Stationery start-up bids to lead market with US expansion and growing paper-based offering
British brand Papier has raised £36.8million ($50m) in its bid to lead the stationery and card market as the London-based business expands its mission of bringing very non-tech products to the world.
In its third funding round the online personalised stationery startup, which includes greeting cards in its portfolio, has raised the money to expand into the US and continue growing offerings to include more paper-based products, as well as pens and other supplies you might find on your physical desktop, such as desk storage, pens and pencils, or anything else anything to support your writing, according to Taymoor Atighetchi, Papier’s ceo and founder.
“This is an incredibly exciting chapter for Papier,” Taymoor said. “With our office now open in the US, we are accelerating our mission to build a category defining global stationery brand.
“It’s a $200billion (£147bn) market and it doesn’t have a strong online brand, nothing that is category-defining the way you might have with other verticals. This funding is an important part of that plan. It pushes us globally and to the US.”
He added that, while Papier will continue to stay private for now, “we see a public listing is absolutely part of the journey”.
Paris VC Singular led the funding round with participation from other new backers DMG Ventures, Lansdowne Partners and Kathaka, as well as previous backers Felix Capital and Beringea.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Camden, Papier first raised £2.94m ($4m) in Series A funds in 2017 to start operations in Australia before opening up in the US in 2018, followed by series B funds of £8.1m ($11m) in 2019. Although not disclosing its valuation, Papier said revenues have grown by 150% over the past two years.
So far, the company has collaborated with 40 design partners, artists, and illustrators, including the V&A, Mother Of Pearl, Disney, House Of Holland, Temperley London, Desmond & Dempsey, and Liberty, as well as collaborating with Adwoa Aboah and Gurls Talk for International Women’s Day 2021.
With the product portfolio including greeting cards, notebooks, invitations, diaries and planners, it’s encouraging for the card and stationery sector as a whole that Papier has revealed millennials are its biggest demographic, accounting for 53% of its sales, with GenZ users its fastest-growing segment
In Taymoor’s opinion, these products address a certain aesthetic that is emerging among younger consumers, swimming in a sea of apps, where they are actively looking for alternatives to the screens that define so much of the rest of their lives.
Taymoor says part one of the company’s plans for growth is to gain more awareness in the market for its existing range of products – he said brand awareness is around 30% in the UK while it is 15% in the US so a lot of investment will be going into marketing to “stationery buyers who don’t know we exist”, he added.
“What I love about the brand is how it’s integrated with the home and with style,” said Nahu Ghebremichael of investors Singular, who is joining the Papier board. “These days so many work out of home offices. They are not separating work and life quite as much as before. Papier could do something in both of those silos.”
Top: Personalisation pushes Papier’s products
