Knix is launching a line of underwear, shirts and socks for men.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
Since its founding in 2013, apparel maker Knix Wear Inc. has built its brand by focusing squarely on women – helping to pioneer the burgeoning category of leak-proof underwear, and launching campaigns to talk frankly about issues such as fertility, perimenopause and aging.
Now, the Toronto-based retailer is branching out with men’s products for the first time. This week, the company is announcing the launch of MNTD, a line of men’s underwear, shirts and socks.
“It is outside of my comfort zone, because I tend to wear-test every product we make at Knix. I can’t do that here,” said founder Joanna Griffiths.
The company does have experience in the space, however. Since Swedish hygiene-products giant Essity bought a majority stake in 2022, Knix has helped Essity with developing new products, including men’s incontinence underwear for its Tena brand.
“We looked at it and thought, there’s something here,” she said. “We could make great men’s products.”
Knix founder Joanna Griffiths said market research shows many women buy underwear for the men in their lives, making the company’s existing customer base an advantage.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
But Knix is launching the MNTD line at a time when the market for men’s underwear has arguably never been more crowded.
What used to be a relatively basic category has grown significantly in recent years, with competitors including athletic giants Nike and Under Armour; Canadian brands Saxx, Lululemon and Manmade; and others such as True Classic, Mack Weldon and Tommy John.
All have been building businesses by convincing men to pay more for their unmentionables, touting special stitching, moisture-wicking fabrics and better comfort.
That contributed to sales growth, particularly from 2019 to 2022, said Randy Harris, president of market research firm Trendex North America. In 2024, sales of men’s underwear in Canada reached approximately $800-million, according to Trendex estimates.
“From my perspective, it’s not a growth segment,” Mr. Harris said. “I think what happened was that men, especially young men, built up their inventory of underwear, and then they went into a replacement phase and the growth has totally slowed down.”
But the Knix team believes there is more room to grow – and that one advantage it has is its existing customer base. Market research shows that 72 per cent of women buy underwear for the men in their lives, Ms. Griffiths said. The hope is that launching in time for the holidays will give the new brand an initial boost. To start out, Knix is selling the products as a section of its existing website, and building MNTD displays in its own brick-and-mortar stores.
Knix is building MNTD displays into its brick-and-mortar stores.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
Customers may be inclined to choose a more premium option for something that is a gift, said Armin Begic, vice-president and head of Canada general merchandise at market research firm Circana.
That could help MNTD with the challenge of convincing men who might otherwise be cutting back to try the brand.
In men’s underwear in Canada, smaller packs that tend to be higher-priced – with one, two or three pairs – together still accounted for 59 per cent of the market in the 12 months ending in September, according to Circana. But that was down from 67 per cent in the same period the prior year. Meanwhile, sales of lower-priced multipacks are increasing.
“What we’re seeing, based on the data, is definitely a shift to value,” Mr. Begic said.
MNTD’s pitch to men is that its fabric blocks sweat and other moisture from showing through, and feels fresher throughout the day than a typical pair of underwear.
“That’s the innovation,” Ms. Griffiths said. “If we were just making more of the same, I don’t think we would have done this.”
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Moisture-wicking fabrics are also used in the T-shirts and socks.
To advertise the new line, MNTD is using a playbook that has worked for Knix in the past: recruiting non-models to shoot promotional videos.
“Candidly, we tried to get big-name celebrities to be in it,” Ms. Griffiths said. But a new brand has a smaller marketing budget, and hasn’t yet proven itself, she said, adding that the timing also didn’t work in a couple of cases.
The stars of the MNTD campaign will include some of Knix’s own employees, such as chief product officer Steven Hudson, and Dave Barber, former Knix creative director and now MNTD copywriter, who is also Ms. Griffiths’s husband.
“All these men behind Knix that have been there every step of the way, now they finally get their turn,” she said.