WICHITA — As a consumer herself, Ariel Westphal wants to expect more from the items she purchases, the budding Kansas entrepreneur said. And from a business perspective, that means crafting products that blend utility, beauty and long-lasting quality — even in something as simple as a box of tissues.
“I didn’t want to just create another Labubu, which is going to be trendy for 10 minutes and then go into a landfill,” said Westphal, who launched Blow Tissues in November amid an already-busy cold and flu season. “I really wanted to build something and continue building something that is useful and esthetically pleasing.”
Blow Tissues is a design-forward, refillable tissue system for modern homes that includes a reusable, design-grade acrylic box that pairs with bamboo lotion tissue refills and a simple subscription, she explained.
“If I can take one thing off the list of busy working moms or a family that just has a lot on their plate — and I know tissues aren’t a ton — it’s one less thing to worry about,” the Wichita resident said. “That’s a step in the right direction.”
A tissue box from Blow Tissues; photo courtesy of Blow Tissues
The Blow Kit is $32 and includes the reusable design-grade box, two 90-sheet tissue refills, and the Blow Cloth (for box cleaning). Tissue refills are $15 for two packs per delivery or $24 for four packs per delivery and are delivered monthly or every two months with free shipping.
“The brand name, obviously, it’s meant to be funny,” the founder explained. “It’s the verb that you most associate with using a tissue. But also, we’re trying to have some fun with it just because everything feels so heavy and serious right now. God forbid, we have a laugh.”
Ariel Westphal, Blow Tissues; photo courtesy of Blow Tissues
Westphal — who has a background in retail buying, merchandising, and digital marketing — is no stranger to having to buy a lot of tissues during the peak season for cold and flu cases, she noted, thanks to her husband’s teaching career. He brings home the germs from his students and the cycle of sickness — and tissue boxes — begins, providing her with inspiration (along with a Disruptor Series on MasterClass) during a time when she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do next.
“During that time, we had Kleenex boxes everywhere,” she recalled. “And my house, I really care about the way that it looks. I remember seeing this tissue box and it was just so ugly. It was covered in toucans. I mean, at a minimum, if it could just blend in. But no, it just stands out and it’s hideous. I was like, ‘Why? Has anybody at Kimberly-Clark under the age of 65 looked at these designs?”
“And they were shredding,” she said of the texture and quality of the tissue used. “My nose was raw from using them so much. I was just frustrated with them.”
Developed from that product dissatisfaction, the Blow Tissues system — which has already garnered a shoutout from Spanx and Sneex founder Sara Blakely on Instagram — features a refillable, design-grade, acrylic box with colors like “smoke show,” “espresso yourself,” and “love bite” that replaces single-use cartons. (Westphal plans to launch other colors as well as have seasonal drops, so buyers can find the color that’s right for their home aesthetic.)
“Consumers are already trying to find a solution to the ugly box,” she explained. “Right now, you can go on Amazon and there’s tissue box covers and thousands of sellers doing that. But they’re not solving the fundamental problem.”
A reusable Blow Tissues box in the “espresso yourself” colorway; photo courtesy of Blow Tissues
Regular tissue boxes, Westphal continued, are one of the least recycled things because they are so flimsy.
Tissue boxes from Blow Tissues; photo courtesy of Blow Tissues
“It’s non-corrugated cardboard,” she explained, “just like paper towel rings and toilet paper. They’re just not recycled very often.”
But Westphal didn’t just want to improve the box, she said. She also wanted to improve the tissues themselves. Blow Tissues are five-ply bamboo with lotion, about 20 percent larger than typical square tissues, and PFAS (forever chemicals) free.
“Most tissues on the market today are made from virgin tree pulp,” Westphal explained. “So bamboo was such an obvious alternative. Whatever was limiting on bamboo 10-15 years ago, 20 years ago has all but been fixed. Now the price is virtually the same. You can add lotion to them to make them less scratchy. It just seemed like an opportunity.”
Plus, subscriptions remove decision fatigue and keep footprints small at home, she noted.
“Women are my main consumer, so they’re busy,” Westphal said. “Often, they have children. They’re running a house. So it’s like, ‘OK, can I take one thing off of their plate and just have something show up for them, then have it be quality and at a fair price?’ So that’s what we’re doing.”
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