How did you get started?
“I started to develop a style of colouring that was the roots of Bleach; a lot of bright colouring, washed-out colouring, pastel shades, things that weren’t really very commercial at the time. Sam, my co-founder, was one of my clients, and kind of my agent as well. And I got overwhelmingly busy.”
How did your transition from hair salon to beauty wholesaler?
“After partnering with WAH Nails we caught the eye of Topshop and set up in-store at their Oxford Circus branch. Then came Boots. They approached us about starting a hair product range that came to fruition in 2013.”
Originally published on Guardian Labs
Photo: Suki Dhanda as part of a paid partnership with Guardian Labs
And how did Spotcap come into the picture?
“When our license agreement with Boots finished last year, we decided to strike out alone. It was an opportunity to start a wholesale business and roll out Bleach products to other retailers. This entailed raising finance for stock, a lot more personnel and resources. The business model completely changed from a quite easy, amateur one to something quite big and scary. And, as well as developing their hair products, we decided to launch a makeup line. Products in the range include eyeshadows, powders, and lipsticks in bold colours with playful names, such as Gordon Brown and Washed up Mermaid.”
What impact has the financing from Spotcap had for Bleach?
“We wouldn’t have been able to have the wholesale business if we couldn’t have raised money. Manufacturers won’t speak to you unless you order a lot of stock. We have done really well to have this business without capital investment and we wouldn’t have been able to do that without Spotcap. Today we sell around 30,000 units of product per week and are in 800 Boots branches and 80 Superdrugs.”
