London’s sustainable startup gets £5 million whiff to make ‘zero waste’ an accessible choice for personal care shoppers

London-based design-led personal care startup Wild Cosmetics has raised £5 million from existing investors to double down on its mission to remove single-use-plastics and unnecessary chemicals from everyday bathroom routines. The round was led by JamJar Investments, the venture fund led by the innocent drinks founders. Existing investors, including Creator Collective Capital and Dutch Slingshot Ventures also participated again. Prominent digital creators and influencers including Niomi Smart (1.4m following), Grace Beverley (1m following) and Caspar Lee (2.4m following) also followed on with their initial investment from Wild’s previous rounds. 

The subscription-based company, which unveiled a plastic-free refillable deodorant in 2019 in the UK, has witnessed 400 per cent YoY growth in 2021. It sold 2.5 million of its gender-neutral line of elegantly designed natural compostable deodorants.

Launched in August 2019 by former HelloFresh marketing director, Freddy Ward and entrepreneur Charlie Bowes-Lyon, the company has raised £7.5 million to date.

Eyeing up other sustainably conscious territories, the company will use the funding to fuel its international expansion. The company will enhance its product range and foray into other personal care segments. Following a sustainable path, the firm has also planted over 150K trees and donated over £45,000 to charities through its partnership with On A Mission.

Talking about how the startup has amassed a sizable retail footprint with its hybrid business model, Freddy Ward, CEO and founder of Wild Cosmetics, said: “We are part of a generation that have grown up scrutinising waste, unnecessary packaging and potentially harmful ingredients. Consumers are starting to really address the uncomfortable reality of single use plastic waste across their households. The bathroom and personal care market still has a way to go in terms of reducing household landfill. Less than 50% of products are recycled, compared with 80% of kitchen products.”

“Just as consumers had an appetite for more natural ingredients in their smoothies twenty years ago, we can see the trend really picking up momentum in the personal-care sector. We love businesses like Wild with a positive mission and ambitious team tackling important problems that we face as a society today,” said Richard Reed from Jam Jar Investments.