Dermatologist And Mayor Launch Provocative And Playful Gen Z Sunscreen Brand To Tackle Rising Melanoma

Melanoma is one of the most common cancers for young adults, and incidence of it has been rising. Whitney Hovenic has noticed the alarming trend in her Reno, Nev., dermatology practice.

“It used to be very rare that I saw skin cancer patients in their thirties, and it’s pretty common now,” she says. “The sun has consequences, and our younger generation is still just not appreciating this. Part of it is that they think of sunscreen as boring and something that their mom is forcing them to do.”

Hovenic partnered with her patient Hillary Schieve, the mayor of Reno and owner of thrift stores Plato’s Closet and Clothes Mentor, on playful, innuendo-laced gen Z sun care brand Spooge to offer not-so-boring sunscreen and encourage application. It launched Tuesday with four products: $28 The OG SPF 50, $32 Cheeky SPF 30, $32 Ghosted SPF 30 and $34 Dew Me, a tinted option with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide.

The OG is Spooge’s hero product. “Our tagline is, ‘protection for all your parts.’ I can put this anywhere on my body or face,” says Hovenic. “We wanted something that you can just throw on your beach bag, will be hydrating and definitely won’t leave you feeling sticky and white. We added vitamin C and vitamin E for hydration, but also vitamin C is an antioxidant to prevent sun damage.”

The tinted Dew Me is Hovenic’s favorite. It’s not intended to be a full-coverage makeup product, but imparts a sheer golden glow. Touted as blending seamlessly into most skin tones, Ghosted is Schieve’s favorite. It contains vitamin E, bisabolol and squalane. Schieve says it’s so lightweight that “it feels like a cloud, and I have such dry skin that it really is so nice and moisturizing.”

The idea for Cheeky, which Hovenic and Schieve call the first butt sunscreen on the market, was inspired by Hovenic’s 14-year-old daughter wearing a swimsuit that barely covered her behind. The formula contains caffeine for firming, magnesium for toning and iron oxides for shimmer.

“The sun has consequences, and our younger generation is still just not appreciating this.”

If gen Zers don’t protect their derrieres from the sun’s blast, Hovenic says, “You know what I’m going to be doing in 15 years? I guarantee you I will be a butt melanoma doctor, and I’ll tell you, you never want to have to cut out a melanoma on the butt. Imagine you have stitches in your butt. It’s not a good place. You can’t sit, you can’t ride a bike. It’s a mess.”

Next up for Spooge’s assortment is an SPF spray called Keep The Party Going. Hovenic emphasizes its role in reapplication. She says, “You put this on 20 minutes before sun exposure, and then when you’re out and you want to stay out, you spray and keep the party going.”

To remind people that sunscreen isn’t only for when they’re in the blazing sun, Spooge characterizes its products as “all screens.” The formulas stick to mineral ultraviolet radiation filters zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. On immunosuppressants for a kidney transplant, Schieve is at greater risk for developing skin cancer and slathers herself in sunscreen constantly, but avoids the chemical UV filter oxybenzone because it makes her break out in rashes.

Standing for “shield people optimally outdoors guard everyone,” Schieve came up with the brand name Spooge and tested it with the gen Z customers at her thrift stores. They approved. Schieve says, “They want to be seen as independent, they want to be seen as edgy, they want to be seen as trend setters, so they march to the beat of a different drummer.”

Hovenic and Schieve poured a few hundred thousand dollars into bringing Spooge to life. They hope it will generate $1.5 million in year one sales. They’ve tapped several beauty industry experts to help with shaping the brand and its distribution. Laura Chisholm, founder of LTC Beauty Consulting Group and former COO of RMS Beauty, has been drilling down the brand’s numbers.

Therese Clark, co-founder of the agency I Am Not Creative and founder of former intimate care brand Lady Suite, guided the brand’s design. The result is lively and fun, featuring bold, rounded fonts for the logo and product names paired with a palette of warm, creamy neutrals punctuated by vibrant shades of blue, orange and red. The lettering and occasional illustrations have the feel of joyful peel-and-stick stickers that reinforce the brand’s spirited personality.

“We don’t want to be where it’s really noisy. We want to be where we’re creating the noise.”

Spooge takes a spirited approach to social media, too, where it’s building what it labels the Sun Protective Force Community or SPFC. Gen Zer Lauren Juillerat is the brand’s main content creator. She’s a local Reno resident who caught Schieve’s eye for her genuine, cheerful social media feed.

“She’s a redhead with freckles who lives in a sunny climate, and she’s also a storyteller, and you could tell that from her Instagram and from her TikTok posts,” says Schieve. “We brought her onto the team because she’s a real person. She’s not a social media expert who we’re feeding to.”

In May last year, Hovenic and Schieve teamed up to provide free skin checks for skin cancer in Reno. They envision hosting free skin checks regularly to expand health care access across the country and educate people on the importance of sun protection. Schieve compares them to pop-ups other brands might do. “It could be in a sneaker store,” she says. “We want to do it in places where it’s not traditional.”

That’s not the only nontraditional method Schieve has in mind. Although Spooge’s primary target is gen Zers, she believes it can cast a wider net in its marketing. She says, “What about construction workers, police officers and firefighters? They’re outside all the time and no one’s talking about them.”

Along with the direct-to-consumer channel, Spooge is out to grow distribution out of the gate at independent retailers and dermatology offices. Amazon is around the corner. Aesthetics and pharmaceutical industry executive Jennifer Redmond is assisting with Spooge’s professional distribution in doctors’ offices.

Schieve and Hovenic aren’t stressing about Sephora or Ulta Beauty placement. “Let’s create our own path and our own distribution channels,” says Schieve. “Sephora and Ulta would be amazing, but it’s so competitive. We don’t want to be where it’s really noisy. We want to be where we’re creating the noise.”