Last Updated on July 24, 2026
Founded 2020, sold to Unilever April 2025
£46.9m revenue in 2023, up 77%
UK’s no.1 natural deodorant
8 million+ products sold
The move
In 2020, Freddy Ward and Charlie Bowes-Lyon launched Wild: a chunky, colourful, refillable deodorant case with compostable refills. Buy the case once, then buy refills on a subscription that arrives on whatever schedule you choose, at a discount for subscribing.
Notice what that model quietly does. Deodorant went from a grudge purchase remembered in a supermarket aisle to a direct relationship with a repeat billing cycle. Razor blades and printer ink have run this play for a century. Nobody had bothered to apply it to the bathroom shelf.
Wild then poured energy into reasons to come back: limited-edition scents and artist collaborations that create genuine scarcity, influencer partnerships with personalised cases, a VIP Facebook group nearly 20,000 strong that gets drops first, and a referral scheme that pays both sides. Retail came second, deliberately: Sainsbury’s, Boots and Holland & Barrett from 2021, once the direct business had proved the brand. By 2023 revenue hit £46.9m, up 77% in a year. In April 2025, Unilever bought the company, in a deal reported around the £230m mark.
Why it worked
Sustainability opened the door, but it is not why Wild won. The product looked better on a shelf and in a gym bag than anything from the supermarket, the scents rotated like fashion drops, and the refill mechanic made the greener choice also the lazier choice. Wild led with design and convenience and let the plastic-free story support, not carry.
The subscription solves the hardest problem in consumer goods: being remembered. Wild never needs to win the aisle twice. And because subscribers are a known audience, every limited drop, referral nudge and community post lands on people who already opted in, which is why the marketing looks effortless from outside.
The limited editions do double duty. They give subscribers a reason to stay for what is coming next, and they give social media a steady stream of newness to talk about, without the core product ever changing.
The principle
Recurring problems deserve recurring revenue. If your customers run out, use up, outgrow or need re-doing, the product is not the sale; the relationship is. Design the offer so coming back is the default, then spend your marketing on the first purchase only.
Steal this
You do not need a product in Boots. You need the mechanics: a reason to return, on a schedule, with a reward for loyalty.
Find your refill. Cleaners have the monthly deep clean, accountants the quarterly check-in, groomers the six-week cycle, garages the service plan. Package the repeat need as a plan with a saving, rather than waiting for customers to remember you.
Make the recurring option the obvious one. Wild discounts subscriptions about 20% and lets people set their own frequency. Price your plan so a rational customer picks it, and let them pause or cancel without a fight. Trapped customers churn angrier.
Give loyalty something scarce. A limited scent, a members-first booking window, a winter-only service slot. Scarcity gives your regulars a reason to stay subscribed and gives everyone else a reason to talk about you between purchases.
Pay for referrals both ways. Wild rewards the referrer and the friend. A tenner off each side costs less than any lead platform and recruits customers who arrive pre-sold. Put the offer on the receipt, the van and the follow-up email.
Sources & further reading
Where they are now
Wild now sits inside Unilever’s personal care portfolio, with the founders staying on and the refill model heading into new categories and markets through 2026.
The Whito verdict
Strip away the pastel cases and Wild is a retention machine. The founders understood that the fortune in consumer products is not in the first sale but in never having to fight for the second one, and they built the product itself around that truth. The marketing everyone admires sits on top of a model that makes every pound of it work twice.
Almost every service business has a refill hiding in it. If your revenue restarts at zero each month, that is a design choice, and Wild is proof it is one you can undo.
Scale Stage
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Frequently asked questions
What made Wild deodorant’s marketing work?
A refillable product with subscription refills at a discount, limited-edition scents and collaborations that reward staying subscribed, a two-sided referral scheme, and influencer and community marketing aimed at people who had already opted in. Design and convenience led; sustainability supported.
How big did Wild get before the Unilever deal?
Wild reached £46.9m revenue in 2023, up 77% year on year, became the UK’s number one natural deodorant and sold over 8 million products. Unilever acquired the business in April 2025 in a deal reported at around £230m.
How can a service business copy the refill model?
Turn your repeat need into a plan: service contracts, maintenance visits, retainer check-ins or product top-ups on a schedule, priced so subscribing is the obvious choice, with a referral reward on both sides to recruit the next customer.
