Growth Stories
Growth Stories
In 2016, while husband and wife Ben and Victoria Watkiss were on an adventure holiday in the Philippines, Ben’s backpack broke with no way to fix it. Rather than dwell on this, the entrepreneur in Ben spotted an opportunity to create highly functional, durable, and quality bags – this was the beginning
of Stubble & Co.
After a year of planning and testing, Ben and Victoria launched the first products via Kickstarter in 2017, where it sold £80k worth of bags in 30 days, proving market appetite for the product. And they were off!
Fast forward to the present, and Stubble & Co has become a direct-to-consumer, premium but affordable, baggage lifestyle brand, with a diversified and growing range of core products that have amassed thousands of 5* reviews and has received extensive press coverage across various outlets, such as Vogue and GQ.
Sustainability and putting the planet first has been a core element of the brand since inception, upholding ethical and sustainable practices at every stage of its process; Stubble & Co is a climate neutral brand, and as part of 1% For the Planet donates 1% of annual sales to approved environmental nonprofits. More recently, Stubble & Co also became a Certified B Corporation®.
Stubble and Co is one of the fastest growing consumer brands in the UK, with sales growing at an exceptional CAGR of 173% over the last 3 years. Growth Partner partnered with Stubble & Co to support Ben and Victoria’s ambitious plans to continue this growth.
Why we love Stubble & Co
Stubble & Co has quickly been able to build a strong brand recognised for its high quality and functional products underpinned by a strong purpose of helping its customers “Do More”. As a result, they are growing strong brand loyalty and repeat purchases, driving the exceptional growth, despite the challenging economic climate impacting demand for discretional spend products.
On top of its growing brand and well-engaged customer base, the business has strong ESG credentials and is a proud Certified B Corporation®, a title only given to businesses verified for its high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. ‘Doing the right thing’ for the planet has been an important factor in all key decisions.
Looking ahead…
Stubble & Co is one of the fastest growing consumer brands in the UK, and despite minimal focus, has managed to build international traction, especially in the US. The team plans to continue its growth through capitalising on overseas markets, as well as significantly broadening its breadth of product range.