Mike McRae and Tom Tappin are the two dudes behind Two Dudes – a men’s bathroom range which is helping Kiwi men take care of themselves without all the fuss.
In 2018, Mike and Tom were working together in Singapore when the idea of creating a brand of men’s skincare and bathroom products came about. “We noticed that Asian guys take really good care of themselves, the US and Canada already had an established men’s grooming market, and we thought we’d jump on it and bring it to guys here in New Zealand,” says Mike.
While developing a skincare range was new territory for the pair who had both studied law and were at the time selling beer for Heineken, their business, product and development skills came in handy as they set about their new venture which launched in 2020.
Using as many natural ingredients as they can and making the products here in Aotearoa, their philosophy was to keep it all really simple and easy for men to use.
“When it comes to skincare and bathroom products people can make it really over complicated. A lot of men we speak to think skin care is for women – they don’t know what to use, how to use it and where to buy it – so, we started with three simple, easy to use products and grew from there,” says Mike.
Men’s health is a massive focus for Two Dudes and ten percent of all profit goes to supporting organisations who champion men’s health and raise awareness about the issues affecting men. Each year, they do a limited release of Ball Butter, a moisturiser to help spot any lumps and catch testicular cancer.
“Our ambition is to be Australasia’s best men’s bathroom brand and our mission – to better the life of every guy. There are a lot of silent killers and men top the list with a lot of these things – testicular cancer for one. Guys tend to shut off if the messaging is too serious and same goes if it’s too silly, so striking the right balance has been important,” says Mike.
Come into Kings Plant Barn this September and meet the Two Dudes. They will be in store doing product demos and providing plenty of banter about the importance men’s health, plus you can pick up some lovely blokey bathroom products for yourself or the men in your life.
