News: Watermans presented with Queen’s Award for International Trade

Staff at Rotherham-based E-commerce business, Watermans, recently welcomed the Lord Lieutenant to their headquarters to celebrate receiving a Queen's Award. His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant Dame Hilary presented this award to Gail and Matt Waterman.

The award was won in 2022 for Enterprise, International Trade. The Queen’s Award is the highest UK business award to achieve for any business.To mark this fantastic achievement the team held a celebratory event where they were presented a trophy and an official scroll by the King’s representative Lord Lieutenant Dame Hilary.

For the small team run by Gail Waterman, it is a great example of a successful part-owned black business striving for success. The business workforce is 98% female, championing women to be present in the workforce no matter their gender.

His Majesty Lord Lieutenant said: "It’s incredible to meet the team here at Watermans and present them this prestigious award. Their efforts and their business truly capture what the Queens Award means. This award is much sought-after for high achievers. Watermans have been recognised for being exceptional at International Trade."

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The Queen's Award is an outstanding award for business. It was the last award to be awarded during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

Founders Matt and Gail Waterman said: "It’s a huge honour to receive this award in front of staff and family. We are very proud of this achievement; the business has been running for over ten years and to receive this award is a huge accomplishment for the brand.

"The award speaks for itself and our triumph, we are delighted to have everyone together to mark this special occasion."

Watermans boasts a strong track record of international trade, with its services now available globally in the USA, Dubai, Australia, and Slovenia, Sweden, Finland and Norway, Thailand, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Croatia. Recently, it has signed two new territories Jordan and Egypt.

Using marketplaces such as Amazon, where Watermans is a best seller, has helped to build an additional international profile especially in USA, with one Amazon sale every 30 seconds.

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News: Royal recognition for Watermans as it receives a Queen’s Award for Enterprise

Rotherham-based E-commerce business Watermans has been honoured with a Queen’s Award for its services for Enterprise - highly praised for its excellence in international trade.

Watermans have excelled in overseas export whilst maintaining the highest standards in social and economic growth. Watermans boasts a strong track record of international trade, with its services now available globally in the USA, Dubai, Australia, and Slovenia, Sweden, Finland and Norway, Thailand, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Croatia. Recently, it has signed two new territories Jordan and Egypt.

Using marketplaces such as Amazon, where Watermans is a best seller, has helped to build an additional international profile especially in USA, with one Amazon sale every 30 seconds. During the pandemic Watermans added hand sanitizers to its portfolio and donated over 10,000. Overseas sales have grown by 102% over the three-year application period and the proportion of sales exported has increased to 34% of total sales.

The Manvers firm employs 11 people and was founded in 2014 by Gail and Matt Waterman. The company focuses on hair-growth products and was developed by Gail who is mixed race and suffers with fragile hair and slow growth problems which include hormonal hair loss. Gail, a former hairdresser based in Yorkshire and Matt, a marketing expert, developed high quality salon standard products. The products were tested on Gail’s salon customers to test the efficacy of their products. The products are available for different hair types, textures, and hair problems. Their most popular product is their GrowMe Shampoo which sells one bottle every thirty seconds. The company has grown from strength to strength.

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Watermans are passionate about giving back and have donated several of their popular hair growth shampoos to chemo units all around the UK. During the Ukraine Crisis, Watermans donated several pallets of hand sanitiser to help the citizens of Ukraine. They believe in good karma and goodwill and are passionate about spreading this across the brand and business.

Matt and Gail Waterman, CEO of Watermans Enterprise Ltd, said: "It is a huge honour to accept the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The team here at Watermans are proud to be recognised in such a significant way. As a family-owned business we are delighted to be honoured with a Queen’s Award. The Queen’s Award is the most prestigious award that any UK company can achieve. The achievement is very humbling and reflects the commitment and passion we have for our brand."

Now in its 56th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country, with winning businesses able to use the esteemed Queen’s Awards Emblem for the next five years.

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News: Watermans - a real growth story

The popularity of a self-developed hair-loss shampoo which became a best-seller on Amazon has seen a South Yorkshire business in line to post a £5m turnover this year.

Matt and Gail Waterman brought a new product to the market to address a common problem - hair loss. They trademarked their formula and shampoo - the Watermans GROWME products - and set up their business from home in 2014.

But it ranked as a best-seller on Amazon in just three months and they have gone from selling 200 bottles a week, to 200 a day, to one every 30 seconds.

Matt, who says he grew up "really poor" in the North East, met his wife Gail, the owner of a humble local hair salon in Rotherham, on a night out in South Yorkshire 18 years ago.

The idea for the business was developed when they both began suffering from different variations of hair loss.

After trying lots of pricey products on the market, they could not find anything that did the trick and decided to come up with their own formula.

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Gail Waterman, co-founder of Watermans, said: "We just created our products to start off with for my benefit but because it was so effective, we decided to pass it on to other people who had hair loss problems with no success.

"We both saved money from savings and made our first 5,000 bottles of shampoo and put them for sale on Amazon. Three months later they were already out of stock and now our products are so popular one tube is purchased every 30 seconds."

The firm, which is now based in Thurnscoe, Barnsley, has also harnessed the power of social media to raise the profile of the UK-made product range.

Matt Waterman, co-founder of Watermans, said: "The future plan for the company is to continue to make more money. Hopefully ten million in 2020, work with my more celebrities and continue to grow the line of Watermans to be known as the best selling hair loss product in the UK. In addition to this, expand into retailers in the UK e.g. Selfridges, Boots or Harrods.

"We have recently started distributing in America and would love to grow to more other countries."

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