Bristol Mask
CEO & Founder · 2020 — 2023 · Bristol, UK
Built a British medical mask manufacturer from scratch during the pandemic, against an import market of low quality and heavy footprint.
What it is
A British medical face mask manufacturer, started during the pandemic. Almost every surgical mask sold in the UK was imported, inconsistent in quality and heavy on freight emissions. We built the factory in Bristol and made them here instead.
What I did
- Set up UK manufacturing from nothing — machines, factory, certification, supply chain — during the period when every input was contested.
- Took the range through Type IIR medical certification.
- Designed and branded our own product lines rather than reselling a commodity: SecurFit™, SecurSoft™ and SecurLoop™, including a vented design that solved the glasses-fogging problem competitors ignored.
- Built the direct-to-consumer and B2B sales channel on Shopify, serving healthcare labs, businesses, community organisations and individuals.
- Committed 10% of profit on every box to NHS Charities Together.
What came of it
Millions of surgical masks produced in Bristol over the course of the pandemic, and 4.7 out of 5 across more than 1,600 verified customer reviews. Customers included healthcare and lab businesses buying British on quality rather than price, at a time when "made in the UK" was the harder and more expensive way to do it.