Local entrepreneur Antoine Wade aims to disrupt deodorant, with a sustainable take on underarm hygiene.
He's the founder of Switch Fresh, a patented reusable deodorant applicator with replaceable cartridges. Instead of throwing away a plastic deodorant applicator when the deodorant is done, users can simply pop in a new deodorant cartridge. Wade estimates his product reduces plastic waste by 96 percent compared to traditional deodorant.
And sustainability isn't all that sets Switch Fresh apart: The applicators have a glide mechanism, rather than a twist, and users can place two different types of deodorant at the top and bottom of the device. Wade is currently raising $40,000 on Indiegogo to get the product off the ground.
The idea came from a product brainstorm between Wade and his cousin, Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade. Antoine worked with Dwyane for 14 years as director of operations at Wade Enterprises and consulted on several commercials for the NBA star. The two were discussing a possible cologne product, and Antoine wondered if there was a new vertical that hadn't been tapped yet.
"Everyone was doing cologne," Wade recalls. "Let’s do something different in personal care. I threw out deodorant, because it's a product we all use everyday and will continue to use everyday for the rest of our lives."
While the personal care product conversation between the cousins fell to the wayside as the Bulls guard pursued other ventures, Wade was fascinated by the idea of redesigning deodorant, which he said has been left behind while other consumer products evolve.
So, he took apart a deodorant container, got to designing (he studied art in high school and at Memphis College of Art), and came up with the idea for Switch Fresh. So far he's filed two patents on the product, a design patent that's already been granted and a utility patent that's still pending, and he's planning on filing three more patents on the product design later this month.
Allowing Switch Fresh to be customizable for each customer was important to Wade. While the product comes in four colors right now, he is looking into options for customers to get a design, logo, cartoon character, or sports team emblazoned on the applicator.
"It gives us a platform to create something for everyone with designs," said Wade. "I think the industry lacks that kind of [personalized] connection."
Noting the vague names of many deodorant scents (what does "shower fresh" mean anyway?), Switch Fresh's unisex scents are inspired by neighborhoods and cities across the country: the Tribeca scent has hints of apple, Atlanta is peach-based, and Chicago South Loop smells of vanilla.
They also vary in terms of deodorant and anti-perspirant, depending on the user's preference--the Aspen option is unscented, and free of aluminum and parabens. The applicator can hold two different cartridges at once, allowing users to have multiple scents or levels of anti-perspirant, depending on the activity.
Switch Fresh cost $10 for the applicator. Cartridges will comes in two sizes (2.5 oz and 5 oz) and cost between $2.50 and $3.99. However, with the Indiegogo campaign, Wade is selling both the applicator and cartridge starting at $10 total. Orders are expected to be shipped this July. He's also working on a subscription service where users new get cartridges sent to their doorstep every few months.
