As we head towards the end of another successful year for Whitby & Co, it is important to look back at the highlights and celebrate our success and growth in 2023.

Earlier this year, we welcomed two new brands to the Whitby & Co family – Light My Fire and Akinod. Both excellent European brands offering innovative products we felt there was a gap for in the UK market. We are excited to be partnering with these brands to offer them access to our established network of trade partners and UK marketing and sales expertise. So far, we’ve seen a positive reception to both brands and we look forward to further growth in 2024.  

Light My fire specialises in products aiming to connect users to nature; from outdoor grilling kits to packable lunch kits and camp kits that contain great food and drink containers made sustainably from biobased plastic. These help people avoid single-use plastic and plastic waste in nature.

Akinod offer innovative magnetic cutlery sets in an array of colours and patterns. Both straight cutlery sets for lunch on the go and multifunction sets featuring corkscrews for picnics and al fresco dining.

We are also proud to have championed our brands at some successful events this year! In May, we organised a Press and Retail event in Leighton Hall Lancashire where we presented our amazing range of brands to UK buyers, press and trade partners. This event also included exciting open fire cooking demonstrations from Petromax ambassadors Russell Davies and Ollie Hariani to celebrate our partnership with Petromax and help launch this brand in the UK.  

In August, we were again proud to represent Petromax at an event, this time it was the Meatopia food festival in London. This was a great consumer show celebrating everything BBQ, food and fire. Top BBQ chefs cooked up delicious meals over flames for the duration, often making use of Petromax’s high quality cast iron products and cooking accessories when cooking for consumers and on the demonstration stage

This winter, we had the pleasure of representing Klean Kanteen and celebrating 10 years of our relationship by organising the brands involvement as hydration sponsor for Kendal Mountain Festival. A must attend event on the calendar for outdoor enthusiasts, the festival brings together the best outdoor explorers and brands to celebrate another great year of expeditions and adventures. They also showcase amazing films and speaker events all weekend for people to enjoy. We had a stand in the festival basecamp where we could enjoy meeting consumers and discussing Klean Kanteen’s amazing ethos and environmental work; as well as showcasing our Klean Kanteen ambassador Cal Major on the basecamp stage presenting a talk on her recent SUP expedition around Scotland and the effects of plastic pollution she saw to ocean wildlife and marine habitats.

Our brands have also launched new products this year which we have enjoyed launching to our trade partners and UK consumers. In October, we had the highly anticipated Leatherman ARC featuring a one of a kind MagnaCut steel blade. Klean Kanteen have continued to expand their product offering made with 90% post-consumer recycled stainless steel, as well as launching their Rise Drinkware and Rise Food Boxes range to target the homewares and lifestyle market. German brand Feuerhand celebrated their 130th Anniversary by offering a modern twist to their iconic Hurricane Lanterns; an LED version is now available! Suitable for use inside the house, these stylish lamps bring together a heritage design with modern LED bulbs and the ability to work with rechargeable batteries.

We are now looking forward to what exciting events, brand updates and new products 2024 will bring us as a team!