Bundling Hard-To-Find, TSA-Proof Toiletries

To help customers find toiletries that are ready to take flight, eCommerce retailers are rolling out kits and a la carte offerings designed with the jetsetter in mind. Ben Lido Co-founder and CEO Drew Rayman, however, sees his company through a wider lens: “We’re a readiness company. We’re a prep company,” Rayman told PYMNTS in an interview. Rayman makes sure each of his bags has a handle so his customers can grab their supplies and embark on their journeys.

Ben Lido’s bags are organized into various collections for different customer segments. For starters, there is an adventure collection that offers bug spray and bandages, as well as a beach collection that comes with sunscreen. There is also a business collection that includes a phone charger. The offerings run the gamut to serve on-the-go consumers ranging from kids to retirees. While Rayman said a typical retail store would have 100 to 150 items in its travel section, his site has close to 350 items – and he aims to ultimately have more than 500 products.

The eCommerce site also helps fulfill its customers’ sense of adventure when it comes to trying out new travel-sized toiletry products. “Our customers are constantly asking us to introduce them to new and exciting things,” Rayman noted. To meet that need, his site is working to include more luxury items, including the Regent Bag, a military-grade bag made with “sustainable leather that’s used in luxury automobiles,” according to Rayman. The is that the travel toiletry business isn’t only about providing the right products in the right size, but also about the packaging.

The Business Model and Design

When customers receive their bags, they are presented in boxes that feature a quote from Emerson about getting out and traveling. There is also a bird’s nest of free products underneath a flap of the package, along with a plastic Ziploc-like TSA 311 bag. “It’s really a complete system that unfolds upon them,” Rayman explained. Consumers who don’t opt for the bag can assemble their own collection in a box. They still get the Ziploc-like plastic bag with the company’s logo, which can be used at the airport if a TSA agent requires them to pull out their liquid items.

Rayman said the most popular items on the site are Barbasol razors, along with Listerine mouthwash and Tide To Go pens. Hand sanitizer and common medicines like Tylenol also seem to do well. For the beach crowd, Rayman said sunscreen is popular, and Chapstick and nail files also seem to fare well on the site. For future offerings, he is formalizing an in-flight hygiene kit named after Meghan Markle, who reportedly packs hand sanitizer or wet wipes for her flights. That kit would include items such as wipes, tissues and Neosporin.

For payments on his site, Rayman accepts credit cards at checkout, and customers receive free two-day shipping if they meet a minimum order size. (Those can be sent to their homes or their hotels if they want to have a kit ready on short notice.) The offering comes as two-day shipping isn’t considered a perk for most online shoppers anymore, but an expectation, with 100 million Prime members receiving the benefit. Major big box retailers have also expanded their two-day shipping offerings, with Target taking away minimums in some cases and Walmart making marketplace items eligible for the offering.

For Ben Lido, Rayman said his goal is to have new and interesting offerings come to his platform. As it stands, his company does not charge to put samples into the kit, and Rayman currently has samples from 50 different products ranging from hand sanitizing wipes to creams, moisturizers and lotions. Over time, he is considering selling family-sized products, but he first wants to lock down the market for travel-sized toiletries to serve a wide range of travelers on their adventures.