The Only Functional Fragrance Brand
Review #27 - DedCool👃
My soap enthusiasm has reached new heights. Welcome to my first laundry detergent review. Side note: the nose emoji is really freaky IMO but nothing else fit. Sincerest apologies.
Review #27 - DedCool👃
What Is It
DedCool makes, in their words, scents to live in. According to their website, DedCool is “the only Functional Fragrance brand that empowers all people to smell and feel good through scent.” It’s so funny to me when brands make these types of claims.
As a shock to everyone involved, I’ve actually been using a perfume of theirs for a while. But Katie, how can you not know what perfume you’re wearing? you ask. And to that I say, great question. The only answer I can give you is that it was one of those black-out purchases I made at Credo when I needed to “go for a walk” and ended up with a new $50+ object to play with. What an embarrassingly unintentional purchase for a hyper-personal item, and pretty out of character for me.
I didn’t put two and two together when I proceeded to buy one of their laundry detergents because someone asked me to review it. It’s that simple, people. I’m talking about their Dedtergent in the scent “Milk.”
Brand
Positioning
DedCool thinks “everyone should have a signature scent that extends beyond a glass bottle.” The brand is intermingling fragrance “across mediums into otherwise mundane products from laundry detergent to car fresheners, so that scent is practically applied in your everyday life.”
Sort of a mouthful, so TLDR: they’re detaching “scent” from “perfume” by making utility products that smell good. If that’s the headline, this is the subtext:
The fragrances they make are gender-neutral
And vegan, cruelty-free, sustainable, all the progressive marketing words, etc
by making them “cleaner” they’re also making them more potent, a byproduct of removing water and other potentially harmful additives
They’re bringing the joys and complexities (layering, scent profiles) of fragrance to a younger and relatively untapped audience
They’ve signed up for a lot of education work. Just from a cursory overview, I see two main points of discussion:
Explaining to Gen-Z the intricacies of fragrance. We know “smell-maxxing” is a thing (TBH I wish I didn’t), but that doesn’t mean young consumers automatically know what “top notes” are. The good news is that scent is congruent with vibes, and if anyone is going to buy a vibe on the internet, it’s a chronically online young adult.
In order to sell “clean fragrance” you first have to explain that other fragrances are not “clean.” You’ll also have to do this in a way that doesn’t sound like fear-mongering but frightens the consumer a little bit in order to incentivize a new purchase.
Their work is cut out for them, so let’s see how they pull it off.
Visual Identity
Funky, the preeminent adjective for Gen-Z oriented brands, is definitely appropriate here. However, the flavor of funkiness is less Girlie Pop and more Urban Outfitters.
There’s a twinge of Venice Beach here, so the 😜 is not as ✌️ as it is 🤘. Sometimes emojis are better at expressing my thoughts than words are, and that’s a cross I’ll have to bear as a member of a digitally native generation.
It feels really of the moment; I have a hard time envisioning any sort of legacy attached to this brand, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Because so many fragrance brands are trying to tap into elegance and timelessness and sensuality, their branding accidentally airs on the side of old-fashioned and stodgy. Or it’s Pink Sugar-y.
So while DedCool certainly isn’t evoking a feeling of heritage, it is unique, and that’s something I can always appreciate. It also fulfills the promise of gender neutrality, which, now that I’m looking at this spectrum, feels pretty easy to do.
Vocal Identity
I’m aware this makes me sound ancient but I really hate text-speak from brands. “Ur” doesn’t belong on printed collateral, and that’s a hill I’ll die on. We have to keep some things sacred.
Mini self-reflection that has a broader application alert: That was a very New York take, and DedCool as a brand sounds incredibly Los Angeles. Proof that there are distinctions within the Coastal Elite umbrella. #NotAllCoastalElites!
It was a real hurdle for me to get past the internet lingo, but now that I’m here, I’m realizing I don’t dislike the copywriting. In fact, I think the product descriptions on their PDPs are pretty good.
“Familiar, like warm, clean skin” is a winning laundry detergent scent description. I’m in.
