Brother and sister, Jack and Fleur founded Holly and Beau in 2012 after both graduating from university. Having had the wettest summer in decades we noticed that children’s waterproofs can be so dull. We wanted to put fun and excitement into welly wearing weather, and our magical colour changing collection does just that.
We first noticed the concept used on baby’s nappies and thought it would be great to apply this to children’s clothing. After two years of research and development we have taken the concept and applied it to a selection of what we believe a comparatively high quality fabrics and materials.
When water splashes onto the designs they burst with colour, returning to their original colour once dry. This exciting process is repeated every time the fabric comes into contact with water. There will never be a boring rainy day again.
PR and Awards
Our range has been recognised by a variety of industry organisations. As a result we’ve won several awards for innovation and creativity including; Innovation of the year 2014 from Nectar Card Business, Shell Live-Wire, and a bronze award for Best Children’s Fashion Brand 2014 from Loved By Parents.
Funding to date
To date we’re funded the business in the form of shareholders loan from our savings and part time wages. There are no other investors or major loans. We have a small overdraft facility with our bank to help with cash flow.
The company is already making sales and sold out all of its available stock in the past few months. The profits and cash flows from this are being re-invested in more stock.
How the funds will be used
Approx. 75% of the funds raised will be used on marketing and advertising the products more widely to gain greater traction resulting in increased orders/sales. We aim to increase exposure of the Holly and Beau brand within the U.S. market. Most of the marketing and advertising will be undertaken via a U.S based PR company. The PR company will target celebrities, bloggers, TV product reviews, magazines, national newspapers, online advertising, celebrity gifting etc. Due to the success of a recent Facebook advertising campaign (over 80,000 video views) we will also increase our budget focusing on the UK market.
Approx. 25% of the funds raised will be used to fund product development. We are in the process of appointing a patent agent to help with filling patent registration. The product development will include moulding costs, samples, purchase of raw materials etc. We’ve partnered with SATRA Technology to ensure our new products meet trading standards as well as consumer expectations.
Growth plan
Our plan is to generate sales revenue of £3M – £6M in the next 4-6 years and we believe that we have significant further growth potential. In addition, our long-term goal is to continue creating products that are innovative, offering the customer something completely fun. We also aim to open a flagship store in London or New York by 2018.