SURI bets a repairable toothbrush can beat Oral-B and Philips; £24M brand, 7,900% growth

A London DTC personal-care brand selling a recyclable, repairable sonic toothbrush (aluminium handle, plant-based head) with subscriptions and accessories, distributed via its own site, Amazon and retail.

That a repairable, recyclable toothbrush could beat Oral-B and Philips by matching them on design and performance, not just ethics; consumers would not buy a compromise.

Gyve Safavi and Mark Rushmore, Procter & Gamble alumni who had worked on Oral-B and Gillette, reconnected in 2020 with a plan for a toothbrush made from cornstarch, castor oil and aluminium. More than 20 manufacturers rejected the concept as impossible; one factory in China eventually agreed, and the pair raised £800K from angels and Salica to fund the first 5,000 brushes.

SURI launched in May 2022 and its first run sold out in three days, the second in two weeks. It raised £2M in seed funding and then a £6M Series A in March 2024 co-led by JamJar (Innocent Drinks founders) and V3 Ventures with DMG Ventures and Hambro Perks. Sales passed £10M in 2023, and by 2025 the brand had grown to £24M scale with 37 employees; sales split roughly 60% DTC, 20% Amazon and 20% retail, with about 45% of revenue coming from the US. Boots, Goop and Erewhon stocked the brush, and designer Jony Ive became a public fan.

Still scaling: SURI expanded beyond toothbrushes into toothpaste refills, kept growing US retail and DTC, and saw search interest surge - Exploding Topics ranked 'Suri Toothbrush' #51 on its August 2026 US trending-topics list with 7,900% five-year search growth.

Two incumbents controlled ~75% of the toothbrush market, leaving a design-savvy challenger room to win consumers who hated plastic waste (Enterprise Nation, Jan 2025).

Performance parity came first: founders were P&G Oral-B/Gillette alumni, so SURI matched incumbents on function and looks rather than selling ethics alone (City AM, Mar 2024).

The economics worked early: £3M first-year sales, £10M+ in year two, then £24M brand scale by 2025, with 60% DTC protecting margins (TFN; BM Magazine, Sep 2025).

Search demand is concrete: 'Suri Toothbrush' ranked #51 with 7,900% five-year search growth on Exploding Topics' August 2026 US list.

A challenger can crack a duopoly by matching incumbents on performance and design before leading with ethics; sustainability converts only when the product is not a compromise.

As of September 2026 SURI is an independent, founder-led brand still scaling from London. It had grown to £24M brand scale with 37 employees by September 2025 (BM Magazine), had expanded into toothpaste refills and new products visible on its site, and continued its US push, where about 45% of sales came from. Retail placements include Boots, Goop and Erewhon, and Exploding Topics ranked 'Suri Toothbrush' #51 on its August 2026 US trending-topics list with 7,900% five-year search growth.