If you've been following Wett for a while, you'll know I've written a few comparison posts. Wett vs Wild. Wett vs Fussy. The usual suspects. Brands that sit in the same category as us, making natural deodorants and competing for broadly the same shelf space.
This one's different.
This one's about Red Bull. And yes, I know how that sounds.
We don't make energy drinks. Red Bull don't make deodorant. On paper, we have absolutely nothing in common. But I genuinely believe Red Bull is the biggest competitor Wett has — and I think by the end of this post, you'll understand why.
First, Let Me Explain What I Mean by "Competitor"
When most people hear "competitor," they think of brands fighting for the same product category. Nivea vs Dove. Wild vs Fussy. Two deodorants on the same shelf, same customer reaching for one instead of the other.
That's one way to look at it. But it's not the only way, and honestly, it's not even the most important way.
The competition I care about isn't for shelf space. It's for identity. It's for that space in someone's head where they think, "That brand gets me. That brand is for people like me." And right now, in the world of active, performance-driven people who love sport and pushing their limits, Red Bull owns that space entirely.
That's the space I want Wett to occupy.
Why Not Dove? Why Not Nivea? Why Not Any of the Obvious Ones?
When I tell people I'm building a natural deodorant brand, their first instinct is to compare us to the brands they already know. And I get it. On the surface, it makes sense. We all make stuff you put under your arms.
But that's about where the similarity ends.
Nivea, Sure, Dove — they're mass market. Cheap, widely available, full of aluminium salts. And for a lot of people, they work brilliantly. I'm not hating on them at all. If you just want something for a fiver that does the job on a normal day, they're great. But they're not built for the same person Wett is built for, and they're certainly not brands I'm trying to emulate.
Then you've got the natural deodorant crowd — Wild, Fussy, Rockface. These are the entry point into the natural market. They're well-marketed, look great on Instagram, and they work fine for everyday use. But if you've ever tried one before a proper training session — a long ride, a heavy lifting session, a Hyrox event — you'll know they tend to tap out around the same time you're just getting started. They're designed for people who want to go natural. They're not designed for people who need their deodorant to survive a two-hour session in 30-degree heat.
And then there's AKT London, which is probably the brand people compare us to most. They make a deodorant balm in a tube, similar format to ours, premium price point. But AKT is really going after the luxury spa market. Beautiful packaging, gorgeous scents, the kind of product you'd buy as a gift or display on your bathroom shelf. Nothing wrong with that. But that's not us either.
None of those brands make me think, "That's who I want Wett to be when it grows up."
Red Bull does.
What Red Bull Actually Sells (Hint: It's Not the Drink)
Here's the thing about Red Bull that I think most people miss. Yes, they sell energy drinks. Billions of cans a year. But that's not really what they're selling.
Red Bull sells a feeling. They sell the idea that you can push harder, go further, break records, and do things that seem completely mental to everybody watching. They sell the identity of someone who refuses to accept limits.
Think about it. Felix Baumgartner jumping from the edge of space. Their entire F1 team. Rampage. Red Bull Hardline. The Cliff Diving World Series. None of that has anything to do with a carbonated drink in a blue and silver can. But all of it has everything to do with the spirit of the brand.
And here's what makes it genius: the product is accessible to literally everyone. You don't have to be Felix Baumgartner to drink a Red Bull. You can be a university student pulling an all-nighter, a lorry driver on a long haul, or a weekend warrior heading to five-a-side. The drink is the same for everyone. But the brand makes you feel like you're part of something bigger than just cracking open a can.
That's exactly what I want Wett to be.
Performance First, Always
If there's one thing Red Bull and Wett share, it's this: performance is non-negotiable.
Red Bull doesn't market itself as a nice-tasting soft drink that happens to contain caffeine. They market it as fuel for people who demand more from themselves. Everything in their world is about pushing boundaries, performing at the highest level, and then going again tomorrow.
Wett is built on the same principle. We don't market ourselves as a nice-smelling natural product that happens to be aluminium-free. We make a deodorant that is specifically formulated to perform when you're training hard, sweating heavily, and asking your body to do things that most products simply aren't designed for. Performance is the baseline, not a bonus feature.
