DALLAS — Panty lines aren’t a problem with Nundies, a new single-use disposable panty that adheres to the inside front of pants.
Designed as an alternative to underwear, thongs or G-strings, Nundies are shaped like a small tulip, made of nylon and Lycra spandex and feature a proprietary medical-grade adhesive tape to avoid allergic reactions or skin rashes. Sold in packages of five for $15, Nundies are available in black, buff and fashion colors.
The Nundies brand is owned by Dallas-based Advanced Materials, a $10 million publicly traded company that makes a variety of medical-related products, including diet patches, mammography pads, single-use ice packs and wound-care products.
Nundies launched last September on a small test basis after researchers and chemical engineers at Advanced Materials realized that the company’s exclusive adhesive might have uses beyond medicine. Consumer marketing research yielded some interesting data, specifically that most women hate panty lines, but want to maintain a degree of coverage yet like the idea of going bare in the back.
“We realized there was demand for a product like Nundies,” said William Mortensen, president and chief financial officer at Advanced Materials. “There were already paste-on products for use under tops and blouses to give a bare look while maintaining a certain degree of coverage.”
As a marketing test, Nundies were included in gift bags for women attending the posh Cattle Barons Ball here last September. The response was overwhelmingly positive, according to Jan Strimple, a veteran model and fashion event producer who has also worked as a consultant for Advanced Materials.
Mortensen declined to give a sales projection, but said he expects to sell about 500,000 Nundies units over the next 12 months.
Nundies currently is sold at select Neiman Marcus stores and there are plans to sell them at the new Cusp chain. Smaller specialty innerwear stores also sell Nundies, such as Sheers, the Body Wear Bar in Dallas, and Banker-Phillips Lingerie stores in Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn., as well as e-commerce sites herroom.com and mynundies.com. Nundies officials said the product also will be sold starting this spring in Bliss Spa catalogues and at blissworld.com.