Startup
BEEKEEPR wipe dispenser creates buzz
If you have kids, regardless of their ages, disposable cleaning wipes are probably a part of your daily life. Wipes are great for tackling sticky hands and shopping cart handles, but what do you do with the used wipe?
Local inventor Lizzy Osma created a quick and clean solution to that problem which does not involve mini-van cup holders or grandma’s jacket pocket.
Osma created a dishwasher-safe wipes dispenser with a storage area for used wipes. The product, BEEKEEPR, is the first product launched by the company BEE by lizzy b, founded in 2020 by Lizzy Osma and Daniel Burkwald.
The time in quarantine sparked Osma’s ingenuity.
“I started inventing during COVID. I am a licensed aesthetician, and I’ve been doing that for almost 10 years. During COVID I wasn’t practicing, so I had time on my hands. And I don’t do well without being productive,” she said.
“That led me to create a sunscreen wipe product… I tried different wipes and then I took them out and used them. When I used a wipe, I didn’t have anywhere to put the soiled, used wipe. That is when it connected,” she continued.
“I have so many family members and friends who have children. I started to ask the question ‘what are you doing with these used wipes after you use them?’ The answer was really consistent. They are just being shoved into diaper bags, strollers, and pockets,” Osma said.
After confirming the need with wipes-users, Osma worked with the local product development firm DistillPD to create a prototype of the wipes dispenser she thought would best serve her customers. She collaborated with the development team until the prototype was perfected and ready for production.
BEEKEEPR is locally manufactured by Sussex Injection Molding
To supplement the founders’ initial investment into BEE by lizzy b, the company received both a loan and a grant from Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation, with the addition of a $10,000 Kickstarter campaign that exceeded its goal.
Osma explained why Kickstart was the right fund-raising choice for her company.
“Proof of concept,” she said. “You’re investing so much time and resources into a product. I’ve found proofing the concept through market research is really costly. I did not feel comfortable bringing this product to market without having some substantiating evidence that a stranger would buy this. That is what I needed as proof.”
“Kickstarter is a lot of time and resources, but it’s a lot more cost effective (than market research) and a lot more sweat equity,” she continued. “I feel it made a really great starting point for us as well as naturally creating a community. In order to succeed and grow on Kickstarter, you have to harness and create a community. I felt that with our products, we could do that.”
The strategy was so successful that the company used it again when developing its second product, the HONEE Dipper Skincare applicator. The tool, created by Osma and used as part of a facial care routine, also exceeded its Kickstarter fundraising goal of $11,000. The company anticipates the tool will be on the market before the close of 2024.
BEEKEEPR is currently available through the company website as well as Amazon Marketplace.
“The connecting thread that brings the brand holistically together is convenience,” Osma said. “When looking at the way I invent, why I invent, and what leads me to invent it is a thread of making life more convenient for women in our hive. The products are so different. They’re in such different categories, but they have the similar thread of convenience and making life more convenient for women.
To learn more about BEE by lizzy b, connect with the company here.
