The London startup has raised $50 million, a Series C that it will be using to expand into the U.S. and to continue growing offerings
Papier, a startup leveraging technology to bring non-tech products into the world, has raised some funding to continue expanding its business on the heels of strong demand for its personalized notebooks, planners, cards and other paper-based stationery that it sells online.
The London startup has raised $50 million, a Series C that it will be using to expand into the U.S. and to continue growing offerings to include more paper-based products, as well as pens and other supplies you might find on your physical desktop: which could include desk storage, writing utensils like pens and pencils, or anything else anything to support your writing, according to Taymoor Atighetchi, Papier’s CEO and founder.
The mission is to build a global stationery brand, he said in an interview. It’s a $200 billion market and it doesn’t have a strong online brand, nothing that is category-defining the way you might have with other verticals. This funding is an important part of that plan. It pushes us globally and to the U.S.
He added that while Papier will continue to stay private for now, ‘we see a public listing is absolutely part of the journey.’
Paris VC Singular led the round with participation from other new backers dmg ventures, Lansdowne Partners and Kathaka; and previous backers Felix Capital and Beringea. The startup has now raised $65 million and it is not disclosing its valuation but its revenues have grown by 150% over the past two years, it said.
The startup has spotted an opportunity to grow simply by doubling down on traditional objects approached in a way that engages the consumers of today.
Atighetchi says that part one of the company’s plans for growth have been to gain more awareness in the market for the range of products that are already sold: in the U.K., brand awareness is around 30%; while it is 15% in the U.S. That means a lot of investment will be going into marketing to ‘stationery buyers who don’t know we exist,’ he said.
The U.S. will be a particular focus in this regard: the company projects that it will account for 40% of revenues this year, and it has grown five fold since 2019.