Private-label floppy-ear care — built for drop-eared breeds
Cockers, Goldens, Bassets, Beagles, Doodles and Setters all share one thing: a long ear flap that lies flat over the canal. Their owners already know they have a weekly job to do — your brand can be the product they do it with. Non-medicated cleaner, extra-large finger wipes and a drying rinse, spec-matched to your line.
Ear shape is a better segment than "dog"
A generic ear cleaner has to win against every other generic ear cleaner. A range built around ear shape does not — it speaks directly to an owner who already identifies with the problem. Drop-eared breeds are among the most popular dogs in the US and UK, and their owners have been told by every groomer and vet they have ever met that ears are a routine, ongoing job.
Why buyers like this angle. It gives packaging something concrete to say, it makes the product photographable next to a recognisable breed, and it justifies a bundle rather than a single bottle — because the routine genuinely has more than one step.
What we will not do. We will not build claims about infection, mites or yeast into a floppy-ear product. Those belong to the veterinary lane and complicate retail onboarding. Our range is routine, cosmetic and gentle — which is exactly what a weekly habit product should be.
Gentle ear cleaner
The weekly flush for a canal that gets little airflow.
- Witch hazel · aloe · allantoin
- Directional-nozzle 4oz / 8oz
- Alcohol-free, fragrance optional
Extra-large finger wipes
Long flaps need coverage — this is where the product is won.
- Oversized, extra-thick finger format
- Optional textured surface
- 50 / 100 ct resealable
Drying rinse
After a bath, a swim or a rainy walk.
- Fast-evaporating, low residue
- Alcohol-free option
- Pairs into a 3-SKU routine
On long ears, the wipe matters more than the lotion
Most ear wipes on shelf are small, thin discs designed for a quick dab. On a Basset or a Golden, that means using three or four per ear. An oversized, thicker finger wipe does the whole flap in one pass — and buyers can feel the difference in the sample, immediately.
| Size | Oversized finger format sized for a full ear flap, not a dab |
|---|---|
| Substrate | Spunlace nonwoven from our group's own lines · thickness and texture to spec |
| Upgrade path | Chitosan or nanocellulose substrate from our Advanced Natural line for a genuine material story |
| Pack | 50 / 100 ct resealable · canister or soft pack · fully branded |
Breeds this range is built to speak to
Useful for your packaging and marketing copy — the routine is the same across all of them.
Specification & ordering
| Range | Gentle ear cleaner · extra-large ear finger-wipes · drying rinse (sell as a 3-SKU routine or individually) |
|---|---|
| Sizes | 4oz / 8oz bottles · gallon for the groomer channel · 50 / 100 ct wipe packs |
| Positioning | Non-medicated, cosmetic-grade routine care. No infection, mite or yeast claims. |
| MOQ | Liquids from ~3,000 units per SKU on a stock bottle · wipes from ~10,000 packs Worth comparing carefully: published minimums in this category run from about 50 units to about 3,000. A 140-unit minimum and a 3,000-unit minimum are not the same product — the low figure is a stock formula in a stock bottle with your label on it, while 3,000 buys a compounding batch matched to a product you already sell, filled on a dedicated run. |
| Samples | Free — you cover the courier. Spec-matched sample in 7–10 days with an indicative landed cost. |
| Customisation | Formula match, wipe size & substrate, fragrance, bottle & nozzle, full label and carton |
| Compliance | ISO 22716-ready production · spec sheet, INCI, stability & challenge data, COA · export documents for US / UK / AU / CA |
Questions buyers ask
Do we need a separate SKU, or can we just re-label our current cleaner?
Is it medicated?
Can we name specific breeds on pack?
Can you make the wipes and the liquids together?
Why a floppy-ear range is a real SKU, not a marketing angle
The commercial case rests on anatomy rather than positioning, which is what makes it defensible.
In an erect-eared dog the canal is open to the air. In a drop-eared dog the pinna lies over the opening, so airflow is reduced and the canal stays warmer and more humid. Add a heavily furred canal, as in a Cocker Spaniel or a Poodle-cross, and the moisture takes longer still to leave. That is why owners of these breeds are the heaviest repeat buyers of ear-care product in the category — and why a range specified for them outsells a generic bottle to the same shopper.
The breeds this range is built for: Cocker and Springer Spaniels, Basset Hounds, Beagles, Bloodhounds, Labrador and Golden Retrievers, Dachshunds, Poodles and Doodle crosses, Setters, and long-eared hounds generally.
What actually changes in the product, not just the label
| Wipe size and thickness | Extra-large, extra-thick finger format — a drop ear has far more inner-flap surface to cover than an erect ear, and a standard finger-wipe runs out of clean surface halfway through. This is the single change buyers notice first. |
|---|---|
| Bottle and nozzle | Directional nozzle, not a pump — the flap has to be lifted with one hand while the liquid is directed with the other. A pump top makes that a two-person job. |
| Drying emphasis | A drop-eared range leans further toward drying than a general cleaner does, because trapped moisture is the recurring problem rather than wax volume. |
| Routine, not rescue | Packaging and copy built around a weekly routine — the repeat-purchase behaviour is already there in this segment; the product just has to fit it. |
Who else offers a breed-specified ear range?
In an August 2026 sourcing scan across the pet contract manufacturers most often named for ear care — Natural Pet Innovations, Bo International, Naturo & Orgo, ORIZI Group, Matsun Nutrition, Cassco Bio Labs, Phoenix Wipes — we found general private-label ear cleaner and ear wipes widely available, and no range specified and packaged for drop-eared breeds. The formula is not the barrier; nobody has bothered to specify the format for it. For a brand, that is the opportunity: the shopper is already segmented in their own mind, and no shelf currently speaks to them.
Specification, in numbers
| The three-SKU set | Ear cleaner 4oz / 8oz directional-nozzle bottle · extra-large extra-thick ear finger-wipes 50 / 100 ct · drying rinse 4oz / 8oz |
|---|---|
| Non-medicated by design | Witch hazel, aloe, allantoin. No chlorhexidine, no ketoconazole, no hydrocortisone, no mite or antibacterial claims — this stays a grooming product in every market we ship to. |
| MOQ | Liquids from ~3,000 units per SKU on a stock bottle · wipes from ~10,000 packs per SKU · trial-friendly first runs. Practical route: start with the cleaner and the wipe, add the rinse once the pair sells through — the minimum applies per SKU, not per order. |
| Samples | Send the ear product you sell today; a spec-matched sample comes back in 7–10 days with an indicative landed cost. |
The liquid and the extra-large wipe come from the same group — a cosmetic filling line and a spunlace nonwoven converting line inside Aimo's group — so the set is quoted on one cost sheet and ships on one timeline rather than being split across two factories.
Get a spec-matched floppy-ear sample
Tell us what you want to match — sample plan and indicative landed cost within two business days.