Eco pet product start-up firm Project Blu has secured a multi-million-pound investment boost as it embarks on major expansion into the lucrative US marketplace.
The Dinas Powys-based firm, set up last year by its founder and chief executive Geryn Evans has already sold over 87,000 products made from over six million plastic bottles, across its range that includes leads, harnesses, pet beds and toys.
It has secured UK stockist deals with retailers John Lewis and Joules and sells direct to consumer via its eCommerce platform.
It is the first global pet brand to offer a full range of sustainable accessories for dogs and cats.
Now in a major vote of confidence in its growth potential it has now been backed by San Diego-based Metamorphosis Partners, a venture capital firm dedicated to the incubation and acceleration of businesses in the pet industry. Its team of experts and entrepreneurs have a with a proven track record of building businesses in the ever-expanding $90bn pet industry. Its chief executive Brock Weatherup was CEO and co-founder of PetCoach before being acquired by Petco.
The strategy, which will see it launching in the US next spring, aims to emulate the commercial success of sustainable footwear venture Allbirds, which having launched in 2016 now has revenues in excess of £100m and a £1bn plus valuation.
The value of the investment has not been disclosed, but the investment and equity stake in Project Blu will be ratcheted up over the coming years, if growth targets are hit.
At the end of the agreed investment period, Metamorphosis will have a minority stake in the business, at which point it could exit.
Project Blu, recently named the overall winner in the 2020 Wales Start Up Awards, is also looking at bringing outsourced production, currently in Italy, to Wales.
It will also establish an outsourced manufacturing base to support its growth plan in the US, with the most likely location being in North Carolina.
Mr Evans said the partnership with Metamorphosis will be a “game-changer” as the firm eyes expansion into the US and other international markets.
He added: “Project Blu is all about driving positive change in an industry that was ripe for disruption. We aim to prove that pet brands can be sustainable, stylish and profitable on a global scale, and this partnership will be a crucial part of our plan to expand into several international markets in 2021.
“The pet industry is a growing, recession-resistant market where sustainability is one of the biggest emerging trends for pet owners who are increasingly conscious of how products are made and where they end up. We are incredibly excited about partnering with one of the biggest players in the marketplace, and we are looking forward to tapping into the knowledge and expertise of the Metamorphosis team to build our brand in the lucrative North American market and beyond.”
Based on the exponential growth achieved by Allbirds, Mr Evans said revenues running into hundreds of millions of the pounds is an achievable target longer term.
In the short-term he said: “I would like to think we should be up to a £50m turnover by 2024.”
Mr Evans started his career in the furniture design trade, where he designed several integrated technology products for major retailers. He was inspired by a collaboration between German multinational sports brand Adidas and Parley for the Oceans, an organisation that addresses environmental threats posed by plastic pollution in the oceans.
As a pet owner, he realised that the industry had been slow to respond to consumer concerns around sustainability and decided to address this gap by converting polluting materials into high-quality pet beds, leashes and toys.
Describing himself as “obsessive” about finding new ways of combining textile innovation and technology to produce beautifully designed sustainable products,
Mr Evans now plans to launch a ‘ghost fishing net’ range to tackle the problem of discarded fishing gear in the oceans. It is estimated that over 640,000 tons of fishing gear is lost or discarded in the oceans every year, not dissolving for centuries and posing a significant risk to marine life. The firm also plans to launch a range of products using apple leather; an eco-friendly leather substitute made using discarded apple skins from the Italian Alps.
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Since signing up to the Welsh Government’s Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme (AGP) programme in 2019, Project Blu has received mentoring and specialist advice on market analysis, funding and planning for growth.
Richard Morris of the Excelerator Consortium, which delivers the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme, said: “It’s been fantastic to see Project Blu come such a long way in such a short space of time, and their deal with Metamorphosis is further validation of their innovative concept.
"The company is an excellent example of a homegrown Welsh business providing solutions to one of the most significant environmental issues facing our planet today.”
