Luxe eco accessories brand Watson & Wolfe seeks seed funding

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 17, 2021

British luxury eco accessories brand Watson & Wolfe (W&W) is aiming to raise fresh funding. It’s seeking £200,000 in a second seed investment round to achieve the next stage of its mission “to become a global leader of accessories for eco-conscious, vegan and sustainability-focused consumers, using next-generation materials in a carbon-efficient and ethical supply chain”. 

To achieve this, W&W said it needs to release more products, grow sales channels both at home and abroad, expand its team and scale up marketing to reach more end consumers.

Growth over the next three years will focus on key areas including expansion into the US and other international markets, category growth and wholesale and white-label channel distribution.

Despite Covid-19, Watson & Wolfe said it has seen “continued growth across all channels” and is set to more than double the business revenues of last year. 

“This is primarily due to increased marketing and awareness, but also the dramatic increase in consumer demand for more ethically made, low-impact accessories since the beginning of the covid crisis”, it said.

The company, which launched in 2018, claims to be the first British brand to offer luxurious vegan accessories for men, offering a range of wallets, card holders, belts, and travel accessories. Last year, to an “overwhelming response”, the brand delivered its first collection of handbags and purses too.

Its core range is produced using an innovative, corn-based material derived from renewable sources with rPET linings made from post-consumer plastic bottles. To date the brand has diverted more than 16,000 plastic bottles and continue to innovative with new product launches, test emerging next-generation materials and use future fabrics such as Cactus leather.   

Brand founder and director Helen Farr-Leander, who helped "shape the foundations of Aspinal of London to grow from start-up to £10 million revenues", said: “The opportunities and the market are significant. The vegan leather industry is set to be worth $89.6 billion by 2025 and the world is increasingly waking up to the environmental damage associated with cow-derived leather and seeking sustainable and cruelty-free alternatives. We are presented with a huge opportunity to make difference”.