Ladies and gentlemen, introducing COVID-19 Essentials. The new retail chain that’s personalizing face masks to your very own style. Or, as they put it, “an elevated mask boutique that offers essential accessories related to health and protection against coronavirus.”
The COVID-19 Essentials chain, which has eight stores in the U.S. at the moment, literally caught the relevancy wave right on time as it appeals to a very broad audience base – as everyone needs a mask (or two.) And consumers are likely to need them well into 2021, if not longer than that.
The chain, which claims to be the first of its kind, can personalize masks, explicitly sewn for their stores, with rhinestone letters or iron-on patches.
“It takes away a little bit of our personalities when everybody is walking around in disposable masks,” said Nathan Chen, who owns the Lone Tree branch. “It kind of looks like a hospital, like everybody is sick.”
When entering the stores, customers are welcomed with a temperature check and the ability to wash their hands with an accessible sink.
Though several products help fight against the spread of the infectious disease to choose from – the real star of the show here is face masks.
Dozens of different masks are on offer, sporting different sizes, colors, trends, wording, logos, and textures – allowing customers to really personalize their look. They go for around $20 for a kids’ model to over $130 for the top of the line adult versions.
“I can’t wait to go out of business eventually,” said Nadav Benimetzky, who founded Covid-19 Essentials. “If you’re going to wear a mask, you might as well make it fashionable and pretty.”
What are other COVID-centered businesses in store for consumers? Will we see customized hand sanitization gels tailored to smell like your favorite perfume? Or perhaps stylish hand gloves for winter that also protect against the virus? And how can your brand jump on this wagon? Hopefully, there won’t be too much time to tell.