Bath-based Shakeup Cosmetics made up after securing six-figure loan from SWIG Finance

By Peter Davison

30 May 2023

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Jake and Shane Xu

Men’s cosmetics brand Shakeup Cosmetics has benefitted from a six-figure working capital boost from SWIG Finance to support their ambitious growth plans.

Based in Bath, Shakeup is the UK’s fastest-growing brand for men’s skincare and is led by brothers Jake and Shane Xu.

Thanks to the loan from Bristol-based SWIG Finance, Shakeup has been able to place significant orders with their manufacturers to meet growing product demand.

The increasing demand reflects a well-executed growth strategy, which has seen the business launch its range with high-profile retailers, such as Boots, and develop its export strategy by growing sales in China, Australia and Europe.

The expanding Shakeup range includes everything from face wash and moisturiser to blemish balm cream and under-eye concealer.

The business currently employs nine people, with three new jobs due to be created.

Of the funding, Jake commented “On the heels of a storming year in 2021, we had ambitious plans to keep up with the pace of our growth by launching into more markets and developing more products.

"But of course, the global trading conditions continued to be challenging, then we had geopolitical turmoil, global recession looming over us then the sharp increase in prices of just about everything, from logistics to raw material, from electricity to travel.

"These unprecedented circumstances put a huge amount of pressure on the cash for businesses throughout the country, us included. The credit line we have managed to secure with SWIG removes the worry around cash and allows us to focus on growth.”

SWIG’s business manager, Rachel Thomson, said “Men’s cosmetics is growing in popularity, especially amongst millennials. It’s exciting to see Shakeup Cosmetics spearheading the movement and helping more men to embrace skincare. The fact that their products are UK made, vegan and not tested on animals makes their products even more appealing.

"As a lender, we were really impressed with Jake and Shane’s growth plans, it was clear from the outset that they have well-defined growth-oriented objectives and knew what they need to do to reach their goals.”

By Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country.

An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts.

Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.