Wild & Stone: Scaling a sustainable brand through marketplaces
Competing with household names while staying true to sustainable values isn’t easy—but Wild & Stone found a way. Learn how they leveraged marketplaces, expanded globally, and streamlined finances with WorldFirst to grow their eco-conscious brand.
Sustainability has become more than a niche trend, with consumers highlighting this shift with their wallets. But breaking into a market with everyday products dominated by household names requires a sharp market entry strategy, one that cuts through established competition.
Wild & Stone, a UK-based brand selling sustainable alternatives to household products like toothbrushes and hair ties, has navigated this challenge by combining marketplace expertise with on-the-go learning. What started as an idea to create better, plastic-free products has become a successful e-commerce business with customers around the world.
“It’s [about] bringing products to the market that give people an option,” says Andrew Dowley, Chief Operating Officer and a co-founder of Wild & Stone. Back in 2018, business partner Kathryn Jonas had an idea. “She found a gap in the market and she’s always been very interested in the eco side of things. The whole market is shifting because people are more aware and they want to recycle the products in their home better.”
By leveraging in-house expertise, e-commerce marketplaces and smart management of international finances, Wild & Stone has been able to build a profitable, purpose-driven brand.
Mastering the Amazon advantage
Andrew’s background in e-commerce played a role in shaping Wild & Stone’s early strategy. “I already had years of experience within Amazon’s Global marketplace and within six months, we had our first product selling on Amazon. That was from July 2018 through to December 2018 and then we sold two products in December 2018, after creating them from scratch, globally.”
With his prior knowledge of Amazon’s selling structure, Andrew knew the platform was the fastest route to market.
“Amazon’s a great entry point for business because it’s very, very easy to set up and list your product,” he says. “There are certain things you have to learn but it’s such a big beast that learning by your mistakes is an easier way to do things than getting it perfect. Even with my level of experience, you still make mistakes.”
Expanding into the US market, for example, brought unexpected costs. “We sent our product to the US but we did have some initial issues where we were losing money constantly because of the FBA shipping fees across the USA’s three times zones.
“It’s a common thing that people come across when you’re selling a more cost-effective item like a toothbrush. You don’t have the built-in margins to deal with shipping from New York to California or to Chicago or to Texas.”
The solution was to rethink stock distribution by having products in more warehouses around the country. “So you learn those things when you open into new marketplaces.”
Standing out and scaling up
To stand out in a crowded market against big brands and supermarket white-labelled products, Wild & Stone focused on differentiation. From the start, sustainability was at the core of their business ethos, and in every step from sourcing to packaging.
“It was all about finding eco swaps, understanding that we could manage the chain of command. When the handles of our toothbrushes are from an FSC approved supplier, you have to have a chain of command right from where the bamboo is grown, all the way through to the final product manufacture. So when it arrives on my doorstep, I need to know every single link in the chain all the way down, and we’ve got that in place.”
This meant that when marketing their products, the eco-credentials could shine through. They also recognised that strong marketing fundamentals were key to being competitive. “It takes good photography. It takes good copy,” Andrew says.
By understanding the ideal customer and having good copywriters, “I could optimise my product, and could beat someone else’s product without even knowing the marketplace because you can tailor the content to SEO content rules better than they can.”
Their product descriptions are crafted with an understanding of SEO and persuasive storytelling. “You can write text that’s more friendly to the recipient than someone else’s. They say, ‘This is a toothbrush.’ Well, no, this is a lifestyle choice,” Andrew explains. “You’re making this lifestyle choice to be eco-friendly, not only maintain your oral hygiene.”
This is why Andrew believes smaller brands can dominate on marketplaces. “One of the advantages for sellers on Amazon is that they can take on these bigger brands. If Colgate don’t know how to market their products, I’m winning. Colgate can’t compete with me—yes they may have ten thousand reviews, they’ve got a huge amount of budget behind them. They’ve got economies of scale but just because you’ve got all those things, it doesn’t guarantee you that you’re going to win on Amazon.”
Selling on Amazon allowed Wild & Stone to trial new products, growing their range to over 125 items. “The cost of trialling a product on Amazon, as opposed to my own website, is significantly lower. If it fails, it’s part of my overall cost and then I can kill that product and I can leave Amazon to sell through or dispose of it.”
New markets, new challenges
After establishing success on Amazon, the next step for Wild & Stone was expanding into other marketplaces and launching their own e-commerce store. Selling on marketplaces platform like Debenhams and Superdrug in the UK, and Walmart in the US allowed them to reach customers who preferred shopping within those ecosystems.
“We’re growing with them and through their own growth of that platform. We’ve got a number of clients that will generally come on because they’re loyal to those brands,” Andrew says.
While their direct-to-consumer website has seen significant growth, Amazon remains their dominant sales channel. “We’ve pushed a lot of growth in 2024 on the website. That’s worked really, really well. But it’s nowhere near Amazon.”
