Bringing Fun to Bodycare
Sundae is a fun Australian bodycare brand that makes deliciously scented whipped shower foams that looks just like whipped cream! I asked some questions to Sundae founder Lizzie Waley about her fun beauty brand. But first I want to share my thoughts on Sundae.
Whipped Cream Body Wash
The texture of the Sundae’s whipped shower foam is just perfect, it really does come out like whipped cream, complete with pointed tops. Another thing that adds to this is that the whipped cream dollops stick to your body. Meaning you can easily decorate yourself like a cake which honestly made me laugh in the shower the first time I tried it, as I made a foam soap bikini. The foam then turns into a lovely creamy body wash.
Delicious Scents
So far, I’ve tried three of the different scents on offer from Sundae; Honey Honey, Pomegranate Fizz and Orange Crush. Honey Honey was the Body Wash Winner of Beauty Design Awards 2022! You can tell that a lot of work was put into the scents, they are all distinctly different from each other. Honey Honey is sweet and creamy while Orange Crush is a fresh & fruity orange soda. It makes me want to try more of the different scents!
The Design
I think they did a great job on the design. Very often when beauty brands create food themed products, they make them look too much like the actual food packaging. Many people when creating a product like this one would lean into making the design look just like whipped cream. Sundae has the shape of a whipped cream can, so instead of going in a tacky direction they keep the design minimalist and monochrome.
I also think it was a great choice to make the text a darker shade of the same color as the base. Just change the text to white or black and the result would be so bland. Sundae also has great photos of their products that make them look very appealing, as you can see in the images featured in this article!
Now let's get into my question to founder Lizzie Waley.
What was the biggest challenge when developing your Whipped Shower Foam?
“Surprisingly, our caps! When we decided to create a shower foam, we immediately knew we wanted to position it as a can of whipped cream, which meant we needed a whipped cream inspired cap. Little did we know you can’t just purchase these caps, we had to invest in a custom tooling machine that would allow us to make these caps. Whilst it was an unplanned (and sizeable!) investment at the start, I’m so glad we were able to make it work as the packaging wouldn’t be the same without it.”
What was the most important thing to get right?
“The experience! Our entire purpose is to create a joyful experience for our customers. Many personal care companies out there exist to fulfil a need, we exist to ignite joy. We want our customers to talk about our products like they do about face masks and other self-care rituals, with genuine excitement. To do this, we focus on innovating in both our formulations and packaging, and an array of fragrances (or flavours as we like to call them), really trying to activate all senses to surprise and delight our customers!”
When it comes to the packaging design what were you going for?
“Before we concepted the packaging, we had already landed on the name ‘Sundae’, so that very much guided us into that food space. And with the foam consistency being so similar to whipped cream, we were really gunning for that kind of packaging. Whipped cream is so synonymous with fun, everything from shaking it, to turning it upside down and pressing a button which then creates this explosion of creamy goodness, we really wanted to recreate that feeling of excitement… You just can’t eat this one!”
What has been the biggest challenge since launching?
“Body wash also hadn’t seen a lot of innovation which was a really exciting challenge for us to tackle. But it’s a big challenge! We’re asking people to move away from their trusty body wash that they probably haven’t changed up in years, and try something completely new – new vessel, new texture, new brand! It’s a big ask. Changing the way people consume their body wash has been a challenge, which is mostly why we have just focused on the one product in our range, we wanted to get it right but also start this brand with one hero product that really showcases our brand story, and that would then set the tone for future products.”
What’s your biggest focus when it comes to marketing?
“First and foremost, creating a community. We’re all about creating joyful experiences, and our community is crucial to be able to deliver on this promise.”
What is the most exciting achievement for Sundae so far?
“Our retail distribution has been the most exciting achievement. We are in over 2000 doors across Australia and the UK, and in April we will be launching into over 2,500 doors with a retailer in a new market. I am so proud of what we have been able to achieve in only 2 years.”
Selfcare & Chill
Sundae is featured in my Selfcare & Chill Beauty Brand Archetype Report. Check out the report to see more fun brands.
Thank you to Lizzie Waley for answering my questions! //Jennifer Carlsson
