COMPANY

Name: DotGrey Lifestyle

Legal: DotGREY Lifestyle Company

Location: Chicago, IL

Founded: 2017

Founder(s): Anson Wu

Website:https://store.discovergrey.com/

INDUSTRY – Men’s Personal Care

Size: $36Bn (2015)

Projection: $166Bn by 2022

Introduction

DotGrey Lifestyle (‘GREY’) is a men’s lifestyle brand, marketing high-end skincare products in a masculine way. The company offers a limited amount of skincare products (three) and an extremely limited amount of fashion choices, generally consisting in pricey black T-shirts. However, the company uses a bold marketing strategy to give consumers a sense of access to a daring, unique lifestyle through the use of organic skincare products. The company is trying to make ‘GREY’ less about male beauty products and more about a (rather vague) personal revolution. It also claims to be creating a new kind of masculinity. The company claims to “Celebrate individuality by shining light on people who have broken free of society’s constraints.” What this has to do with convincing men to cover their faces with chamomile is, no doubt, a marketing mystery.

The Product

The products selection is very small and high-end. In fact, there are only three skincare options on offer: a face wash (“WASH”) a moisturizer (“PROTECT”) and a nighttime anti-aging face cream (“HYDRATE”). Though limited, the products boast of “natural” ingredients that are organically sourced. For instance, the facewash is chamomile-based, contains ingredients such as red clover and white willow bark extract, and costs $39 for 40ML. The moisturizer ($49) contains jojoba, avocado and grape seed oils, claiming to nourish skin while protecting it from harmful elements. Similarly, the night cream contains olive oil, sunflower, grape seed, aloe vera gel, mango oil, and is said to rehydrate skin, reduce scars and fight aging ($49.) If bought as a set the cost is $139, saving consumers $2.

Additionally, DotGrey offers men a line of self-proclaimed luxury fashion items. These tend to be black T-shirts costing between $29-$79. On the cheaper end, shirts have the ‘GREY’ logo. And on the pricier end, shirts sport the word ‘UGLY’ in all caps. What makes the $79 ‘UGLY’ shirt worth its price is something of a mystery, since it’s 100% cotton. The company justifies the price tag by claiming that those who wear the T-shirt are choosing to defy society’s labels, and exist beyond their job description.

To promote marketing, the company produces an active lifestyle blog.

Origin

CEO and founder Anson Wu is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied architecture. After that he co-founded ‘Rentever,’ a company that sought to give consumers the option to rent out their possessions. The company has since soon shut shop. After this, Wu worked as the director of Fresh Design Studio, a millennial-targeted marketing agency. Leveraging his experience across all these ventures, Wu finally founded DotGrey Lifestyle in 2017. Wu claims his desire to “build a tribe of men who defy expectations.” 

“DotGREY is embarking upon uncharted territory in men’s lifestyle – and all who dare to share the journey are welcomed,” said Wu, in a statement.