Hims is the brainchild of Andrew Dudum, a partner at Atomic, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm backed by PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel. The company launched November 1 with its first fleet of products: affordable, direct-to-consumer hair-loss prevention shampoos, serums, vitamins, and pills. It bills itself as “the one-stop shop for trusted self-care solutions.” Today it debuted its next offering: treatments for erectile dysfunction. Eventually the lifestyle brand will expand into skincare, oral hygiene, and dietary supplements.
Anti-baldness medicine isn’t new. Penis pills aren’t new. Moisturizer isn’t new. But talking about them to men in a frank, conversational tone is. Packaging them in neutral-hued bottles is. Rebranding these touchy topics–typically associated with embarrassment and bruised egos–with a young voice is. These products are aimed squarely at insecurities men have grappled with for decades. But like many new wellness and cosmetic brands for women, Hims using design and branding to market to men in a new way–a kind of Goop for men.