Wet Wipe Specification for Private Label: Seven Values to Define Before Production

Why formula gets over-weighted in development

Formula is the most visible part of a wet wipe project. It has an ingredient list, a supplier, a cost line, and it is what the pack talks about. Substrate and folding have none of that visibility, so they are often accepted as whatever the manufacturer's standard is.

But the properties users describe — too dry, too wet, rough, several sheets at once, dried out after a week — are mostly substrate, moisture and folding outcomes. A well-formulated lotion on the wrong substrate at the wrong add-on rate still produces a product people stop buying.

The seven values to define

#	Value	What it controls
1	Sheet size (mm × mm)	Coverage per sheet, how many sheets a user needs per use, perceived value
2	Substrate type	Texture, strength when wet, drape, absorbency behaviour
3	GSM (grams per square metre)	Perceived thickness and strength; the main driver of "flimsy" vs "sturdy"
4	Lotion add-on rate	How wet a sheet feels; too low reads as dry, too high as sticky or leaving residue
5	Moisture distribution	Whether the first, middle and last sheet feel the same
6	Folding method	Whether sheets dispense one at a time or in groups
7	Pack format, count and closure	Moisture retention after opening, portability, shelf presence

1. Sheet size

Sheet size determines how many sheets a user needs for one task, which affects both satisfaction and consumption rate. An undersized sheet in an adult personal care product produces the same complaint every time: needing two or three sheets where one should do.

Specify unfolded dimensions, not folded dimensions, and confirm both. Adult personal care formats generally need larger sheets than baby formats, even when the formula target is similar.

2. Substrate type

The substrate is the nonwoven fabric itself. Common routes and what they change:

• Spunlace — hydroentangled; soft hand feel, good wet strength, widely used for personal care wipes. Fibre blend (viscose, polyester, cotton, or blends) changes texture and cost.
• Airlaid — bulkier, higher absorbency per gram, thicker feel; often used where a substantial hand feel is wanted.
• Fibre composition — within any substrate route, the fibre blend affects softness, strength when wet, and how much lotion the sheet holds.

Specify the substrate route and the fibre composition. "Spunlace" alone does not describe a product.

3. GSM

GSM is grams per square metre of the dry substrate. It is the single number most closely tied to whether users describe a wipe as flimsy or sturdy. It also affects lotion capacity — a heavier substrate holds more liquid at the same add-on ratio.

Higher GSM is not automatically better. A heavy substrate at low moisture reads as dry and stiff; a light substrate at high moisture reads as flimsy and dripping. GSM and add-on rate must be specified together, not independently.

4. Lotion add-on rate

Add-on rate is the ratio of lotion to dry substrate weight. It determines how wet a sheet feels in hand and in use. Two failure modes:

• Too low — sheet feels dry on first use, requires more sheets, more friction against skin
• Too high — sheet feels sticky or leaves visible residue, and liquid can pool at the bottom of the pack

Specify a target rate with a tolerance band, not a single number, and confirm it against the chosen substrate and GSM rather than as a standalone figure.

5. Moisture distribution

Specify moisture measured at the top, middle and bottom of the stack, with an acceptable variation range between them. Add a post-opening retention check — measured at intervals after the pack is opened and reclosed normally — since dryness complaints usually appear days into use, not at first opening.

6. Folding method

Folding determines dispensing behaviour. The main routes:

• Z-fold — sheets folded independently, generally simplest dispensing behaviour
• C-fold — sheets folded in from both sides
• Interfold (pop-up) — each sheet overlaps the next so removing one presents the following sheet

Interfold gives the pop-up behaviour many users want, but it is also where multi-sheet pull-out happens when the overlap distance, substrate friction and moisture level are not matched. Specify the folding method and the overlap distance, and test dispensing at full, half and near-empty pack states.

7. Pack format, count and closure

Format	Suits	Main specification concern
Soft pack with adhesive label	Standard home use, lowest cost	Reseal quality after repeated opening
Soft pack with hinged plastic lid	Frequent use, better retention	Lid seal integrity, hinge durability
Canister	Countertop and desk use	Seal at the dispensing aperture
Individual sachet	Travel, carry, first-trial sampling	Seal integrity, unit cost, waste perception

Count should follow use context. A home pack and a carry pack are two SKUs, not one. Carry formats of roughly 10 to 20 sheets serve a genuinely different purchase occasion from a 60 to 100 sheet home pack, and pricing them as a smaller version of the same product usually misreads the demand.

Sensitive-skin positioning: what the specification has to carry

If a product is positioned for sensitive skin, the specification needs to support that beyond the formula. Users describing irritation from products labelled sensitive are frequently describing physical experience, not chemistry:

• Surface texture — embossing pattern and substrate finish determine friction against skin
• Repeated wiping — a sheet too small or too dry means more passes, and more friction
• Moisture level — an under-wetted sheet drags rather than glides
• Botanical extracts — plant-derived ingredients are ingredients too, and buyers screening for sensitivity read them as such

Describe what the product is and what it contains. Avoid claiming a product is suitable for all sensitive skin, hypoallergenic without supporting evidence, or free from any risk of irritation — individual sensitivity varies and these claims cannot be supported.

Ingredient statement: full list, not selected highlights

Front-of-pack callouts such as fragrance free or alcohol free are only useful if the back of pack carries the complete ingredient list. Buyers who screen ingredients — and there are more of them each year — treat a partial list as a reason to reject rather than a reason to trust.

Two practical rules: state the full ingredient declaration in the format required by each target market, and treat any front-of-pack free-from callout as a claim that needs supporting documentation, not as a design element.

Frequently Asked Questions