Can a US$10 hand soap offer enough of the luxury experience to persuade shoppers to switch?

That is the proposition behind Lenose, a brand founded by three former Bubble executives who see an opportunity among younger consumers with premium tastes but limited spending power. Caroline Valentini, Lindsay St. Clair and Zee Carlstrom aim to make their mark on this multi-billion-dollar market with affordable, upscale scents, witty brand copy and marketing geared toward Gen Z and millennials.

Inside Retail spoke with CEO Valentini about Lenose’s origins, its distinctive name and the team’s plans to make it a leading hand wash brand.

Before teaming up to build Lenose, which officially launched this September, Valentini, St. Clair and Carlstrom worked in different departments at Bubble Skincare, favourite among Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers.

The idea grew out of a question Valentini had been asking herself: where could she find premium hand soap at a more accessible price?

“Coming from the beauty space, I was looking at the options and realising that I could build a product that is probably 10 times as good, but sell it at the same price as what we were currently seeing on the shelf at the US$10 mass price point,” she said. “I started talking with Lindsay and Zee, who were my friends long before they were my coworkers, and we ultimately decided that we could really build this product and disrupt this category. We stand behind the thesis that we could democratise luxury.”

Further category and consumer research revealed a distinct audience: early millennials through to older Gen Z consumers.

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