Scents and Sustainability: Wild’s Grace Tedstone discusses the company’s brand values – and its new Paddington partnership

Grace, it’s great to chat! Wild was recently acquired by Unilever. Can you tell us a bit about the brand’s story and development up to this point?
The last five years have been a Wild ride! The company was launched in 2020 by our founders and childhood friends Freddy and Charlie – and they sold directly to subscribers online. Within just a few weeks, the pandemic hit – something that could’ve been a nightmare for a new business. But they rode it out, and it turned out a refillable, natural deodorant was exactly what people were looking for. Since then we’ve gone from strength to strength, launching body wash, haircare, lip balm and more.

How do you think Unilever will be able to help Wild grow?
Working with Unilever unlocks huge knowledge and experience in supply chain, distribution and retail. Unilever is a retail-first organisation – almost every household in the country will have a Unilever product in it. Working with Unilever will scale our retail efforts and help us reach shoppers around the world.

You come from a brand licensing background. What is your role at Wild and what are your plans in the licensing sphere with Wild?
After six years working at The Roald Dahl Story Company, being the rights holder, I have made the move to the other side. My new role as Licensing Brand Manager is also a new role for Wild – I am really looking forward to leading the charge with new licensing deals, working across a variation of brands and industries, and bringing some incredibly fun, and wild new ranges to market for adults and children.

“Design-led licensing cases are incredibly important for us.”

Why do you think Wild’s offering to date has resonated?
People were clearly fed up with plastic waste in bathrooms, but didn’t want to compromise on efficacy, scent or style. So Wild came along and answered the call for personal care that’s sustainable, but not a compromise. Oh, and Wild has always tried to make things a bit more fun!

On that, Wild recently partnered with Paddington. It includes a Paddington case, accompanying a new ‘Orange Marmalade’ deodarant scent. Can you talk us through this partnership and how this fragrance was developed?
It has always been a dream of mine to work on a project with Paddington, so to say I was excited when I joined and saw it on the 2025 calendar is an understatement. Paddington is such a strong, iconic IP and with it being our first character licensing deal at Wild, it has been even more special. We have an incredibly creative brand team who work together to build a scent brief for the fragrance house. The fragrance team are the geniuses who take scent briefs, images and pull together outstanding scents every time. We make sure with every licensing deal that the associating scent, although not licensed, for the case has a natural fit with the IP. For example with the Emma Bridgewater Bee Case we had a honey and cactus flower scent, while for Disney Little Mermaid there was ocean mist.

Do you have a ‘template’ for what you are looking for from licensing and licensing partners for Wild?
Our licensing strategy for 2026 and beyond focuses on various different touch points. Design-led licensing cases are incredibly important for us, while making sure we continue to align with our brand values, existing audience base and growth globally. Expansion into the US has been phenomenal for 2025 and will continue in 2026 and beyond.

Focusing on design and brand identity, how has Wild managed to achieve stand out in such a crowded and competitive market?
First and foremost, Wild has stood out by being fun. Personal care can be a serious place, and Wild has always created joy with must-have designs, unmissable – and bonkers – scents and amazing sustainability wins. We’re a social-first brand, and these things helped us find an audience on social media, especially when we work with influencers.

How important is social media to a brand like Wild?
Without social media, there may not be a Wild! It is central to our success – we found our first superfans there, they helped spread the word and we went from strength to strength. In addition, we love working with content creators to get our name out there to new communities that may not have heard of us. And our organic social channels are the best way for us to get to know our Wild community – our followers really let us know if we’re getting things right!

Let’s talk trends! How do you and the team at Wild engage with – or try to set – trends?
As you know, within the industry everyone loves a bit of comp shopping, but social media trends and Pinterest trends are incredibly informative for us, plus, a strong gut feeling and deep understanding of the Wild customer. We are very design focused with our licensing cases and make a conscious effort to tie them into key moments of the year – as you can tell from the Emma Bridgewater and Cath Kidson designs for spring.

Thinking about the broader licensing market outside of Wild, can you share with us a few licensing ‘collabs’ you have seen this year that you think work well?
I think the Miffy’s 70th anniversary licensing portfolio has been incredible – every single drop I have loved and its execution has been wonderful to see. From fashion, to homeware, retail experiences, plush, stationery and many more… All while continuing to appeal to adults and children across the board.

Last question! Fast forward five years, where do you see the Wild brand?
The last five years have been amazing, so hopefully there’ll be more of the same. We’re so excited to be able to do bigger things, and to transform even more personal care routines, reducing the need for single use plastic in bathrooms even more. And that, of course, means collaborating with more exciting partners too…

Thanks again Grace!