As the business expanded, so did the challenges—particularly in manufacturing and product development.
One major learning curve was ensuring clear communication with manufacturers. “We made mistakes with manufacturers where we haven’t been clear. You’re expecting A and you get B and you’re like, hold on two seconds. It was lost in translation,” Andrew recalls. “So, when you’re briefing your foreign manufacturing partner, make sure that the brief is absolutely clear. And if you can, include pictures, include designs.”
Scaling their product line also required adjustments. When Wild & Stone introduced children’s toothbrushes, they had to fit the same amount of product information on a smaller package. “What we ended up doing was doing one less language on the children’s boxes, so we realised that Germany was a big area. The US was a big area and the UK was a big area for our children’s toothbrushes. So we went with German and English. You make small compromises, that’s why it’s a challenge, but it’s a learning process.”
- Open 20+ local currency accounts and get paid like a local
- Pay suppliers, partners and staff worldwide in 100+ currencies
- Collect payments for free from 130+ marketplaces and payment gateways, including Amazon, Etsy, PayPal and Shopify
- Save with competitive exchange rates on currency conversions and transfers
- Lock in exchange rates for up to 24 months for cash flow certainty
Smart finances, smarter growth
For Andrew, running a business across multiple markets was complex enough without financial bottlenecks slowing things down. He’d already had experience with the World Account for international trade previously.
“I came from a business prior to Wild & Stone where we’d been using WorldFirst, so WorldFirst was my go-to option for international currencies, paying and receiving.”
For Wild & Stone, the World Account from WorldFirst plays a crucial role in managing international revenue and supplier payments.
Receiving Amazon payments
As sales grew across Amazon’s US and European platforms, they needed a better way to manage revenue. “Amazon only pays out in local currency. So let’s say I’m trading in the US, Amazon will only pay out in US Dollars. If I’m trading in Germany, they will only pay out in Euros.”
The World Account “provides an account that collects money in the currency of the platform you’re selling on. So that could be USD, Canadian dollars, Euros, Mexican Pesos, Australian Dollars or even GBP.”
Using WorldFirst allowed Andrew to collect and hold his marketplace payouts in local currencies, giving him more control over when and how he exchanged his funds.
Paying suppliers globally
Beyond receiving payments, Wild & Stone also needed a cost-effective way to pay suppliers. With a single-currency bank account, “what’s happening is that money’s dropping into your account from Amazon. What you don’t realise is they converted it from dollars at a rate. You then need to pay your supplier the next time. So what do you do? You take ten thousand pounds and you convert that back into dollars.”
Using the World Account to receive and make payments means they can avoid the double conversions and save on every transaction.
Speed is another essential factor when paying overseas suppliers. “I could send ten, twenty thousand [dollars] to China within two minutes and that money will be in their account tomorrow.”
And when the supplier also uses the World Account, the transaction becomes even faster and free of charge.
“I’ve encouraged some of my suppliers to set up a WorldFirst account, because it becomes a free transaction when we both use the WorldFirst platform—and they receive the money instantly. Delays happen when payments take too long to arrive, but if the money is in their account immediately, everything moves along smoothly.”
The key benefit of the World Account, for Andrew, is “the convenience. The hands-off approach. Because it’s a self-serve platform, it’s absolutely brilliant.”
He can set up a new supplier in minutes, and within 24 hours, they’ll have received their first payment. His accountant too, can access all the necessary information directly from the online portal.
“I totally recommend it to anyone—there isn’t any alternative for me.”
The road ahead
As Wild & Stone continues to scale, managing international payments efficiently is critical to staying competitive. Expanding into new markets, refining supply chains, and balancing affordability with sustainability all require reliable financial infrastructure. With the World Account, Wild & Stone can manage multi-currency payments and avoid unnecessary conversion fees—allowing them to reinvest more into growth.
The World Account for global sellers
For e-commerce businesses like Wild & Stone, staying competitive means approaching international revenue and payments strategically, with the right tools. The World Account from WorldFirst simplifies global payments, helping sellers save time and money.
Why marketplace sellers choose the World Account
- Collect payments in 20+ local currencies: Hold and manage earnings in USD, GBP, EUR and more
- Reduce currency exchange rates: Avoid unnecessary losses by converting when it suits you
- Pay suppliers directly: Send payments in 90+ currencies to suppliers in China, Europe and beyond
- Fast transactions: Most payments arrive within 24 hours; World Account to World Account transfers are instant and free
- No ongoing fees: It’s free to receive payments and there are no account opening or monthly fees
Ready to simplify your global payments and keep more of your profits? Open a World Account for free today.
*This article featured in this edition of our Newsletter is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or professional advice. This article should not be regarded as constituting an offer or a solicitation to buy or sell any regulated or financial products or services. World First Group makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or applicability of the content, and readers are encouraged to consult with legal professionals or other professionals for advice tailored to their specific situation. World First Group does not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of this article and expressly disclaims any and all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance on this article.
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