Sustainable babycare startup Pura is to make its high street supermarket debut, rolling next month into Asda.
Launched online less than two years ago, the fast-growing brand will see 11 SKUs in all Asda stores from 9 April – across its wipes, nappies and nappy pants lineup.
Pura is the brainchild of new parents Guy and Abi Fennell, who self-financed the business, kicking off in June 2020 with plastic-free Eco Baby Wipes.
“A lot of families use a huge amount of baby wipes, and 90% of the wipes used in the UK contain plastic,” said Guy.
Pura’s aim was to offer “a baby wipe made in the UK – not China or Turkey where a lot of are made – and make it 100% compostable”.
Plus, the Chester brand’s “affordable” price points are meant to “democratise eco” Fennell added, pointing to the higher prices planet-conscious babycare products often command.
Pura quickly expanded its portfolio to add the likes of disposable nappies and flushable toilet tissue wipes – all of which are available via the brand’s DTC site, as one-off purchases or via subscription.
It was the UK’s first carbon-neutral babycare brand and the only one recycling nappies, claimed Fennell. It works with NappiCycle in Carmarthenshire to recycle nappies into other products and materials, including a type of asphalt that was recently used in the resurfacing of the A487 between Aberystwyth and Cardigan.
Pura was also instrumental in persuading Mumsnet to stop advertising baby wipes containing plastic, Fennell added.
In November, the babycare brand was one of five winners of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, securing £250k of the broadcaster’s advertising space. That was followed at the end of January by £4m of funding through Maven Capital Partners – an investment that valued Pura at £20m.
The startup, which is listed by Ocado, is now preparing to launch a five-month TV push, said Fennell, who previously worked in fmcg wholesale.
It is also in talks about listings for other retailers. “For us to succeed, we need to be on as many shelves as possible,” he added. “We’ve got to shout from the rooftops and work with retailers like Asda.”
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