How WanderFull’s Water Bottle Bag Became Oprah’s Favorite

When creating a niche product, it isn’t always obvious that there will be a demand for it. Ahead, Lisa and Katie dive into how they came up with their specialized bag, and how it got noticed by tastemakers and buyers alike.

Spotting a trend

The idea for WanderFull came from a blend of the founders’ interests. Lisa knew she wanted to start a business. Katie was health conscious and trying to reduce her impact on the environment, which meant she always carried a water bottle around with her. She proposed the idea for a water bottle bag to Lisa, but Lisa wasn’t sold on it immediately.

Lisa recalls a day when she was on her way to Katie’s house to work on business ideas and she threw her 32-ounce water bottle into her tote bag. By the time she arrived, the entire thing had spilled and soaked her computer. “I said, ‘You know, Katie, I think the universe is telling us that this is a great idea. Let’s do it,’” Lisa recalls.

Katie also knew how to spot a trend. “We also started to see things come down the runway, not necessarily bags, but just different ways that designers had water bottles slung over a model,” Katie says. 

Overcoming production hurdles

Katie and Lisa got to work designing the first WanderFull bag, but their initial production run was a bit disappointing. “We put eyes on every single unit,” Lisa says. “Only about half of them met our satisfaction.” 

In the end, Lisa is glad she and Katie put in the time to get the quality of the product right before they began selling online. “If we had sent them directly to a warehouse, it would have been a disaster,” Lisa says. “That could have really sunk us from the beginning had we not found some of the issues,” Katie adds.

Selling wholesale

That commitment to quality paid off almost immediately. Katie and Lisa began selling online, and not long after, a woman reached out about putting in a large wholesale order so she could sell WanderFull bags at pop-up shows and markets.

This unlocked a whole new growth opportunity for WanderFull. Katie and Lisa started exhibiting at pop-up shows themselves. “After three shows, people kept coming to us saying, ‘Oh, my goodness, like, you guys really have something here. You’re so popular,’” Katie says.

Their first show at the Javits Center in New York City resulted in more than 100 new retail accounts, an achievement that underscored the viability of their product.

Lisa emphasizes, “We were wildly successful at that show because no one had ever seen this idea before. The stores pay the bills and keep the lights on, and it’s a great avenue for feedback.”

Participation in these trade shows not only attracted buyers, but also drew the attention of editors and tastemakers, including Oprah’s team. Getting on the Favorite Things List boosted sales on the direct-to-consumer side of the business, and the company has grown 1,500% since last year.

Growing as business partners

Two years into the company, Katie and Lisa are grateful to be on this journey together. They describe themselves as yin and yang, always complementing each other. “[Lisa] is the gas, I’m the brakes, and we always meet somewhere in the middle,” Katie says.

They credit their success to making a product they knew was needed and that they hadn’t seen anywhere else—and to putting their own spin on it. WanderFull bags now come in many different colors and fabrics, and with various straps, so customers can choose a bag that fits their style.

But Katie says none of it would have happened if she hadn’t found the perfect business partner in Lisa. “One of the keys to our success is just our differing strengths that we bring to the table,” Katie says. “I think that’s part of our secret sauce.”

To learn more about WanderFull, listen to Katie and Lisa's full interview on Shopify Masters.