Solar Buddies Reaches £5.5 Million Valuation as Sunscreen Brand Lands 8 UK Retailers, Target
Updated
Updated · Wales Online · Jun 27
Solar Buddies Reaches £5.5 Million Valuation as Sunscreen Brand Lands 8 UK Retailers, Target
1 articles · Updated · Wales Online · Jun 27
Summary
Solar Buddies is now valued at about £5.5 million, with its refillable children's sunscreen applicator stocked by eight major UK retailers and sold in the US through Target.
The business grew from a problem two mothers faced 11 years ago: school no-touch policies left children struggling to apply sunscreen without making a mess, leading them to develop a rolling sponge applicator.
Cardiff Metropolitan University helped refine the product before its 2015 launch, and the company later secured £80,000 from Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden on Dragons' Den for a 20% stake.
Covid nearly derailed the company, but unpaid promotion from US influencer Daryl-Ann Denner and a viral TikTok video drove a surge that forced Solar Buddies to expand from four staff to 16 and handle 10,000 pending orders.
The founders say growth has brought supply-chain, tariff and workload pressures, but collaborations including Nivea and wider retail distribution point to further expansion.