Water-soluble fashion tape CLUTCH Glue rolls into Priceline stores

A women-owned small Australian business left so disappointed by the fashion tapes on the market that it launched its own water-soluble and sweat-resistant clothing adhesive that can be applied directly to skin in glue form for a stronger grip on clothes has rolled out its liquid fashion tape into more than 400 Priceline stores across Australia.

CLUTCH Glue co-owners and sisters, founder and CEO Annabel and creative director and marketing manager Lucy Hay, launched the Sydney-based business in December 2022 to help people wear whatever they want, whenever they want, by offering a more reliable, sustainable, effective and seriously strong alternative to fashion tape.

From stopping bike shorts from riding up to keeping low-cut tops in place and shirt cuffs rolled up, CLUTCH Glue users can apply the clothing adhesive to their skin before placing clothes on top.

After use, they can then gently peel their clothes away, with any residual glue coming out in the wash or with a wet cloth.

Annabel Hay told SmartCompany that the partnership with Priceline was a massive win for the small business.

“The results speak for themselves, I think we’re now the third most successful product in Priceline within the first week of its launch, which is insane, she said.”

Hay said it took her four years of trial and error and R&D (research and development) to invent CLUTCH Glue. 

“There was a huge need for me to find a better solution to fashion tape because everybody struggles with tape,” she said. 

“It is not at all sustainable, there’s so much single-use waste and on top of that, it’s just totally ineffective. 

“I knew something needed to change here. 

“I ended up doing a bunch of market research and found that there was no product on the market that was an adhesive that could stick close to my skin, be sweat resistant but water soluble, so it washes out of my clothes and off my skin when I’m done. So it was a pretty tall order.”

Hay said CLUTCH was a diverse product with a lot of uses that can’t be done with fashion tape.

“One of the most popular uses is for people to clutch their bike shorts down so they don’t ride up when they’re exercising and another big use is people clutching their invisible socks to the heels of their shoes so that the sock doesn’t fall underneath their shoe and become really uncomfortable,” she said. 

“It’s really opened up a big gateway into the male market. We don’t want to try and pigeonhole ourselves as a brand that’s really only for women. 

“This is something that can be enjoyed by absolutely everyone.”

CLUTCH Glue’s social media strategy

CLUTCH Glue has also seen its sales and followers skyrocket through multiple vital TikToks, with the business gaining 53,000 followers and 1.9 million likes on the platform so far.

When asked about CLUTCH’s success on TikTok, Hay said there’s no secret sauce to the platform.

“There’s a few things that really work in our favour. It is a totally unique product. It’s one of one and I think that people on TikTok really look for solutions to their everyday problems,” she said. 

“We were able to leverage that and our brand pretty quickly on TikTok, and we were also able to get our message across to the masses and not just our message to get your clothes in place. 

“It’s a reliable solution and the product does what it says it does, but it also encourages people to wear that top that’s in the back of the wardrobe that you bought when you were really ambitious and you’ve decided that you’re not quite confident enough to wear it. 

@clutch_glue

Replying to @Zara Jones Endless uses! #clutchglue #fyp #fashion #fashionhacks #festival #smallbusiness #convenient #viral #womenownedbusiness #gamechanger

♬ original sound – CLUTCH Glue

“So we’ve been able to increase the confidence in our consumers and the things that they want to wear and how they wear it.” 

Hay said that CLUTCH has also really tried to connect with its audience on a face-to-face level.

“A lot of the time it genuinely is just myself and Lucy on the TikTok page communicating with our audience,” she said. 

“So it feels like they’re a part of our business and they know that they’re supporting a small business.”

After being approached by multiple e-commerce giants, CLUTCH is also eyeing expansion into key international retailers, with the business also working on other product launches to be released this year.

“We are currently in negotiations with one of the largest pharmacy chains in the US and in negotiations with a huge pharmacy and healthcare brand in the UK,” she said.

“So we are hoping to mobilise that by the end of the year. We are also going into the most popular Australian retailer, hopefully by the end of this year as well. 

“You will see us on pretty much every single shelf across the US, the UK, Australia and hopefully a bit of New Zealand as well. 

“Then our goal for 2025 is to expand more so into Europe and other countries.”