Bird Sunglasses has secured £300,000 from investment company Worth Capital in order to expand its team, develop new products and reach a wider audience.
The company is now recruiting a full-time team at its new headquarters in Exeter, who will work with the investors to grow the business and maintain its focus on sustainability.
Speaking to Optician, Ed Bird, founder of Bird Sunglasses, said: ‘We'll be working closely with our investor team to ensure the company grows in the right direction and with the right support. We're thankful that the investment comes with a great deal of expertise and support we can lean on.’
Bird Sunglasses plans to launch eyewear with new materials and introduce an augmented reality (AR) feature for customers to try-on its frames using a phone or computer.
New styles were launched at 100% Optical in January and Bird will use the funding to develop further collections, invest in stock and marketing to a wider audience.
Bird told Optician that the AR feature has been developed with a French software company and will launch at the end of March.
‘It makes choosing frames easier for people on the go, and best of all, the opticians we stock with will have access to the software so if they don't stock a particular style they can let customers try them before ordering them in-store,’ he said.
The company, which won Frame of the Year at the Opticians Awards 2019 and is a finalist in this year’s awards too, was founded by Ed Bird and his brothers Paul and Lawrence.