smol, the UK’s fastest-growing homecare brand, is celebrating its third anniversary. Now, the company bagged $34 million (nearly £24 million) Series B funding led by Eight Roads Ventures alongside Google Ventures, Latitude, and existing investors Balderton Capital and Jam Jar.
Expansion plans
The new funds will allow the company to continue investing in new product development and expand into other European markets. smol notes that the pandemic has further increased the demand for its products, driven by their convenient home delivery and sustainable approach.
“The last year has further increased consumers’ awareness of the ecological impact our everyday actions have, and the role younger brands can have in making a positive difference,” said co-founder Nick Green, pointing to a recent Brandbean study that showed over 80% of consumers switching brands or products last year in order to be more eco-friendly, and trusting smaller brands to offer better eco-friendly products.
Michael Treskow, Partner at Eight Roads Ventures commented, “The stagnant household care market is finally getting a long-overdue shake-up, with smol making sustainability and convenience the norm rather than the exception. We are excited to support smol’s ambitious mission to help consumers make a positive environmental impact in a convenient and affordable manner.”
Innovative homecare products
Founded by Paula Quazi and Nick Green in 2018, smol operates with the goal to provide users with a better alternative to suit their sustainable homecare needs. With its subscription model that sells products directly to consumers, the team creates sustainable, affordable and effective homecare products. These will be delivered to their homes based on their individual usage patterns.
Initially, smol started with laundry capsules and expanded into other products such as fabric conditioners, dishwash tablets, surface sprays, and hand sanitisers.
“We want to bridge the divide between big brand products that focus on affordability and efficacy, and smaller eco-friendly brands that are more expensive and less effective,” said co-founder Paula Quazi.
Homecare with low carbon footprint
The entire range of smol products are manufactured with a lower carbon footprint. These products have reduced levels of added chemicals, and are vegan and free from animal cruelty. For the first time in the world, its laundry capsules and dishwash tablets are wrapped in a 100% plastic-free pack, which is claimed to be 100% recyclable or compostable.
Also, smol’s fabric conditioner is free from animal fat and comes in bottles made with 100% recycled plastic that can be recycled or returned to the company for re-use. Likewise, the surface spray bottles also use recycled plastic and are refillable for life. The cleaning tablets can be dissolved in warm water, thereby eliminating the need for new plastic bottles and reducing the shipping footprint.
smol has completed 10 million washes per month across the UK, and has helped customers save over 1,000 tonnes of chemicals, 350 tonnes of plastic, and 10 tonnes of animal fats.
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