Roll up, roll up: Refillable, biodegradable deodorant start-up raises £500,000

A London-based natural deodorant company has raised half a million pounds in seed funding for its refillable deodorant range following a successful pilot launch last year.

Wild claims that its new deodorant line, which comes in a range of scents including coconut, rose, mint, and orange, is the first to be both 100 per cent compostable and biodegradable. The applicators are made from durable aluminium, while the refills themselves are made from bamboo pulp and are devoid of harsh chemical compounds typically found in antiperspirant such as aluminium salts and parabens.

The company announced yesterday that after a successful pilot launch last year which generated 6,000 new customers in five months, it has relaunched with a "new and improved formula" and custom packaging designed to further minimise plastic waste.

Freddy Ward, cofounder of Wild and former marketing director at recipe box delivery service Hello Fresh, said that it is the responsibility of start-ups to change consumer habits by developing enticing sustainable products.

"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," he said.

Wild deodorant comes in sleek, monochrome packaging, and is available through both a flexible subscription service, with the product designed to fit through letterboxes, and via standard one-off online purchasing.

"It is time for natural and sustainable products to break out of the niche stereotypes of plain rustic packaging and sterile copy," Ward added. "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."

The start-up intends to diversify into other natural personal care products in due course, it said, as it looks to address a "lack of urgency and innovation across the personal care sector". It pointed to research by recycling trade publication Recycle Now that revealed less than 50 per cent of bathroom products are recycled, compared to 90 per cent of kitchenware.

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• Topics
• Recycling
• Personal care products
• Deodorant
• Bathroom waste