Name: The Wrinkly Elephant Company

Address: Bromsgrove/Online

Contact: info@thewrinklyelephant.com

Website: www.thewrinklyelephant.com

Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewrinklyelephantcompany/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewrinklyelephant/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thewrinklyelep1

Opening Hours: Online 24/7

Who are you? Lisa Turner

When did you open and why? We started and registered our Ltd Company three years ago, but have only been trading fully since October 2018 due to the need to follow EU regulations and having our soap products cosmetically assessed. I identified a market which focuses on the current consumer trend for Artisan, handcrafted products bought from local UK suppliers, products which are vegan friendly and using recyclable packaging.

Tell us about your business We are a family run business in the heart of Worcestershire and pride ourselves on producing high quality, artisan, hand crafted soaps. All of our soaps are made from scratch. We have spent many hours of research to perfect our recipe using high quality natural ingredients, botanicals and essential oils. We have a strong presence on Instagram whereby customers can see the process of making the soap and what ingredients are used.

How did you decide on the name? We were looking for something really memorable and were discussing strange and unusual business names when my husband said ‘you might as well call it something like the Wrinkly Elephant’ and it just stuck. I love Elephants so it seemed appropriate, also once the business is fully established I want to make a donation from each bar to help support the protection of elephants in the wild.

We tested out the name with family and friends and they loved it. So we registered the company name and trademarked it too.

Who works there? The Wrinkly Elephant Company is run by me and my husband, Stuart. At busy times, which is becoming more often, I enlist the help of friends and family to assist with the wrapping and packaging.

Who are your customers? Our customers are those individuals that love handmade soaps that are ‘simply natural’. Our customers are both local and national as we sell our products online at www.thewrinklyelephant.com, via large craft fairs and through local retailers such as the Jinney Ring (Hanbury), Natures Intention (Bromsgrove) and Bumbles Coffee Shop and Rough Hill Farm Shop (Studley) and other small retailers nationally.

What’s your most memorable / proudest moment in business? Our business has already won a number of national and European awards including Bronze ‘Free From’ Skin Care Award, Green Parent Magazine award for Plastic Free, Theo Paphitis (of Dragons Den) Small Business Sunday (SBS) and #WOW badge by renowned businesswoman Jacqueline Gold CBE. We have just recently attended the SBS conference at the Birmingham ICC whereby we had chance to network with like minded small businesses but also with other businesses that are part of the Theo Paphitis retail group.

It has just been announced that we have won a Silver award this year in the Free from Skincare awards with our Ebony & Ivory Soap.

Have you had any strange/ quirky suggestions or stories from customers? I have lots of customers trialling my soap and then reporting back to me with their success stories. One lady in particular has suffered with Psoriasis from a young age and has tried several creams and steroids prescribed by doctors. After just using my soap for about two weeks the improvement in her skin was considerably noticeable. She sent me before and after pictures. So I do get to hear about a lot of success stories.

We do now also have customers contacting us from Australia, Switzerland, Abu Dhabi and Ireland looking to purchase our products!

What are your ambitions for the future? We are looking to grow and scale up our business and be able to take on staff within the local area. We are hoping to extend into larger retailers and develop our company into a national recognised brand.

  • The Bromsgrove Advertiser has launched its Love Local Business campaign to support local businesses as they emerge from the Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Any business which wants to be featured in the News Group campaign, call 01905 742372 or email dale.godliman@localiq.co.uk.