Dive Brief:
- Personal care brand Clean Age is launching nationwide at Walmart beginning in September.
- Clean Age won the “Golden Ticket,” which is the highest award in Walmart’s pitch competition for startups.
- By winning, Clean Age’s deodorant — which comes in three scents: citrus, waves and fresh — will be in 1,800 Walmart stores, bringing the brand’s retail distribution network to 5,000 doors.
Dive Insight:
Founded by Rachel Peters and her daughter Cana, Clean Age sells gender-inclusive, cruelty-free and vegan products marketed to Gen Z consumers. Products include deodorant, toothpaste tabs, a bamboo toothbrush and hand sanitizer.
Cana, who is now 15 years old, is involved in choosing new scents and often appears in the brand’s social media feeds, according to Peters, Clean Age’s founder and CEO.
Walmart’s 10th annual Open Call pitch competition had over 4,500 entrepreneurs apply with over 13,000 products registered to compete. Finalists, including Clean Age, pitched their products through 30-minute one-on-one virtual and in-person meetings at Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.
“This is a major milestone for our brand, and we are excited to share our products with teens across the country. We believe that everyone deserves to have better-for-you products at an affordable price, and our retail partners make that possible,” Peters said in a statement, adding that the brand helps “parents and teens at a highly emotional time in the household. And, we help retailers provide a sustainable, clean product that stands out on the shelf."
With a deal to sell product through one of the country’s biggest retailers, Clean Age will immediately expand its network and be able to connect with thousands of potential new customers. This reflects a move that many digitally native brands have pursued in recent years as a way to grow their businesses.
Clean Age launched in 128 retail stores in 2022, including Fred Meyer. Prior to its partnership with Walmart, the brand was available in 3,200 doors through its wholesale partnership including 2,200 Rite Aid locations and small, independent grocery stores, Peters told Retail Dive in an email. The brand continues to sell on Amazon and Vitacost.com, as well as its own website, though Peters noted that most of its sales come from physical retail.
