Digital-native brand Wild was launched in the UK in 2020 and has built a loyal consumer base through its direct-to-consumer and retail model.
The brand sells natural, refillable alternatives to traditional personal care products, with SKUs ranging from premium deodorants, lip balms, body washes and hand washes.
Last year, when it entered brick-and-mortar retail as it launched into Tesco stores, the brand told CosmeticsDesign-Europe that its mission was “to remove single-use plastic from bathrooms, envisioning a future where retailers embrace refillable options to make a real difference in reducing single-use plastic.”
The UK’s No.1 refillable deodorant brand
Wild has experienced rapid growth and Unilever claims it is now the UK’s No. 1 refillable deodorant brand.
Its products are distributed through direct-to-consumer, digital commerce and retail channels, primarily in the UK, Europe, and the US markets.
President of Unilever Personal Care, Fabian Garcia, said the brand’s innovative approach to formulations and packaging, and social-first marketing, has made it “an unmissably superior brand, and a ”perfect complement" to the firm’s personal care portfolio.
Wild’s co-founder Charlie Bowes-Lyon said joining Unilever “marks an exciting new chapter for Wild.”
He continued: “Our mission to remove single-use plastic from the bathroom with desirable, innovative personal care products will be hugely strengthened by leveraging Unilever’s expertise, scale and reach to further grow the brand and bring our vision to more consumers.”
Unilever meanwhile said this “marks another step in the optimisation” of its portfolio towards premium and high growth spaces as part of its Growth Action Plan 2030.
It appears that Unilever considers sustainable and refillable personal care products like those produced by Wild to be a “high growth space,” as more consumers seek out these kinds of products.
In December 2023, Unilever was investigated by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for accusations of greenwashing on some of its brands. However, the investigation was dropped one year later when the CMA said it had “seen positive changes to the claims made including in the fast-moving consumer goods sector.”
