Premium-positioned healthy condiments start-up Dr Will’s is aiming to become profitable in the next 12 months as the business eyes further UK listings.
Dr Will’s, set up by three co-founders in 2017, won listings with Tesco and Waitrose at the back end of 2020 and is also currently stocked by Ocado and The Co-op.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Two more SKUs are due to roll out in Tesco in May, giving the business six products on-shelf in the big four chain as the company embraces sales growth from the health-conscious consumer and greater awareness around ultra-processed foods.
“In the last two to three years, we’ve seen lots of traction. Health is really becoming mainstream, and that’s definitely helping us. We’ve grown about 80% year on year from when we started,” co-founder and CEO Liam White told Just Food.
“We’re aiming to be profitable within the next 12 months. We will get right to the edge of profitability at the end of this year.”
White was reserved in revealing specific figures for annual sales growth and revenues or any future targets for the maker of better-for-you mayonnaise, Sriracha and barbeque sauces, and ketchup. The company is focused on natural ingredients and uses dates rather than sugar.
“We will at least double sales this year. We’re seeing huge growth in retail because of the ultra-processed food movement and we’re doing really well in things like avocado mayonnaise, where people are moving away from products that have gums, thickeners and seed oils,” White explained.
“We saw about 500% growth in our avocado mayo sales last year in Tesco. People are now walking down the aisle and checking the backs of packs or scanning ingredients in a way that I’ve never seen.”
White added that Dr Will’s is now a more retail-focused business, accounting for around 90% of sales, and is courting additional listings with other major UK grocery chains.
“We have our eyes on the rest of the big four. Our aspirations are to be distributed in all of the major retailers in the UK,” he said. “I can’t give a concrete date, but we’re having live conversations with all the retailers, and I expect us to be in many of them in the near future.”
Like other start-ups, Dr Will’s uses a co-manufacturing partner and has financed the business with the help of private angel investors but has not so far employed venture-capital funds.
“We’ve exported a little bit into places like the Middle East, Singapore, a little bit in Europe, but we’re primarily a UK business,” White said. “The immediate focus is to be the challenger brand, the brand that is challenging the Hellmann’s and Nando’s etc. in every UK retailer.”
While Dr Will’s sees itself as a premium on-shelf brand, White believes consumers are willing to spend a little more as health considerations become an important part of purchasing decisions.
“There’s definitely a challenge with the consumer. There’s no doubt about that, but the data we’re seeing is more consumers have moved from struggling to coping.
“Combined with people realising that health is important and it’s worth spending the extra money we’re seeing growing volumes.”
