A Chat with Charlie Bowes-Lyon, Co-Founder at Refillable Deodorant Company: Wild

Wild was Co-founded in 2019 by myself and Freddy Ward. Our range of refillable deodorants was the first of its kind to be 100% compostable and biodegradable, changing the face of personal care for good.

The Wild collection is available in a range of scents that are all free from harsh chemicals such as parabens and aluminium salts, which a typical antiperspirant usually includes. We are dedicated to creating new innovative and reliable solutions that will clean up the personal care sector’s plastic problem.
 
 

 

What do you think makes Wild unique?

 
We created the business as a solution to the catastrophic plastic problem within the cosmetics sector. The practices that were being used at the time no longer aligned with consumer behaviours. We knew there was an appetite for a product that was effective, high-quality, stylish and had less of an impact on the environment, so set about creating this.

At the start, we purely sold through WeAreWild.com which allowed us to continually improve the core product while expanding our range and building a direct relationship with our community. This approach has given us a lot of data and insights and helped us grow a more personal bond with our community which has helped propel our growth organically.

Consumers are crying out for more modernised, sustainably focused brands that have products that actually work. They love that Wild is stylish, convenient, practical and most importantly helps them reduce the use of single-use plastic in their bathroom.
 

 

How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?

 
Freddy and I both enjoy a challenge and over the last few years we have had to react to a number of unprecedented events such as COVID and Brexit which has forced us to be a very agile business. I think our adaptable and entrepreneurial approach has helped make us the biggest refillable cosmetics company in the UK market – something we are incredibly proud of.

There is still a long way to go and we will continue to evolve with the consumer demand, but it’s also important that the cosmetic sector continues to make waves toward plastic-free cosmetics, with more of a need now than ever before. We believe the personal care market, in particular, has been stagnant for too long and we need to continue to disrupt with high-performing, convenient and natural alternatives to mainstream brands, all delivered in sustainable and refillable packaging.
 

What can we hope to see from Wild in the future?

 
Our long-term vision is to help remove single-use plastic and unnecessary chemicals from consumers’ daily personal care routines, so there is plenty to go after!

Our focus is to continue diversifying the product range by letting our customers guide what they want from the brand and to ensure any products we launch are pushing the boundaries of sustainable innovation whilst delivering on our promise of stylish and effective products.