On this episode, we're joined by Sam Nebel, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Goodwipes, a fast-growing eco-friendly wet wipes brand that's secured shelf space in pretty much every major retailer across the country.
In this episode, Sam shares the wild origin story of Goodwipes - which started with a bathroom conversation at a Florida State fraternity house - and breaks down how they've built a premium flushable wipes brand that's revolutionizing the restroom routine for millions of Americans.
We dive into their scrappy early days, the importance of bootstrapping and building on a budget, and how they navigated formulation challenges to create a product that truly stands out. Sam gets tactical on brand identity and packaging design, explaining why "in-home aesthetics" matter just as much as shelf appeal, and walks through the naming process that led to Goodwipes.
We also cover retail strategy at scale - what's unique about Walmart, Target, and Kroger, why placement in the toilet paper aisle vs personal care matters, and how they've successfully scaled into 10,000+ doors. Sam shares insights on the challenges of sampling wipes, their growing presence in airports, and what it takes to launch new products successfully.
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Episode Highlights:
🚽 The fraternity house origin story
💪 Bootstrapping lessons from franchising and nightlife
🧪 Formulation R&D and product iteration
📦 Brand identity, packaging, and "in-home aesthetics"
✏️ The naming process and creating approachability
🛒 Walmart, Target, Kroger—what's different about each
📍 Why aisle placement matters (TP aisle vs personal care)
✈️ The airport channel opportunity
📈 Scaling from 100 to 1,000 to 10,000+ doors
🚀 New product development and hitting timelines
🎯 Risk and opportunity ahead
👀 Trends and brands Sam is watching
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Table of Contents:
0:00 - Intro
0:47 - Origin story and goodwipes overview
3:21 - Lessons as a franchisee
5:22 - Lessons as a nightlife agency owner
7:59 - Building on a budget, fundraising
11:02 - Formulation and R&D
14:00 - Product roadmap and innovation
15:32 - Brand identity and packaging design
19:41 - The importance of in-home aesthetics
21:43 - The naming process
23:32 - Walmart, Target and Kroger and beyond
27:41 - Sampling wipes?
29:12 - Airports
31:10 - Scaling into 10K+ doors
32:28 - NPD decision process, getting it right
35:15 - Risk and opportunities
36:58 - Trends and brands Sam is watching
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Links:
Goodwipes – https://www.goodwipes.com
Follow Sam on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kingofwipes/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint.
