspired experience. In this interview, Charlie delves into goodwipes’ unique brand-building strategies, innovative experiential activations like the Porta Palace, and the balance of e-commerce and retail in their mission to convert the world to a “wet wipe” clean.

Dave Knox: What is goodwipes, and how did you start the business?

Charlie Siciak: goodwipes, like many favorite brands, started from a need. My co-founder, Sam Nebel, has IBS, and I have sensitive skin. We both learned early that dry toilet paper wasn’t enough. We thought this hygiene routine was bizarre until we literally bumped into each other in a communal college bathroom, both holding wet wipes. We realized others did this too and bonded over it.

The next 30 days were interesting. Living in a large house, we tried to convince everyone to start wiping wet. We learned a few things:

1. The majority of people who tried wet wiping stuck with it.
2. Once people experienced wipes, navigating repeat purchases was tricky—they didn’t know where to buy them, often found store options unappealing, and were embarrassed to purchase them because most brands on shelves were marketed for babies.
3. Most wipes weren’t flushable and often contained bad ingredients.

12 years ago, we took a swing at goodwipes, which today are premium, truly flushable wipes for adults, providing a confident clean for everyone.

Knox: Toilet paper is typically a commodity. You’ve taken a different approach, focusing on beauty, lifestyle, and bringing character and personality to the space. What led you down that path, and what have you learned?

Siciak: To put it simply, Sam and I love retail. If you walk through Target or Walmart, stores are bifurcated. You have fragrant, fun-to-shop areas like personal care and beauty, then a dry, stale side like household essentials . We thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if the toilet paper category, which 97% of U.S. households buy, was as enjoyable to shop as other parts of the store?”

Our aim is to bring the brilliant codes of the beauty category into the household essentials category. It’s about human connection, while turning what would otherwise be seen as a commodity product into a brand with culture and community. It’s always been a priority for us to make bathroom hygiene an approachable topic instead of letting traditional taboos make people feel embarrassed, ashamed, or uninformed about something so natural.

Knox: Beyond branding, you’ve learned a lot about building a business—sourcing manufacturers, engaging retailers. Looking back, what do you wish you had known seven or eight years ago?

Siciak: We’ve done well because our focus on ‘product’ was crucial from the start. It came from a need; we were solving a problem. We could use high-level marketing jargon, but it worked because we believe we have the best product in the category. So, you have to start with a great product.

For us, it was also about being authentic. We had no playbook. We weren’t multi-time founders. We just saw white space in the market, and the community around us desired something different than the status quo. We served that need by listening to our community.

From a brand-building perspective, I wish we had invested in people sooner. Much of our recent growth comes from the insights and direction of the brilliant people who joined our team. If we could do it again, we’d hire talent sooner.

Knox: Let’s discuss brand building. You recently launched the Porta Palace, which is getting a lot of buzz. What is it, and why did you launch it?

Siciak: The Porta Palace is the world’s greatest porta-potty—a luxury porta-potty on wheels. When growing an emerging brand, driving trial is key. At grocery stores, you can offer samples to consumers for immediate trial. As a below-the-belt beauty brand, we can’t do that. So we decided to bring the bathroom to them.

We focused on where our audience works, lives, and plays – especially where they play. We place the Porta Palace mostly at races, concerts, and community events. You’ve been there: Public restrooms at outdoor events are traditionally terrible, regardless of your ticket entry level. We wanted to bring comfort and an elevated bathroom routine to all.. And it’s worked wonders so far.

Knox: Event marketing is a common investment, but ROI is hard to quantify. Beyond being Instagrammable, how do you justify this investment and measure its impact on the business?

Siciak: Hard question, for sure. We discuss this with almost every other brand activating at our events. Everyone has a different take. Sometimes we want to quantify everything, which gets easier the longer you’re in the game, but we see activation and trial as a necessity – regardless of the tangible metrics.

We often say, “You have to trust the soup.” You’re adding ingredients, stirring, and adjusting the temperature. It might not look great midway, but there’s a recipe.

We’re about eight months into the Porta Palace activation. In addition to some other brand activities, our category share is up 2.5 percentage points. Our DTC business is small, but website traffic is up over 35%. Organic social impressions, our top indicator for awareness, are up over 100% year-to-date. We’re also seeing a 10-point sales lift in local stores the four weeks following Porta Palace events.

These are all leading indicators that these activations are working for the brand.

Knox: The category’s marketing approach and brand messaging have been relatively conservative. You’ve pushed the envelope. How do you decide to do that, and where’s the line between appropriate and crass?

