Simon Duffy co-founded male grooming brand Bulldog in 2006 along
with friend Rhodri Ferrier. The brand is now available in some of
the largest chain stores in the country, and has won accolades
including Pure Beauty magazine's 2007 award for best male grooming
launch as well as being named one of the top 100 companies to watch
by startups.co.uk.
The entrepreneur talks about how identifying a gap in the market
for male natural grooming products led him to create Bulldog and
how within 3 months the company secured supply to 8 major retailers
in the UK including Sainsbury's and Debenhams. He refers to the
challenges of securing funding and the importance of market
research and having a thorough business plan. Find out what it was
like for the small business to enter straight into mainstream
deals, how they went about finding suppliers and how they were able
to offer affordable products whilst making profit.
Duffy also talks about the challenges of supplying to major
supermarket chains, and the rigorous product quality testing that
the Bulldog merchandise went through before being put on the
shelves. He speaks on advertising and why he has found in house PR
to be the best option for Bulldog and the importance of building
credibility and maintaining relations.
Bulldog products can now be found in major retailers across the
UK and there is now demand for international expansion, with
requests coming from Japan, USA, Middle East and many European
countries. Listen to Simon's thoughts on expanding the market and
whether he is ready for Bulldog to become a global brand.