FEMALE POWER FROM DAY ONE
THE SUCCESS STORY OF WASCHIES
2015
As the head of an advertising agency and mother of two girls, I actually have my hands full, but I’m one of those people who don’t let themselves be dissuaded from an idea once they’ve got it into their heads….
After the birth of my little daughter Valerie, I despaired at her everyday cleaning with wet wipes. She suffered from skin irritations again and again and in addition, a huge mountain of rubbish accumulated every day. Alternative products like cotton flannels were not hypoallergenic and without fabric softener they became too hard and scratchy for her sensitive skin. So I simply decided to develop a sustainable wash pad myself according to my own specifications. I got help from a small weaving mill in a neighbouring village of Kulmbach, my home town. Together we developed a fabric that is hypoallergenic, can be washed at up to 95 ° degrees and remains soft even after washing without fabric softener.
2016
The first feedback on the fabric was so positive that I decided to get started right away with the help of my advertising agency. So we produced our first products. The name did not have long to wait:
“waschies” – the idea of my big daughter Antonia. OEKO Tex certificates – patent protection – design protection – brand protection, together we got it all off the ground.
2017
In 2017, our online shop finally went online and shortly afterwards, the well-known company for children’s products, jako-o, included us in their range. We expanded our colour and product range. After the well performance of the waschies removing even make-up and cream residues easily and with water alone, we developed our successful make-up removal line: waschies FACELINE.
2018
Appearance on the VOX show “Die Höhle der Löwen” (German version of “Shark Tank”)
We were so convinced of our product that we applied for the VOX start-up TV show. When we received the acceptance, our joy was obviously huge, but it also came along with a lot of excitement and preparation time. Together with my co-founder Marcella Müller, I finally ventured to Cologne for the recording of the broadcast. To our great pleasure, we were able to convince two investors, Judith Williams and Ralf Dümmel.
We decided in favour of Ralf Dümmel, who still holds a 20% stake in waschies GmbH today.
After the broadcast of the show, we received a huge run on our waschies – in 2018 alone, we were able to sell over 2 million pieces.
2019
Due to the continued success, we decided to move to a larger office and hire our first employee, Emmi. The company and team have continued to grow ever since: new employees, new product lines, new editions.
After we by coincidence met the founder of the Robin Aid Foundation at the airport, who performs operations for seriously ill children in areas of crisis, we were so impressed by his commitment that we wanted to support him and his foundation.
We launched our GOLD Edition and ever since donate 1 € of every Gold Edition to the Robin Aid Foundation.
2020
A special highlight of the Covid affected year 2020 was the representation of our waschies in the Top Twenty Villa of Heidi Klums topmodels of GNTM. In a design of a delicate vanilla tone, our special edition was unpacked in front of the camera.
2020+
It’s waschies’ vision to make the world a little bit better and more sustainable with innovative products. Of course we want to continue to grow and become a trendsetting company in the beauty and accessories sector, so that we can show the whole world how cleansing and make-up removal will be done in 2021+.
In 2021 we expanded our sales markets internationally, selling in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and areas in the Middle East as well.
We are delighted that you are interested in our personal story of waschies and hope you love our waschies as much as we do.
Love, your waschies, Carolin + Team
