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design of our toilet gel bottle requires the machinery to tilt and fill at an angle rather than from the top,” explains Howard.“ That required bespoke, fully automated equipment, which we’ ve now installed and are operating at scale.”
Already shipping to 25 countries globally, the firm is exploring further expansion into North America.“ We currently have a huge opportunity to develop the North American market, and the scope for where we can take this brand is something we’ ve barely begun to explore,” elaborates Howard. Astonish collaborates primarily with privately owned partners, and the overseas market now accounts for around 30 percent of sales. Action – one of Europe’ s largest retail chains – is one of its most significant partnerships, operating across Spain, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Poland.“ We began working with Action about 12 months ago and our brand has already become available
across many European countries where you simply wouldn’ t have been able to find Astonish products before.”
Looking to the second half of 2026, the launch of its refill pouches is accompanied by the relaunch of an iconic product – Astonish’ s version of the classic‘ Shake and Vac’ carpet fragrance powder.“ This is the modern equivalent of the traditional Shake and Vac powder,” notes Howard.“ We’ re the market leader in this category, and the products are currently sold in essentially every major UK retailer.” However, the traditional plastic containers didn’ t fully align with the company’ s sustainability standards which led it to undertake extensive research and stability-testing – this enabled a transition into cardboard tubes to eliminate plastic entirely.“ It’ s been a rigorous process in ensuring the powder formula remains stable inside a cardboard structure and doesn’ t absorb moisture. We’ re targeting a November relaunch.
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