Cleaner Man was founded in 2019 to enter an underserved market - initially comprised of men's cleansing cloths, and expanding into other skin care products. Then delay, delay, delay, pandemic. But what the pandemic did was get men accustomed to using wipes on their hands and faces to a degree that they hadn't previously. And so suddenly what might have been considered a fringe item was now mainstream and marketable. As for the concept in general, here's some text from the business plan Executive Summary:

Welcome to Cleaner Man. A wise man once said that the key to marketing success isn’t really in the effort – it’s in having the right idea at the right time, scratching a previously unseen and unfelt itch, and THEN relying on effort to get you through. Well ok, maybe not so wise. Me. I said it. I’m Scott Rotman, the founder of Cleaner Man LLC. Cleaner Man LLC was formed to fill the undersaturated niche of men’s cleansing cloths, i.e., wet wipes (with the intent to expand into additional men’s grooming products in the future). We offer two separate lines – Cleaner Man wipes, and its tongue-in-cheek brother, Cleaner Wiener wipes. Essentially the same product under two different labels, they are biodegradable, disposable cleansing cloths that are infused with a masculine fragrance that we commissioned specifically for this purpose. We have developed graphics, logos, and slogans to support our advertising campaign, which will focus heavily on online marketing through Shopify. We expect to sell our products online to establish a foothold in the sector before expanding to brick and mortar. Our brick and mortar goals include everything from gyms, airports, and hotels to the Targets, CVSs, and Walmarts of the world. We expect to go international within one year of bringing the product to market in the United States.

 

Through a confluence of events and trends, the male world is ready for this product. No, the male world needs this product. The male grooming product market is booming, and has been since before the COVID pandemic. One cannot help but notice the continually increasing amount of shelf space allocated to men’s hygiene products. The customary selection of razors, shaving cream, Clubman after-shave, English Leather cologne and Brylcreem has been joined by an ever-broadening assortment of beard oils, face and body cleansers, groomers, hair care products, etc. The wet wipe market also was booming before the pandemic, and now is exploding because of it. Men, already accustomed to paying closer attention to their hygiene, have been conditioned by COVID to rely more readily on wet wipes. But for men, there are few choices. Baby wipes, women’s wipes, and run-of-the-mill antibacterial wipes work fine, but what man wants to smell like that? There are fragrance free wipes for men and women alike, but they leave us feeling flat. We men want a wipe that smells the way we want to smell, and there’s virtually nothing out there that satisfies that need. So, what do we have here? An open niche, and a product to occupy that niche. With creative and sublime graphics and an aggressive advertising campaign, we will make our wipes a widely known phenomenon. And when they want a convenient clean that smells like a man, they’ll come to the world of Cleaner Man, to be the King of Clean.

 

 

My name is Scott Rotman, and I’m the founder of Cleaner Man. I am a fairly fastidious and hygiene-conscious environmental attorney. I live in Mahwah, New Jersey and work in the Financial District of Manhattan. Cleaner Man is my first real foray into entrepreneurship. I have a sense for ideas but am still learning the nuts and bolts of establishing a brand, which I suppose is why I'm here.