How the Founders of DUDE Wipes are Leveraging Walmart Marketplace to Take on a $15 Billion Industry This creative men's brand is using the right tools to turn their big vision into reality.

It started in 2010 when four college friends in Chicago had an idea for a type of baby wipe produced specifically for men. What came of that idea was DUDE Wipes, a line of flushable cleansing wipes. "We're in the habit-change game, so we're changing people from using dry toilet paper to a cleaner clean, something that leaves you fresher," says Jeff Klimkowski, the company's co-founder and CFO.

While their brand of witty marketing, clever packaging, and entrepreneurial sprit got them started on the right foot, one thing has set them on a pace to grow their share of the $15 billion bath tissue category: Selling on Walmart Marketplace. By reaching an audience of approximately 145 million customers who shop with Walmart in the U.S. online and in stores weekly, and leveraging Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), DUDE Wipes has accomplished major milestones while keeping their eyes on what comes next.

Here's a look at three ways DUDE Wipes is leveraging the features of Walmart Marketplace to take on a $15 billion industry.

1. Expanding order fulfillment and improving customer service.

As any direct-to-consumer startup can attest, fulfilling orders all over the U.S. in a timely manner and with a limited staff is a nearly impossible task. The team at DUDE Wipes learned this early on. With just one shipping location in Chicago, DUDE Wipes struggled to deliver fast, nationwide orders to customers while trying to scale their business.

"We were carrying boxes ourselves and shipping things out to customers," recalls CEO Sean Wiley. "You quickly realize that you're never going to scale if you stay in that mindset."

That's why Wiley and the DUDE Wipes team turned to Walmart Marketplace, which offers sellers powerful logistics services that other e-commerce marketplaces cannot. They began using WFS in November of 2022, storing inventory in WFS warehouses and relying on Walmart's shipping services to fulfill customer orders—most being delivered to customers in as little as two days*.

Today, DUDE Wipes sends inventory to WFS monthly instead of stressing over daily, direct shipments to customers. Walmart Marketplace picks, packs, and ships incoming orders, in addition to handling all aspects of the post-purchase experience such as customer service, returns, and replacements.

"WFS is not only efficient, but it's more cost-effective than the biggest online competitor that Walmart has," says Joey Thomas, DUDE Wipes' senior director of e-commerce. "We spend less on our order fulfillment through WFS than elsewhere."

2. Using insights to develop products customers want.

With logistics operations off their to-do list, the DUDE Wipes team found time to focus on things like expanding their product assortment. Initially, however, they lacked customer insights. They wanted to know the types of personal care products and price points that resonate with their demographic.

Via Walmart Marketplace's powerful solutions for pricing, catalog management, and more, DUDE Wipes has managed to experiment with new products and try different types of pack sizes. "We use the Walmart Marketplace as a place to gather data and understand what's really resonating with the consumer," Klimkowski says.

And it's working. Thanks to Walmart's reach and insights, DUDE Wipes has seen the number of products sold on Walmart Marketplace place and shipped through WFS grow more than 800% year-over-year.

3. Leaning into customized inventory recommendations.

Before working with Walmart Marketplace, managing inventory was cumbersome. If a customer placed an order for an item that was out of stock, DUDE Wipes would have to cancel the order. That's not a great way to create loyal customers.

Today, with machine-learning-based insights, WFS manages DUDE Wipes' inventory levels and provides recommendations for when the team should send in specific, additional items.

Eyes on the future.

Klimkowski says DUDE Wipes currently has a 1% share of toilet paper and wet bath tissue market. "We want be 2% next year and we want to be 8% over the next 10 years," he says.

From powerful logistics services to access to valuable customer insights and having the right tools to keep the business operating smoothly, DUDE Wipes has the reach and ability to scale—giving the company the confidence to reach their ambitious milestones.

There's no better time than now to join Walmart Marketplace and ship with WFS! New sellers get up to 50% off referral fees and fulfillment solutions** for 90 days after they receive your first shipment. This offer ends July 31, so act fast to save big and become the next success story. Learn more and join Walmart Marketplace.

*Non-peak. Some heavy & bulky items excluded. Only standard shipping is available in non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii.

**Conditions apply.