Siciak: This is something we discuss daily. We believe that for a brand to work, it has to be a true extension of the founding team. Without a playbook, we relied on trial and error, being true to ourselves, and treating our community like friends. We understand we’re in a consumer democracy, serving to add value and solve a problem.

Marketing the brand and talking to people as if the brand were a person made it approachable. We started by talking about bathroom hygiene in a way we wished people always had—like it’s an important part of our daily wellness routine that shouldn’t be shrouded in taboo. Our audience appreciated the relatability and understood that investing in yourself—looking good, feeling good, feeling comfortable in your skin—leads to a better life. The ethos was to stay true to investing in ourselves and talking to our community like friends.

Knox: Many brands born in the last decade start as DTC, then expand. You’ve balanced DTC, retail, and Amazon from day one. How do you see each channel fitting into your brand-building ethos?

Siciak: Sam and I didn’t have much exposure to DTC in college; it wasn’t a hot topic in our region. We’ve always viewed DTC as a brand hub. The economics for “paper soaked in water” are tough on that channel, and we weren’t great at it. So, DTC remains a place to get more flavor and understanding of the brand, like visiting a website or social media after hearing about us.

That said, we’ve always seen Amazon as an activation, discovery, and trial platform. People search for needs, and you can easily get in front of them with a solution. The economics are much better, and it’s been a huge lever for growth and consumer feedback. We’ve historically received product iteration feedback from Amazon reviews.

Additionally, much of our retail business was won by proving our digital-shelf performance against competitors on Amazon, showing we could do the same in retail.

Knox: In the early days, you and Sam aimed to convert people from dry to wet. Today, how do you approach converting first-time users into lifelong fans?

Siciak: Marketing is easy to overcomplicate, so we try to stick to the basics. This is only possible because our team of rockstar people “get it” and talk to our consumers like they’re in a group chat with them: Real, relatable and entertaining.

But, you still need retention and loyalty. The past decade, arguably the golden era of CPG, saw many brands come and go because they were “pumping and dumping” dollars for consumers. Without retention and loyalty, brands fizzle out.

We’ve figured it out, and are proud to say that we’re the only brand in the category growing both penetration and repeat purchase.

So, start with product, drive trial, and keep meeting people where they are to ensure the brand stays top of mind, as much as possible.

Knox: How do you approach product innovation these days, considering different categories and scents?

Siciak: The category of flushable wipes has just over 33% household penetration. So, when we think about innovation, we think more about how we’re talking, educating, and bringing light to this subcategory of household paper. It’s easy to get sidetracked thinking, “Let’s platform this brand,” but looking at brand and category penetration and the total addressable market, there’s work to do where we’re at.

For the next 3-5 years, our focus is on bringing new households into the fold. Along the way, you’ll see a lot of iteration in price architecture. I think “flavors” (scents) that allow people to express individuality, paired with functional ingredients, will drive short-term innovation.

Long-range, as with any category receiving attention, sustainability becomes a bigger conversation, as does ease of use and lifestyle integration. We have backend projects beyond the 3-5 year mark. But for the next few years, expect lots of varieties in the realm of flavors and pack sizes.

We’re also on a mission to educate. There are many misnomers that flushable wipes aren’t flushable, when forensic studies prove they are. So, we have a lot of category education to do there.

Also, there’s a psychological barrier. In beauty and personal care, you’re in a shopper mindset, seeking new ways to do a job. But when shopping for household essentials, it’s habit-driven: “I grab this roll of paper towels, this box of wipes, etc.”

A big driver to achieving that shopper mindset is getting people to discuss the fact that toilet paper isn’t enough.

So, our education focuses on flushability and cleanliness. We have clinical studies proving toilet paper leaves residue, and that you can experience a confident, more thorough clean with goodwipes.
Knox: You mentor other founders. What advice do you give a founder trying to build a business today?

Siciak: You need to know where you’re going and why; that’s your gospel. Focus on it, remind yourself, and eradicate “waggy tail syndrome.” There will be many distractions and easy offers, but you must stay true to your mission and get the job done.

More than anything, you’ve got to stay in the fight.

I’m a big believer that most people can do most things and win if they don’t give up. Everyone hears this, but it hits true every time: Building a business takes three times as long and costs three times as much as you expect it to.

I call it “stove syndrome.” Even though we hear it, we have to experience it ourselves to believe it, like putting your hand on a hot stove. You’ll experience that it takes longer and costs more, but the sooner you make peace with that, the easier the endurance and perseverance become.