That distinction matters more than people realise. Most brands in our space lead with ingredients, or sustainability, or aesthetics. Those things matter — and Wett delivers on all of them — but they're not the headline. The headline is: does this product actually work when you need it most?
Community Over Customers
The other thing Red Bull has absolutely nailed — and this is the part I find most inspiring — is community.
They don't have customers. They have fans. They have people who watch Red Bull content, wear Red Bull gear, attend Red Bull events, and feel a genuine connection to the brand that goes way beyond the product itself. Red Bull has become a cultural identity for people who are into extreme sports, motorsport, aviation, and high-performance anything.
That's the model I want for Wett. I don't just want people to buy a tube of deodorant from us. I want them to feel like Wett is their brand. The brand that understands what it's like to get up at five in the morning for a training session. The brand that knows what it feels like to push through the last set when everything in your body is telling you to stop. The brand that exists for dathletes — people who track their splits, obsess over their data, and constantly look for marginal gains.
Red Bull built that community around energy drinks. I genuinely believe Wett can build it around personal care.
Accessible to Everyone
One of the most common mistakes premium brands make is becoming exclusive. They price people out, or they market so specifically to elite athletes that the average person feels like the product isn't for them.
Red Bull never did that. A can of Red Bull costs a couple of quid. Whether you're Max Verstappen or you're watching the race from your sofa, you can afford it, and the product doesn't perform any differently for either of you.
Wett is built with the same philosophy. Yes, our formulation is designed to hold up under serious athletic performance. But you don't have to be an elite athlete to use it or benefit from it. If you go for a jog three times a week, if you do a gym class at lunch, if you're a parent chasing kids around a park — Wett works for you too. The product is the same. The performance is the same. The brand is for anyone who moves and demands more from the products they use.
A Quick Note on Honesty
In the spirit of full transparency — which is something I think matters when you're building a brand — I should mention that I don't actually drink Red Bull myself. It gives me the shits. And I think that's purely a me problem, not a Red Bull problem.
I used to love it. But my body and caffeine have reached an agreement where we mostly leave each other alone these days. That said, the fact that I can't personally consume their product and still consider them the brand I most want to emulate should tell you everything about how much I respect what they've built. It was never about the liquid in the can. It was always about everything around it.
The Comparison at a Glance
So how do two brands from completely different categories actually stack up against each other? Here's how I see it:
| Wett | Red Bull | |
|---|---|---|
| Core product | Natural performance deodorant | Energy drink |
| Brand philosophy | Performance-first personal care for active people | Performance-first energy for people who push limits |
| Primary audience | Athletes, gym-goers, dathletes, anyone who moves | Extreme sports enthusiasts, athletes, anyone who needs a boost |
| Community approach | Building around sport, data, and the dathlete identity | Built around extreme sport, motorsport, and high-octane culture |
| Accessibility | Premium but accessible — designed for everyone from elite to everyday | A couple of quid a can — accessible to literally everyone |
| What they're really selling | The confidence to train without worrying about your deodorant | The feeling of pushing beyond your limits |
| Lead with | Performance and formulation | Performance and spectacle |
| Aesthetic | Functional, clean, no-nonsense | Bold, high-energy, unapologetic |
| Why people stay | It actually works when nothing else does | It makes them feel part of something bigger |
So What Does This Actually Mean for Wett?
It means that when we're making decisions about how to grow this brand — what events to sponsor, what content to create, what partnerships to pursue, who to speak to — I'm not looking at what Wild is doing. I'm not watching AKT's Instagram for inspiration. I'm looking at Red Bull.
I want Wett at cycling events, at Hyrox races, at CrossFit boxes, at triathlons. I want our brand to become synonymous with the active lifestyle in the same way Red Bull became synonymous with extreme sport. Different scale, obviously. Different category. But the same energy, the same community-first approach, and the same relentless focus on performance.
Red Bull didn't become a global phenomenon by making the best-tasting energy drink. They became a phenomenon by building a brand that people wanted to belong to. That's the blueprint. That's what I'm building towards.
And if that sounds ambitious for a deodorant brand from a small village in Northamptonshire — good. I'd rather aim for Red Bull and land somewhere extraordinary than aim for Wild and land somewhere safe.
Wett is a natural performance deodorant built for people who train hard and expect more from every product they use. Launching on Kickstarter, May 2026. Sign up to be first in line.
