Beard oil brand's £250,000 deal with Canada's Shoppers Drug Mart

Published by

Nicky Godding

Award-winning men’s beauty brand Hawkins & Brimble has secured two new overseas contracts worth a combined £500,000 in the next 12 months.

The company which is based in Cheltenham, won a £250,000 deal with one of the Canada’s largest retail pharmacy chains, Shoppers Drug Mart to sell beard oils, beard shampoo, moisturisers and gift sets.

Grocery chain Central Market, in Texas, American, is also trialling Hawkins & Brimble products in 10 of its branches.

Hawkins & Brimble was launched in December 2016 and, in just two years, won contracts with the UK’s biggest retailers including Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Debenhams, as well as shipping its products to more than 10 countries including the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, China and South Africa.

Exporting currently accounts for 60% of its £1.5million turnover, and this is expected to increase to 75% in 2019 as the brand plans to enter new markets including Scandinavia, Australia, India, Brazil and South East Asia.

The latest contract success follows support from the Department for International Trade, which assisted with funding and the identification of opportunities in North America.

Patrick Bos, sales director at Hawkins & Brimble, said: “We’re still a very young company and in just two short years, we’ve gone from formulating six shaving products to selling a full range of male beauty products in the UK’s largest retailers and exporting our products overseas.

“Our main highlights this year have been working with 20^th Century Fox to create an exclusive range of products to celebrate the release of film Bohemian Rhapsody and entering the North American market for the first time. Our International Trade Adviser at DIT has been with us every step of the way and has even introduced us to the DIT team based in New York, which has been invaluable.

“However, exporting is not without its challenges. Before we entered the Canadian market, we had to do a lot of research about buying habits and had to make sure packaging was reprinted to include both English and French. However, anything is possible with the right team behind you and the right support. If we can find success in international markets, so can many other businesses.”

DIT International Trade Advisers supported the company with its North American vision. International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP said: “Hawkins & Brimble has seen tremendous success, both domestically and overseas, in a very short space of time. The company has proved that researching buying trends and preparing tailored exporting strategies for overseas markets pays dividends.

“Our international economic department is thrilled at the success Hawkins & Brimble have seen in the US, the UK’s largest trading partner. Total trade between the UK and the US rose to £180.6 billion in the 12 months to June 2018, and it’s great to see businesses making the most of the many trading opportunities available.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.