In this episode of ICONS, Roman Kirsch interviews Charlie Bowes-Lyon, Co-founder and CMO of Wild, the refillable deodorant brand recently acquired by Unilever. Starting with a mission to remove single-use plastic from the bathroom, Wild transformed a £5 million UK natural deodorant market into a global sustainable brand worth hundreds of millions. By rejecting the traditional “eco-aesthetic” and instead creating colorful, lifestyle-focused products, Wild made sustainability approachable for mainstream consumers. Their journey from launch during COVID lockdowns to a major Unilever acquisition demonstrates how purpose-driven products can achieve commercial success when product quality and brand experience take priority over sustainability messaging.

Topics Discussed:

• Creating a sustainable brand that appeals to mainstream consumers beyond eco-conscious audiences
• Developing a refillable deodorant product that’s environmentally-friendly without compromising on quality
• Executing a multi-channel, multi-geography marketing strategy to reduce dependency risks
• Using limited edition scents and case designs to drive both acquisition and retention
• Building a community-driven product development process
• Navigating retail expansion both domestically and internationally
• Managing the acquisition process with Unilever while maintaining brand integrity

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Make Sustainability the Foundation, Not the Sales Pitch

Wild consciously avoided making sustainability their primary marketing message. Instead, they focused on product quality, scent variety, and eye-catching design. This approach prevented alienating mainstream consumers while still achieving their environmental mission, as Charlie notes: “If people buy us because they love the design or scents and don’t care about sustainability, we don’t really care because ultimately we’re achieving our goal.”

Use Limited Editions to Target Micro-Segments for Acquisition

Wild’s limited edition strategy allows hyper-targeted customer acquisition. By creating themed cases (like their cat-themed case) and matching scents, they can precisely target niche audiences: “We can literally target cat lovers on Meta with the cat case… and find those pockets for new acquisition.” This approach provides fresh marketing angles and creates continuous discovery opportunities.

Transform Limited Editions into Retention Tools

Beyond acquisition, Wild discovered their scent variety significantly improved retention. Customers enjoy trying different scents rather than using the same product repeatedly: “Getting a different scent every couple of months makes this thing, which everyone uses every morning, just that little bit more interesting.” This product variety maintains engagement without requiring entirely new product categories.

Build Customer Feedback Loops into Product Development

Wild maintains a VIP Facebook group with 20,000 members who provide rapid feedback on product ideas. “I could put a survey out right now asking if they want ABCD or E scent, and I’ll get 2,000 responses within half an hour.” This approach creates both better products and deeper customer investment, as customers feel ownership when their ideas become products.

Diversify Marketing Channels and Geographic Markets Early

To avoid dependency risks, Wild deliberately built a multi-channel, multi-geography strategy from the beginning: “We specifically set out early on to be multichannel, not overly reliant on any single channel, and multi-geos.” This prevented the business from being vulnerable to algorithm changes or regional economic downturns.

Use D2C as the Marketing Engine for Retail

Rather than creating separate marketing strategies for D2C and retail, Wild views their D2C business as the marketing engine that creates halo effects for retail sales: “D2C is the marketing engine, and if we can do that effectively, the halo effect also affects retail.” This approach provides measurable marketing while benefiting both channels.

Balance Performance and Brand Marketing with Emotional Connections

Wild maintains a performance-focused approach (80% of budget) while recognizing brand marketing’s importance. Their approach to top-of-funnel marketing centers on emotional connection: “Marketing has shifted from being this obvious sales vehicle to actually being like, who can entertain best… You just need to elicit an emotion.” This emotional connection creates brand recall that performance channels can later convert.

Treat Due Diligence as an Opportunity for Business Improvement

During their six-month acquisition process with Unilever, Wild used the intense scrutiny to improve their operations: “It really made us self-reflect and look through everything. And I think ultimately we now have a real understanding and command of everything data-wise that we have done and plan to do.”