British Made Awards 2021

19 | British Made Awards 2021 Inventor Caroline Wagstaff had an idea – to solve a common bodycare problem with one ground-breaking tool. The rest, as they say, is history. Having achieved the remarkable in SME News’ British Made Awards, we take a closer look at Caroline’s firm, BackBliss, as well as catching up with the inventor herself to discover more about the secrets of her incredible success. Consistently relegated to the sidelines, it’s time for our backs to get the TLC they deserve. This year, BackBliss has swept SME News’ British Made Awards, with accolades that further push this much-neglected area of bodycare into the spotlight. When it comes to scratching that hard-to-reach itch, there’s nothing finer. BackBliss is a beauty tool, but it’s a tool used and loved by many outside of the beauty world. Now it’s basking in its success and about to unveil an exciting rebrand. “It all started on a beach in 1998,” says inventor and founder, Caroline Wagstaff. “I was struggling to apply sun lotion to my back and my partner wasn’t with me on the beach. I was too embarrassed to ask a stranger to help – and so that evening I tied a sponge to a coat hanger. The idea stemmed from there.” With a comprehensive range of products on offer, BackBliss’s founder still watches as self-tan mitts are wrapped onto wooden spoons, rulers, coathangers – even paint rollers, and various contortions become the solution to applying creams and lotions to backs. Then there are the itches that need to be scratched, the back tattoos that need TLC, the elderly who need a helping hand. This gap in the market has been effortlessly filled by Caroline’s innovation. To date, she has sold over 250,000 products, winning many prestigious awards for her problem-solving innovation. In 2003, the product won a Global Women’s Innovators and Inventors Network award (GWIIN) and Caroline was a finalist in the British Female Inventor of the Year (BFIY) competition that same year. The awards haven’t stopped coming since. In 2006, a back scratcher was launched, adding another bow to the BackBliss brand. Today, consumers can purchase both the back scratchers, lotion applicator as well as sets of replacement pads. These are expertly crafted from the same velvet-soft, streak-free patented material as the mitts we know and love. “The beauty industry is crying out for a product like this… and yet we still have some work to do in marketing its existence,” adds Caroline. “We see countless fake tan and lotion application hacks on YouTube and the like when BackBliss is the ultimate solution, taking away the need for awkward, homemade contraptions. We have customers from teens to the elderly, the strong to the less able. Men and women, young and old swear by it as a solution to reaching those tricky spots.” It’s no wonder that Caroline has seen such success with her product range. Incredibly, she runs the brand herself with very little help, from her coastal home in Whitstable. “BackBliss is entirely UK made. The design was years in the making and I’m so happy with where we ended up. The result is an innovation that quite simply makes life easier. Isn’t that what every good product should do?” While Covid-19 impacted many businesses, BackBliss once again thrived. Supply chain issues were avoided with all parts being British made and Amazon sales rocketed as a result. Needless to say, lockdown saw self-care hit a peak and those who live alone need a little helping hand now and again. That is the wonder of this product – it is truly the gift that keeps on giving. From stocking fillers to must-have beauty essentials, there isn’t a scenario or a customer that wouldn’t benefit from having BackBliss in the home. “I would love to develop the product range further,” adds Caroline. There’s such a gap in the market here and the BackBliss reviews speak for themselves. It’s the logical next step to expand.” You heard her… watch this space. Company: BackBliss Name: Caroline Wagstaff Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.backbliss.com Aug21564 Most Innovative Lotion & Cream Applicator Company 2021 & Most Pioneering Home Beauty Products Company 2021 BackBliss