Twipes is the startup behind the world’s first truly flushable and biodegradable wet wipes, which break down in water in three hours or in landfill in seven days. The company was founded in London and launched product in 2020.
Two years later, in 2022, Twipes participated in the Foundervine Immerse Catalyst Accelerator in partnership with Lloyds, before the company even had ambitions of expanding beyond the borders of the United Kingdom. Using the boost from its work with Foundervine, Twipes was able to make expansion a reality, and opened its U.S. entity in 2023.
Since Twipes’ expansion to the United States, the company has learned a lot with regard to consumer education, scaling, and adapting to a larger market.
One challenge the company has faced over the past three years since its expansion is consumer education. Twipes has realized that in a much larger market and a country with not as much awareness on environmental initiatives, it is oftentimes tough to get consumers to understand the problem they’re trying to solve, as opposed to the U.K., where it was fairly straightforward.
Because there is no regulation around the terms “flushable” and “biodegradable,” companies can put these terms on their packaging, which can be confusing to consumers.
“Certain verbiage that other wipes have used on their packaging and in their commercials have made it tougher to get the message across that, yes, our wipes really are flushable,” Twipes CEO and cofounder Al Bozorgi said. “So a large part of expanding to another market is having to start from square one again and explain to a new group of people, ‘Hey, yes, you can flush these and they will break down properly.’”
While in general, there was already a good amount of awareness in the U.K. surrounding what non-dispersing wipes do to the River Thames, as well as the formation of fatbergs - masses of oils, fats, and solid products flushed down the toilet that plug sewer lines - there is not as much awareness in the United States regarding these issues, despite the fact that taxpayers pay hundreds of thousands of Dollars each year to resolve them. Massive fatbergs have appeared in major American metropolitan areas like New York City, Baltimore, Detroit, and Southern California, yet it seems as if not many people are aware. Meanwhile, the Museum of London even went as far as to display a 250-meter, 130-ton Whitechapel fatberg from 2017 to draw awareness to the issue.
One thing that has helped with awareness in the new market has been more notorious blockages lately that have been caused by some of Twipes’ bigger competitors. The additional problem this creates, however, is getting people to differentiate Twipes from other wet wipes when it comes to safely being able to flush.
“My cofounder, Elle [McIntosh] spent four years working on R&D for Twipes’ unique binding technology to make sure they would break down,” Bozorgi said. “Because of this, our products are not only alcohol, plastic, and paraben free, but are also EDANA tested and certified septic and sewer safe.”
One way Twipes sets themselves apart from traditional non-dispersing wet wipes is by demonstrating its unique dispersing technology, through what the company refers to as “the shake test,” when a wipe is placed in a jar of water and shaken for 60 seconds to simulate the motion of the water through the pipes of a toilet after being flushed. This technique is great to show to potential buyers in person at festivals, markets, and other local tabling events. To convey this to the larger American audience, Twipes utilizes social media and online marketing, featuring videos of the shake test, in addition to educational literature, to help consumers understand the difference.
Ultimately, American consumers want sustainable alternatives, the same way consumers in the U.K. do.
“Just because the market is so much larger in America and there’s not as much awareness from the average consumer, does not mean that they care any less about their impact on the environment,” Bozorgi said. “It’s more about raising awareness than anything, because I think in general, most people want to see the planet thrive and the future to have a brighter outlook.”
While working with Foundervine, Twipes developed three unique customer profiles — Martin, Jenni, and Bailey, the company’s target demographics when marketing their product. The program helped the Twipes team to define its customer segmentation and understand how to target sales toward those customer segments. These profiles exist in the U.S. as well as the U.K., as Twipes still uses the methods they learned through Foundervine to this day, even post-international expansion.
The general demographics are an eco-warrior who cares about their community and their environmental impact, a mom who likes to be ahead of the curve environmentally and share with others what steps they are taking to do so, and a college student who is future-focused and cares about their hygiene.
These profiles have helped Twipes to boost sales and find who best fits the target demographics for the product.
Since participating in the Foundervine program, Twipes has also participated in the 43North startup accelerator in Buffalo, N.Y., the InnovateUK program and Morgan Stanley’s Inclusive Ventures Lab in New York City, and the ViennaUP program in Vienna.
Each of these programs has provided the startup with additional funds and/or resources to help with its expansion. The 43North accelerator supplied Twipes with a $1 million investment, office space in Buffalo, and connections to the local market, which is what got Twipes off the ground in the States after cofounders Bozorgi and McIntosh won a pitch competition a few months prior. InnovateUK helped Twipes understand what to expect in the American market and provided strategies for the approach. Morgan Stanley’s Inclusive Ventures Lab also provided investment, as well as advisement on how to pitch the product to other potential investors. ViennaUP was Twipes’ foray into the European Union market, and though Twipes was not quite ready to tackle a third market, the program provided invaluable knowledge about what starting a European entity would take.
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