This beauty company just one-upped the drugstore travel aisle
July 15, 2024
This beauty company just one-upped the drugstore travel aisle
100mL curates packs of high-end beauty brands like Aesop in TSA-compliant sizes, so people can pack discerning taste to go (even in a carry-on).
Packing for a trip usually means buying whatever travel-size shampoo, body wash, and toothpaste your nearby drugstore sells or squeezing product into mini containers the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) won’t make you toss out at security.
Now, discerning consumers don’t have to leave their fancy beauty products at home. 100mL, which curates luxe travel-size beauty and health products, offers a digital version of an elevated drugstore, in which everything is already airport-compliant and available in one place for simplified travel prep.
Named for the TSA’s 3.4-ounce (or just-over-100 milliliters) limit for liquids, gels, and aerosols packed in a carry-on, 100mL partnered with high-end, design-forward brands like Aesop, Crown Affair, Fortuna Skin, and Ursa Major to curate a travel-size-only online shop. Carrying 18 brands selected for having “clean, sustainable, and inclusive” products, according to the company’s website, 100mL sells everything from face masks and tampons to beard oil and condoms. Prices vary, between around $8 and $200, depending on the item.
“We curate the best in beauty and wellness in travel-ready sizes, so you never have to sacrifice your rituals while you’re on the go,” 100mL says its website. “No more endless errands, generic drugstore products, or plastic baggies.”
The 100ml shop also offers pre-curated travel kits in clear, water-resistant, security-approved pouches. Selling for about $100 or more, the pre-built pouches aren’t exactly selling for bargain private label prices, but they’re also much more lux. The “Minimalist” pouch comes with Ursa Major face wash, Everyday Humans sunscreen, and Grown Alchemist toner while their “Drugstore” pouch has aquatic mint toothpaste from Marvins and Bergamot & Hinoki deodorant.
Other pre-curated pouches from 100ml are themed, like “Airplane Mode,” which is packed with face wipes, hydro mist, and lip balm, and “Nomad,” which, judging by its name and the dark, woodsy color scheme of its products (bamboo toothbrush and rich brown Aesop shampoo and conditioner bottles) is geared toward men.
That there’s a market for premium travel toiletries makes sense considering the economics of today’s travel boom. Air travel reached a record high in the U.S. the Sunday after Independence Day, and a “K”-shaped recovery from the COVID-19 recession has meant that while cash-strapped, lower-income consumers are struggling most with inflation and high housing costs, higher-income consumers who have benefitted most from the pandemic recovery and a rise in assets like the stock market and housing have more money to splurge on luxury products and travel.
In other words, the need for fun-size, TSA-friendly Aesop shampoo has never been higher.
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