Marketing
Social Media
Like any youthful brand (attempting not to use the phrase Gen-Z), their social presence is going to be essential. Because they’re speaking to an internet-savvy (wow, I’m elderly) audience, they have an advantage when it comes to trends since they can participate in the majority without feeling too cringe. That is, depending on who you ask. Don’t forget cringe is subjective.
Sometimes I find their content funny and sometimes it’s too much for my taste. As my dad would say, that’s what makes horse races.
Here are some standouts:
I’m a sucker for a Capricorn meme unfortunately.
When they provide value, they’re doing well.
But they’re at their best when you can feel the creativity flowing.
Ultimately, they’re taking big swings on social and I got nothing but respect for that.
Partnerships
The co-branded products could be the strongest spoke in their creative marketing flywheel.
The collab with Ouai is smart. Melrose Place was already a fan-favorite for Ouai enthusiasts, so partnering with a “functional fragrance” (ahh, now I get why it’s called that) company to expand its reach it really smart.
The Cosmic Release scent with Youth to the People is big time synergy. I can’t help but think about consumerism in Venn Diagrams, and an ideal collaboration is when you can seamlessly merge the two brands’ audiences into one perfect circle.
Same with the Starface co-branded air fresheners. Fun.
I really like this holiday bag collaboration with Madeline Porterfield. Merch that does more, you could say. Actually, I like the sound of that…
Oh, and they’re still on the social media giveaway junket, but at least there’s humor at play.
Community
The secret DedCool users walk among us, and they’re the people you least expect. This data comes from very scientific consumer insights testing: I posted 1 instagram story of my recent laundry detergent purchase and the DMs were flooding (flooding = approx 5 messages).
Their points program is—ostensibly—keeping that community strong. If you had asked me what third party affiliate community platform they’re on, I’d have guessed TYB (as most better-for-you Gen Z brands are), but interestingly enough they have one of their own. On it, users can join the “DedClub” and earn “Dedcoins” to unlock rewards and exclusive access to sales and launches.
Once again, consider this an open invitation for members of the community DedClub to reach out and share their experience with me.
My Experience / Efficacy
Going into this, I’ll admit, I was scared. When I was growing up, I had a rash that two different dermatologists diagnosed as two different things: a reaction to my laundry detergent or an allergy to the sun. The latter was the one we took seriously (in hindsight, literally why) but the former never left me. I became really conscious of irritants and fragrances in my laundry detergent, and have since been buying unscented versions of any soap product.
Good news! No rashes AND my laundry smells good. It’s a little bulky for the trek down to the basement of my building (I’m outing myself as middle class in the scheme of NYC laundry situations), especially on top of my towels, sheets, etc, but it makes one of my least favorite chores considerably more enjoyable and I think, in the words of Mastercard, that’s priceless.
I also like that it’s refillable and the aluminum is ultimately recyclable. Spoken like a real climate warrior over here.
Overall Thoughts
Before I forget, no I don’t know why it’s called DedCool. Moving on.
This is where I recognize that this brand is not meant for me. I like to think of myself as a relatively unserious person, but I think this genre of silly is out of my jurisdiction. I also feel as though I’m at a point in my life where my fragrance should not come from a brand that also sells “Poo Drops.” I’ll probably eat my words on that, though.
Separating my own self image from my thoughts on this brand, I can appreciate the uniqueness of their offering. While Big Fragrance is allegedly booming, the industry feels overwhelmingly focused on Millennials+, with the exception of You, which is a separate case that I won’t be getting into today.
Big takeaways: DedCool succeeds at gender neutrality, brand collaborations, and making laundry fun again. From a personal perspective, I learned that maturity is now a factor in my purchasing decisions. Who knew.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
In Other News…
The probiotic that was I subscribe to is now in Target. I guess big box money is still better than subscription money.
Lemme get on Ozempic—this brand fascinates me to no end.
My brain felt cluttered this week but this podcast episode by
was a nice 30-minute reprieve.
That’s all for now. If there’s a product you want reviewed or just want to chat, reply to this email or leave a comment. :)
Okay but what are the best scents?!
Loved this breakdown! It’s interesting that based on the branding and marketing you realized it’s not targeted towards you as a demographic, but outside of that, you found yourself purchasing it totally unawares. Interesting dichotomy!