Skin & Tonic, a skincare and wellbeing brand based in Hackney, London, has secured £830,000 in funding, enabling it to fulfil elevated manufacturing calls for and develop its operations to Manchester. Driven by GC Angels, this features a £605,000 funding from the angel funding service alongside personal traders, in addition to a £225,000 mortgage from NPIF – FW Capital, managed by FW Capital and a part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
Founded in 2015, Skin & Tonic’s modern, results-led merchandise are formulated utilizing licensed natural, sustainably sourced substances and introduced in recyclable or zero waste packaging. Originally bought at an area Hackney market and produced out of founders Sarah Hancock and Joshua Wade’s kitchen, the vary of twenty merchandise at the moment are out there throughout three channels: direct to shopper by the Skin & Tonic web site, from a fast-growing steady of retail companions and through distributors in key markets together with France, the Middle East, Hong Kong and Asia Pacific.
When the pandemic hit, Skin & Tonic was pressured to shift its focus to ecommerce, which resulted in a major uptick in operational wants and top-line growth. After looking for funding to additional assist Skin & Tonic ship success, and following introductions from GC Angels, Sarah and Joshua have been ready to safe a complete £830,000 funding, together with £150,000 from GC Angels, £225,000 from NPIF – FW Capital, a part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and the rest from quite a lot of high-profile traders.
Focusing on the chance to decentralise Skin & Tonic from its dwelling in London, the funding has additionally facilitated the speedy operational growth of the enterprise, together with the opening of a brand new workplace at Canada House in Manchester City Centre, which required the recruitment of a Manchester-based gross sales director to develop the staff’s native presence. The funding is predicted to create eight jobs within the area.
Joshua Wade, Co-Founder and CEO of Skin & Tonic, stated: “From the very starting, we set out with the objective of serving to individuals discover moments every day to actually deal with themselves – one thing that’s grow to be ever extra vital of late. Jess and the staff at GC Angels completely understood our core message and actually received behind the brand, which meant a lot for us when selecting the place this funding got here from. We are so excited to develop our footprint to Manchester and we’re trying ahead to constructing on our already wealthy pool of expertise, as we work in direction of changing into a number one UK skincare and wellbeing brand.”
Jess Jackson, Head of Investment at GC Angels, stated: “What struck me about Sarah and Josh was their sturdy sense of objective with Skin & Tonic. This made it simple to align our objectives and work in tandem. It’s a brand that travels rather well, and buying and selling efficiently in international markets made it a sexy funding for people from Bermuda, Dubai and the UK to be a part of GC Angels within the round. It’s sensible to see a brand like Skin & Tonic establishing in Manchester, and we are able to’t wait to see how they proceed to develop the enterprise.”
Simon Berry, Senior Investment Executive at FW Capital stated: “It is so encouraging to see a enterprise similar to Skin and Tonic increasing their operations into the North of England, the place they’ll proceed their journey into new markets. Their use of sustainable, non-harmful substances and recyclable, zero-waste packaging means their merchandise are extra in demand than ever and so they actually set a benchmark in moral, clear magnificence. We are delighted to assist Sarah and Josh and look ahead to watching their continued success story.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund challenge is supported financially by the European Union utilizing funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as a part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
