Refillable deodorant brand Wild raises £500K in a bid to banish Single-Use Plastic in the Bathroom
A new refillable deodorant company – that is the first of its kind to be 100% compostable and biodegradable – has raised £500,000 of seed capital in a bid to introduce sustainability to the bathroom.
Research by Which highlights that there is a lack of urgency and innovation across the personal care sector, particularly in the approach to recycling in the bathroom. Further research by Recycle Now shows that less than 50% of bathroom products are recycled, compared to more than 90% in the kitchen.
Founders of Wild are Freddy Ward – the ex-Director of Marketing at HelloFresh – and experienced entrepreneur Charlie Bowes-Lyon. They both wanted to create natural, effective, stylish and sustainable products for everyday bathroom use, so raised £500,000 in seed funding to achieve this goal.
The initial pilot launch back in 2019 was hugely successful, accumulating more than 6,000 customers within 5 months. The company has now relaunched with a brand new website – with a new and improved formula and custom packaging designed specifically to minimise plastic waste. The case is reusable and made of aluminium allowing it to last a lifetime, and the refills themselves are made from bamboo pulp and are 100% biodegradable. They are designed to fit through customers’ letterboxes and are also available on a flexible subscription service, as well as a one-off purchase.
Wild is truly tapping into a yet un-catered-for category, with a new range that consists of five new scents, including Coconut Dreams, Rose Blush, Orange Zest, Mint Fresh and Bergamot Rituals, all made from essential oils and free from aluminium salts, parabens and phthalates.
The Wild team are already hitting the ground running with their new range, and believe it is the responsibility of start-ups like them to change consumer habits by creating genuine innovation that makes sustainability convenient and simple. This was a core focus for them when developing the refillable natural deodorant range.
Wild doesn’t plan to stop at its natural deodorant range, and they have further long-term plans to introduce a curated selection of high performance natural personal care products, that will make creating a more sustainable bathroom routine simpler for everyone.
Freddy Ward, Co-Founder of Wild, commented on the launch:
“We believe whilst people are becoming a lot more interested and concerned about the physical and environmental impact of products they buy, they will not change their habits if this means compromising on convenience, efficacy or brand alignment.
“It is time for natural and sustainable products to break out of the niche stereotypes of plain rustic packaging and sterile copy. We believe by combining a bit of humour, colour and style with highly effective natural products, we can ride the inevitable wave of consumer change to more sustainable purpose driven brands who put transparency and innovation at their core.”
