Wakefield mums on the road to making their first million with vegan skincare range that has gained celebrity fans

In January last year, friends Hollie Sharpin and Lorna Hirst poured the remainder of their overdrafts into a completely new business venture - a sustainable, vegan skincare brand, called ‘Wild + Wood’.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

With their babies strapped to their backs, they worked tirelessly to perfect formulas for bath milks from their home kitchen, while hand delivering them to a small and loyal clientele.

Now, with 25,000 orders sent, 50,000 Instagram followers and an £800,000 revenue in hand, Wild + Wood has already surpassed any expectations either of them might have had.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Hollie, 24, said, “We started Wild + Wood sat on Lorna’s living room floor when we were both stay-at-home mums.

Lorna (left) Hollie (right)Lorna (left) Hollie (right)
Lorna (left) Hollie (right)

“We both had two young children at the time so we often had them strapped to our back in the early days whilst we created products in the kitchen.

“Having small children has really inspired a lot of our products, as we wanted something that our children could use too as they usually jump into the bath with us most days.”

“Thinking about how it started and where we are now, I can’t quite believe how quickly the brand took off and how far we’ve come since then.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The dynamic duo, who are set to make their first million by October, have been praised for the healing qualities of their products, which can be used to treat skin woes such as eczema and psoriasis for those with sensitive skin, and also ease skin flare-ups, cradle cap and nappy rash in babies.

Their products can be used to treat skin woes such as eczema and psoriasis for those with sensitive skin, before and after Wild +Wood picture aboveTheir products can be used to treat skin woes such as eczema and psoriasis for those with sensitive skin, before and after Wild +Wood picture above
Their products can be used to treat skin woes such as eczema and psoriasis for those with sensitive skin, before and after Wild +Wood picture above

A key element of the ‘Wild + Wood’ brand is that the process from purchase, packaging to parcel is all sustainable and eco friendly.

And now the environmentally conscious brand has launched their Wild + Wood Gives Back campaign, which includes a partnership with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organisation to guarantee that with every online purchase made, one tree is planted.

Lorna, 23, said: “ When we first set out on our beauty adventure, one of the main things that we wanted to maintain was our respect for the environment, animals, people and farms.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Yes, we set out to leave our print on the beauty industry, but we want to ensure that we remain as respectable to the environment and the world as possible.”

They worked tirelessly to perfect formulas for bath milks from their home kitchen, while hand delivering them to a small and loyal clienteleThey worked tirelessly to perfect formulas for bath milks from their home kitchen, while hand delivering them to a small and loyal clientele
They worked tirelessly to perfect formulas for bath milks from their home kitchen, while hand delivering them to a small and loyal clientele

As their online popularity grew, Wild +Wood has landed high profile celebrity clients, such as Stacey Solomon, who often commends their products on her social media sites.

Their Instagram account also sees Hollie and Lorna gift products each week to those who are experiencing hardship or simply need a pick me up.

And all these acts of kindness and tireless hard work have paid off, as Hollie and Lorna have secured their first shop base on Station Lane in Featherstone, where they’ll be able to sell their products while getting to know their customers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The pair’s philosophy is ‘that an act of kindness everyday can change the world’ and they strive to do just that alongside building a beauty brand like no other.