Conversation with… Toby Brittan, co-founder of Whites Beaconsfield
Here we speak with Toby Brittan (pictured right), co-founder and chief executive of Whites Beaconsfield, about the brand’s rapid rise, its phenomenal success on TikTok Shop, working with his brother, and what’s next for the teeth whitening brand.
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you started the business.
My family, especially my mum, really instilled a strong work ethic in me.
After university I worked in property for a few years, commuting into London every day, but I’d always wanted to start my own business. My brother, Ollie, and I thought teeth whitening strips were an interesting opportunity, so we launched Whites Beaconsfield from our garage with just £300, selling the first packs to friends and family.
Subscribe to TRBAs the business grew, we were doing around £3 to £5k a day back in 2022. Post-COVID was tough, though, and that’s when we decided to launch on TikTok Shop. A video of a colleague using our whitening kit went viral in the US and then the UK and everything changed overnight. I remember going to bed after hitting £50k revenue in a single day. At 3am, Ollie called me saying, “Mate, have you seen the revenue?” I thought he meant yesterday – but we’d already done £20k that morning. People in America were buying while we slept. That was the start of our TikTok journey.
Today, we’re incredibly proud to be the UK’s number one teeth whitening brand and on the verge of hitting a million sales on TikTok Shop. It still blows my mind.
What have been the plus points and challenges of building a brand on TikTok Shop?
TikTok is brilliant, but it’s tough. There are a lot of compliance requirements, and the regulations are strict. Stock is a constant challenge: if you run out, the platform simply pulls you down as you can’t sell what you don’t have.
Competition has also driven prices down. We were selling strips for £19.99 in early 2023; now they’re between £10 and £12. Lots of brands saw the opportunity and jumped on the platform, so we did well to get in early.
But the positives are huge. Before TikTok, hardly anyone knew our brand. Now, almost anyone who uses the platform recognises it. It’s given us identity, credibility and visibility. And the numbers speak for themselves: over 600,000 boxes of our strips sold, a 4.9-star rating, and one of TikTok’s most-purchased products. For anyone looking in, TikTok has pretty much validated us.
There’s a lot of talk about quality in this category. How do you approach it?
Five years ago, when I was young and just starting out, I was like many ecommerce sellers – buying products from China and hoping to build something. But now we’re laser-focused on quality. Most of our products are made in the UK or formulated here. The bar’s higher and so are we.
What’s next for Whites Beaconsfield?
Competition in strips has ramped up, so we knew innovation was essential. We’ve got several completely new products launching – genuinely problem solving products that nobody else is doing. One of them, coming at the end of January, has huge potential. I think it could become one of the best selling products on TikTok.
I can’t share details yet as my head of commercial would kill me! But it’s in our category and keeps your mouth healthy. And it’s something everyone can use, including kids.
We’re also launching across Europe; Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Ireland. Germany alone could match the UK in volume. We’re already doing 100,000 orders a month in the UK, so expanding feels like lift-off.
TikTok has given us incredible brand awareness. The next goal is retail – to walk into Superdrug or Boots and see the brand I created on my bedroom floor sitting on the shelves. That’s the dream.
We’re already on Superdrug’s online marketplace, where we’re a top three selling product in toiletries and number one in dental care. We’ve had retail conversations and interest, but nothing concrete yet. I want our first physical listing to be the right partnership. Pharmacies have approached us, but I’d like our debut to be with a major retailer.
I think retailers should embrace proven TikTok Shop brands because they come with ready-made, passionate communities that drive repeat purchases. With high street footfall declining, tapping into these digital-first successes is a smart, future-facing way to stock products that genuinely sell.
What’s it like working with your brother?
I genuinely couldn’t do it without him. Ollie isn’t in the day-to-day as much now. He still does property deals, but we’ve been through everything together. We started with zero business experience. During COVID, when the business suddenly exploded, we had stock issues constantly, no money at times, and so many difficult moments.
We’re very different personalities: he’s eternally optimistic. In 2022, when we didn’t have money to pay staff, he was still saying, “We’ll sell this business for £100 million.” I’m more operations-focused, behind the computer, looking at Shopify. He’s the networker; I’m the engine room. Together it works.
What advice would you give someone launching a retail brand on TikTok Shop?
Firstly, have a genuinely good product. TikTok is ruthlessly review driven. Every buyer is prompted to review, and you can’t fake it. If your product isn’t great, you’ll get found out instantly.
Secondly, nail fulfilment. You have three to four days to get the product from order to doorstep. Fail that, and the algorithm pushes you down. It will make your life miserable if you can’t keep up.
And finally, be prepared for unpredictability. One viral video can blow through all your stock. Even now, we struggle to forecast accurately – three creators can post at once and suddenly we’re like, “We’re going to run out again.” TikTok doesn’t allow pre-orders, so once you’re out, you’re out.
And I’d also like to say good luck. TikTok’s a beast but an incredible one.
