Maesa is entering the intimate wellness category.
On Sunday, the incubator is launching its first intimate wellness brand Niches & Nooks, aptly named as it addresses the nooks and crannies of the body. The pH-friendly and dermatologist- and OB-GYN-tested lineup includes 14 stock keeping units, all $13, and will be available at all Target doors and on the retailer’s website.
Products include the Wash Your Nooks Gentle Cleanser, Dry Your Nooks Sweat Absorbing Chafing Barrier Spray, Freshen Your Nooks Body & Fragrance Mist and Wipe Your Nooks Refreshing Towelettes, available in three different scents: Soft Clementine, Airy Vanilla and Fresh Fig. The wipes and cleanser also come in a fragrance-free version. The company did not comment on sales projections, but industry sources estimate it could reach between $5 million and $10 million in the first year.
While Maesa has had body care offerings via Ashley Tisdale’s Being Frenshe, its latest innovation was all about addressing intimate areas with an elevated approach.
“At Maesa, everything starts from identifying a white space, an unmet consumer need,” said chief brand office Oshiya Savur. “The white space that we’ve identified is that intimate care is such a critical part of how we take care of our bodies as women, yet there is just such shame associated with it.…We want to make intimate care a core part of self care.”
With that in mind, when the incubator started developing Niches & Nooks two years ago, the team began to recognize that the conversation around intimate care was shifting, particularly for younger consumers.
“We saw the emerging trends on TikTok, where intimate care was starting to grow with its searches,” Savur said. “We’re finding that Gen Z is more open to talking about it. We’re seeing 43 percent of Gen Z are saying they feel okay about talking about intimate care.”
Additionally, when the team surveyed the market, they discovered that there were offerings but not necessarily ones that were aspirational or appealing to the consumer.
“It looks like a dishwashing aisle,” Savur said of the intimate care aisle. “We speak of our private parts as though they need to be fixed.…We, as women who have been behind creating this, we don’t think odor is [something] to be shameful of. It’s about flipping that narrative around odors and making them more about freshness.”
Maesa’s Niches & Nooks
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Maesa senior vice president of product development Dana Steinfeld added: “We’re not fixing something broken or cleaning up something dirty. We don’t believe in waging war against bodies.…Our formulas are gentle enough for the most sensitive skin and our scents support a healthy microbiome while providing long lasting freshness to all your niches and nooks.”
That being said, the brand is doubling down on unique and elevated scents, which were developed with master perfumers, according to the company.
Maesa’s Niches & Nooks
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“The whole notion is that the scent is as good as your eau de parfum,” Savur said.
As for the packaging, the brand also took a different approach than many on the market. They opted for a dark purple hue and added a unique sculpted divot to its mist and cleanser bottles as a nod to the nooks and crannies of the body.
“It’s a luxurious pack but with that wink so that it feels fun, and it brings the personality of the brand to life,” Savur said.
To mark the launch of the brand, Niches & Nooks has tapped content creator Serena Kerrigan and Dr. Fran Haydanek as ambassadors, who will be promoting the products across platforms.
“[Kerrigan is] our cheeky tone of voice. She’s like that cool girl who will make it normal to talk about all of this and make it fun and cool,” Savur said. “[Dr. Fran] brings the seriousness and credibility.”
While the brand is launching with four core stock keeping units, Savur said to expect more.
“We want to continue to challenge on the format,” she said. “Expect more staples but also some cheeky formats that have not been done before.”
