Shares in the leading back care brand available on Crowdcube from Tuesday 5 April.

With eight in ten people in the UK having had or currently suffering from back pain, business is booming for Handsome’s back care brand, bac<, which is offering investment opportunities in partnership with the world’s leading equity crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube, from Tuesday 5 April.

Handsome launched its bac< range of products in September 2013 and has since seen sales double year on year as people around the world seek effective solutions to back and neck related problems, as well as improvement to posture.

Research shows that over 80%^[1] of people in the UK and the US suffer from back pain so the market and the business potential for the bac< range is huge; the aim is to make the brand synonymous with back care in the way Scholl is with foot care.

The bac< range of products relieves back pain, improves posture and helps consumers continue to lead an active lifestyle.  It is distributed in Boots, Superdrug and other leading pharmacies; direct to consumer via ecommerce businesses backpainhelp.com and Amazon; and on home shopping channel QVC, where the Shoulder Brace recently sold out live on air within three minutes.

Handsome CEO, Mark Critchley, is the former UK marketing director at SSL International, where he was responsible for a portfolio of 30 brands including Durex and Scholl.

He said:  “No other brand is taking leadership in back care and this provides a massive opportunity for the bac< brand.  Via Crowdcube our supporters will get the chance to invest in a progressive company they believe in and that will support us to innovate and grow.

“Back pain is a huge problem in Western countries and this will only get worse given our use of technology and our sedentary lifestyles.  It means that as a business, there is huge opportunity for us to provide solutions, grow the brand and become the leader in back care.

Investment into the brand will be used in marketing such as point of sale displays, merchandising and education material and also in upscaling its successful targeted TV advertising and digital marketing campaigns.  In addition, Handsome will also build its US team, where it recently launched, and further scale up manufacturing to meet demand.

Mark continues:  “To date we’ve built the company through a combination of sales and equity investment from a group of visionary investors, including private individuals and a bio-medical fund.  However, our customers are always asking us if they can invest in what we’re doing and as equity crowdfunding has become established, we’ve been watching closely.

“As a brand with a loyal and vocal user and fan base, we’re excited by the potential to reward them further and to continue to scale the business with individuals and funds who are equally excited by our mission to improve the nations back health and ultimately to share our success.”

Other founding partners that make up Handsome include spinal care experts – The London Spine Clinic; industrial product designers – Seymourpowell; brand experts – Ziggurat; and life science investors – Spark Impact.

To make an investment visit www.crowdcube.com

For further information about Handsome visit handsomecompany.com or for bac< visit backpainhelp.com