Nailsworth beeswax company launches collaboration with Emma Bridgewater

A Nailsworth company which makes beeswax wraps is celebrating its latest brand collaboration which launched today.

The Beeswax Wrap Co has selected two iconic styles from the renowned potter Emma Bridgewater which it is now able to print onto organic cotton and make into beeswax wraps. Its Emma Bridgewater Beeswax Wraps are available in two print collections: Toast & Marmalade and Bees & Buttercups.

Each of Emma Bridgewater’s famous prints start out as hand-drawn artwork which is cut out of sponge and printed with paint to create the soft, hand-printed finish they are so well known for. These designs have gone through this same process before being transformed into a digital design and sent to The Beeswax Wrap Company to make into their signature wraps.

The Beeswax Wrap Co was founded by Fran Cusden in 2018. Fran had previously worked in marketing and was studying to become an acupuncturist. But in her spare time she began to make beeswax wraps and what started off as a kitchen table business, where she was selling through local markets and from her website, quickly grew into a business which now employs 16 people at its headquarters, including Fran's husband Tom who had to give up his job as a teacher to take on the role of business development as the company grew.

The Beeswax Wrap Co is one of the few such manufacturers who make its beeswax wraps  in the UK, and it's clearly got got the mix right (some beeswax products are smelly, sticky or just don't feel good).

Marketing manager Kate Vincent explained: "Our products are made with organic cotton, which is breathable, beeswax, which give them naturally antibacterial properties to keep food fresher, jojoba oil make the wraps flexible so they don't snap and pine resin makes them sticky and tactile, so they seal to anything."

Business growth has come fast. So much so that when the Beeswax Wrap Co, which also sells its products through Oxfam, began building its major brand collaborations, alongside its own brand products - it did consider outsourcing their manufacture.

But it was an idea which was quickly rejected. "We decided that what is really important to us, and to the quality of our products, is that they continue to be hand made," said Kate. "We have streamlined our processes and have developed technology to dry them faster. We are also proud of being planet friendly. We are a BCorp* company, which is a big deal for us, and we are also living wage employers. We furloughed our staff on 100 per cent of pay."

The company's mission is to make a small but positive difference in a kind and thoughtful way, both through the products it sells and the way it operates. The materials, community and process behind its products are just as important as the final plastic-free product.

• Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.