Female entrepreneurs launch new online marketplace to champion British-made brands

Three Worcestershire-based female entrepreneurs have joined forces to form a new ecommerce marketplace that they say will showcase the best of independent British brands.

Hope and Story was originally inspired in spring 2020 when co-founder, Betsy Vickery, spent weeks searching online for 100% British-made gifts for her 7-year-old daughter’s birthday, and found there was no ecommerce marketplace that offered ethical, sustainable, and truly British brands.

Vickery enlisted the help of her childhood friends, Alison Larnder and Lizzy Waterhouse, and they set to work in developing the virtual British-made marketplace to offer conscious consumers the chance to find and support independent makers with a limited digital presence.

Vickery said: “During the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic it became increasingly clear that millions of independent British brands were losing significant amounts of revenue due to high street closures, just as large and global online marketplaces were able to profiteer from being able to fulfil consumer demand – and quickly.

“However, it’s clear that not only have consumers been more inspired to shop local and shop British since the outbreak of the pandemic, but consumers also associate 100% British made goods with increased product quality.

“Therefore, in developing the concept for Hope and Story, Alison, Lizzy and I were committed to curating an online marketplace that both championed and showcased the best of British brands, whilst providing consumers with an enjoyable, online shopping experience. We are incredibly proud to launch Hope and Story and to already be working with over 100 British partners across 12 plus lifestyle product categories. Watch this space.”