Carly and Fran’s friendship began through a love of crafting and blossomed into a business idea. Today they are the co-founders of Bees Wax Wraps, chemical-free alternatives to cling film, and as far as we know they have remained friends!

How did the idea for Bees Wax Wraps come about?

Fran: “Carly had used bees wax wraps when she lived out in Australia and loved how well they worked whilst also being kinder to the environment than cling film. We looked to see if you could get these in the UK but found you could only get them from the US, Canada or Australia. We are big believers in shopping local so decided we should combine this gap in the market with our creative talents by offering a UK alternative made using local bees wax from Cotswolds Honey”.

There is lots going on in Bristol. Has it been tough getting established?

Carly: “So far we have had such a positive response to our wraps, its lead us rather than us leading it. Some of the big discussions we have been having recently is about growth and what sort of company we want to become: do we stay small and bespoke or do we push to become something bigger and more national? We are yet to answer this question!”

Why do you love what you do?

Carly: “This will sound a bit cheesy but hanging out with your mate all day is pretty cool. We have so much fun together it doesn’t really feel like we are working”.

Fran: “Seeing the progression we have made in such a short time. We only started the business in July this year and to see how much we have achieved in this time is pretty awesome. Also just telling people what you do is great, everyone is always so intrigued about how we make them and how they work, it feels good to be making something that people genuinely find useful and that is making a positive impact on how we treat our planet”.

Bristol is a petri dish of experiments working towards more local, organic and ethical food and goods. How do you see this movement growing and to what part do you play?

Both of us only moved to Bristol in the last 4 years. One of the main things that drew us here was the strong community element.

In the past few years we have both noticed how many small businesses have been popping up offering locally made products – the only way these businesses are flourishing is because of the support being shown by and for the local community. Hopefully other people will see what a positive effect buying local has to their community and the support for small businesses will continue to grow.

So what’s next?

We don’t want to put pressure on growing and hitting targets – that’s not us. Instead we are just loving the experience of creating positive products that support our local beekeeper and help raise the profile of the detrimental impacts plastics are having on our environment.

In the future we do want to create more versions of our wraps though, helping more people switch to reusable items and help them cut down on their everyday plastic use. We would also love to do some collaborations with local fabric designers – one of the reasons people love our wraps is because of the lovely fabrics we use.

We hope that our little business will inspire other people to either set up their own business or become more active in supporting business local to them. Buying from real people, who use local produce is a much more rewarding buying experience than from a faceless large corporation who doesn’t invest back into your local community!