Cheeky Panda has launched a new £750,000 crowdfunding round to in a bid to boost its rapid growth in an effort to take a larger share of the personal care market.
The campaign will go live on next week (21 November) and marks the fifth time Cheeky Panda has turned to the public for investment, with 5,000 backers financing almost £10m into the eco challenger brand to date.
The funding round will value the business at £85.5 million, with money raised expected to be invested in marketing to boost brand awareness.
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The business, which makes toilet paper, kitchen roll, tissues, beauty and baby wipes from bamboo, sees plenty of headroom for expansion in the category as consumer demand for sustainable products grows.
CEO Julie Chen, who launched Cheeky Panda with partner Chris Forbes in 2016, said: “A lot of businesses like us benefited from a Covid-related growth spurt but failed to maintain those rates when omnichannel opened back up.
“Not only are we selling more than our Covid peak, but month on month we continue to attract new customers and exceptional growth.”
“The Cheeky Panda has had success with the likes of Waitrose and Boots but there is still a huge opportunity to grow with the other major retailers,” Chen said.
Sales rose 60% in 2022 to £12m and CFO Tom Mitchell said the business had “a really great pipeline”, with new products being developed and manufacturing in the UK set to start in the first quarter of 2023.
“We have a major launch with our beauty wipes in Q1 next year,” he added.
“We can see our turnover growing to £20 million next year and £50m over the next three years.”
