Since its launch in 2017, the body care brand Megababe has carved out its own space in the beauty industry by focusing on the issues that seemingly no one wants to talk about. Founded by Katie Sturino, alongside her sister, Jenny, and her friend Kate McPherson, Megababe was created to address the underwhelming selection of thigh-chafing solutions on the market as well as solutions for other “taboo” body issues like body acne, boob sweat and even stinky feet. The brand’s popular rose-scented deodorant and bestselling Thigh Rescue have both earned spots on our Editors’ Picks lists for good reason. Formulated with clean ingredients and manufactured in the US, Megababe’s cruelty-free beauty products (which are available at retailers like Ulta and Target) are affordable as well, with most products falling under the $20 mark.
To learn more about Megababe, we spoke with Sturino about her products, the history of the brand and its direction.
Can you take us back to the moment when you first realized you had something?
Katie Sturino: I knew there had to be something better than what was on the market for chafe. I didn’t know that it was going to be successful truly until we had paid for branding design, paid for the website, bought all the product, gone through all the labs and launched it and had 20,000 units sitting in my parents’ garage. But I knew we had something when we sold out of that entire SKU lot in the first month that we launched.
For people who have never tried your products before, what do you most want them to know about your products and your brand?
KS: Our ethos is all around making anyone with chafe and sweat know that it’s not taboo to have your thighs rub together. It’s not a taboo topic to talk about how you’re sweating through your bras during the summer. We are a solutions-oriented company, and we want to make people feel comfortable and confident.
What would you say sets your brand and products apart from similar brands on the market?
KS: One thing that we do is listen to our customers and use their feedback. People loved our body powder, but they wanted a puff to apply it, and so we made them a giant puff to apply the powder. We’re also authentic. We’re not some brand that was made in business school or in an incubator lab for a big company. We really are a small, women-owned business that cares. There’s a heart behind it, and I think you can really feel that. I also think we’re really consistent with the fact that we don’t use questionable ingredients. We don’t test on animals. We are constantly trying to evolve our environmental impact. We’re always trying to do the right thing.
Since starting Megababe, what would you say has been your greatest accomplishment?
KS: Thigh Rescue because that’s a product for me. I really love that I made a product that was voted product of the decade, that people tell me consistently is changing their life and the way that they live their lives in spring and summer.
On a similar note, what would you say has been your biggest setback?
KS: Being an entrepreneur in this space never gets easier. That you trade problems … you always find that it just never gets easier, the stage just gets bigger.
What three words would you use to describe your brand and why?
KS: We are inclusive, celebratory and — this is two words — but we make real solutions. The beauty industry was not very inclusive until recently. I think even with the body acceptance movement gaining so much momentum, beauty didn’t necessarily catch up until recently. Now we’re able to have a conversation about things like boob sweat and thigh chafe and B.O. and butt acne and stinky feet. This is not the beauty industry of 2017, because when we launched these were conversations that major retailers told us were not ready for mainstream.
Can you speak a bit about your bestselling products and what makes them so great?
KS: Our bestselling product is our Thigh Rescue, which was our first product, and it’s bestselling for a reason. It works; it’s innovative; it’s got a great smell. Our deodorant, Rosy Pits, is our second bestselling SKU. People have just been obsessed with that formula. I think it has a very elevated scent. It goes on clear; it works. I think it’s a unique deodorant in the space.
Out of all your products, do you have a personal favorite? And which products do you find yourself recommending the most to family and friends?
KS: Thigh Rescue is my favorite product. It’s my “desert island” product. I don’t leave the home without it during the spring and the summer. I really like to listen to what people are looking for, so it’s not that I recommend one specific product. My friend’s husband is a big golfer and he was talking about how sweaty he gets on the golf course, so I was like you need Dry Guy.
In the long run, what’s next for Megababe?
KS: We will just continue to put out products that are solution-based. I think we will continue to destigmatize things that shouldn’t have ever been stigmatized in the first place. So allowing people, especially women, to just feel comfortable in their bodies.
Our favorite Megababe products
We tried some of the brand's most popular offerings to see if they're truly worth it.
