Bubbez Reimagines the Wet Wipe

A new two-step wipes cleansing system aims to bring the wash-and-rinse routine of a sink to situations where one isn’t available. Bubbez 2-Step Wash + Rinse system includes a wash wipe featuring a plant-based formula that creates a light lather that lifts dirt, food and everyday mess from the skin so it can be removed instead of smeared around. The rinse wipe then removes the dirt and any cleansing formula left behind without drying the skin.

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“The goal was a genuine way to wash on the go, not to disinfect or sanitize,” says Mike Braglia, founder of Bubbez. “Hand sanitizer dries skin and isn’t great for babies, and harsh or antibacterial soaps can strip the good bacteria that delicate skin needs. Bubbez is meant to work the way we all clean in everyday life: wash and then rinse, the same as you would with dishes or in the shower, just without the sink.”

Braglia was inspired by his child to develop the brand. At two months old, his son was diagnosed with failure to thrive and had multiple holes in his heart. At three months old, he underwent open-heart surgery and made a full recovery. Through all of it, Braglia and his wife had to be extremely careful about keeping him clean and avoiding infection. “We didn’t trust baby wipes, so we used paper towels and soapy water, or resorted to quick sponge baths,” he says.

While that experience planted the seed for the idea, the real need became apparent once his son was fully healed and began eating solid foods, right in the messy stage. “It’s nearly impossible to hold a toddler over the kitchen sink to clean up, let alone at a restaurant or any other public sink you can find,” he says. “Wipes still didn’t cut it. They smelled off, and my wife and I would want to wash our own hands right after using them, since they always left a sticky residue we didn’t like. That was the question that started Bubbez: why is it fine to use a wipe on a baby, who has the most sensitive skin there is, when my wife and I didn’t feel clean after using one ourselves?”

At that point, Braglia and his wife began making their own mixtures, adding them to clean wipes, and taping two packets together. The homemade prototype ultimately became the foundation for Bubbez.

Turning that homemade concept into a commercial product presented several technical challenges. The biggest challenge was developing a wash formula gentle enough for children while still producing a light lather, along with a rinse wipe capable of removing any remaining formula.

Production was its own challenge. “Wet wipe machines run at high speed, and a formula that foams naturally wants to foam on the line, which forces the run to pause and reset. That’s time-consuming and costly,” Braglia says. “We worked closely with our manufacturer to get both the formula and the process right, so it runs cleanly at scale.”

Both wipes use the same substrate, a textured spunlace nonwoven made from plant-based viscose, and Braglia notes that the texture matters more than people expect. “It gently agitates the mess on the skin while staying soft enough for children, and because the wash formula is slippery, that light texture also helps the wipe grip,” he explains. “The substrate is very absorbent, so it holds enough formula to actually work, and it lets the rinse wipe pick up the leftover residue. Once your hands air dry, they feel completely clean and soft.”

Sustainability was also a key consideration during product development. The substrate is a 100% plant-based viscose nonwoven, and that viscose is TÜV Austria certified biodegradable in four environments: industrial composting, soil, fresh water and seawater. It has also been independently lab-tested and came back free of formaldehyde, heavy metals, VOCs and harsh preservatives like MIT and CMIT.

“There’s growing scrutiny on wet wipes as a category, so we wanted to build something we could be proud of for both our customers and the environment,” Braglia says. “For something used on kids’ skin and thrown away every day, both of those mattered to us.”

Bubbez officially launched in June 2026 after about three and a half years of development. Currently, the wipe system is available for purchase on Bubbez.com and will be launching on Amazon soon.

Although Bubbez launched with its two-step twin-sachet wipes, the company’s plans also include a patent-pending large-format refillable dispenser. According to Braglia, the twin-sachet wipes were introduced first to allow the company to refine both the formulation and the two-step cleansing experience while continuing to develop the dispenser. Bubbez is also exploring additional product sizes, including a larger-format rinse wipe.

“We’re proud of what we’ve built so far, and now that we’ve launched, we’re excited about where Bubbez is headed,” he says.