Direct to consumer (D2C) stories

LIV Golf has unveiled Fan Caddie, an AI ‘second-screen’ assistant offering real-time stats, replays and shopping while fans watch live.

Ethique founder Brianne West unveils Incrediballs, plastic-free effervescent tablets aiming to replace bottled soft drinks worldwide.

Maestra’s US customer base jumps 144% as DTC brands abandon Klaviyo for a single platform spanning email, personalisation and paid media.

Vyta Health’s Vytalise shifts from Magento to a Shopify Plus DTC platform, launching a subscription-led eCommerce push across the UK and EU.

First Media joins MMC as an LP, boosting the venture fund’s media-for-equity firepower with wider digital, social and TV ad reach for start-ups.

Plus-size outdoor champion Rebecca Dawson named among UK’s 100 most inspiring female entrepreneurs in Small Business Britain list.

UK start-up Rove has launched an AI market intelligence platform promising faster, cheaper global expansion for consumer brands.

Talkdesk unveils Commerce Orchestration and Consumer Goods Experience Cloud to coordinate AI-driven retail journeys end to end.

Patchworks debuts MCP integration layer to plug AI into retailers’ live systems, promising real-time workflows beyond basic recommendations.

Widdop launches its first direct-to-consumer eCommerce site for Softies plush toys, marking a major digital shift for the 140-year-old brand.

Jaded London taps Verde Digital for an SEO overhaul as it chases GBP £100 million in revenue and ramps up global streetwear expansion.

Forter launches Prism AI copilot and fresh benchmarks as agentic activity soars 2,107% and automated fraud attempts jump 202%.

Retail investors are tipped to rule UK wealth and fintech by 2026 as banks and digital challengers race to capture mass-market demand.

Coda unveils a unified leadership team and reshaped board as it fully integrates Recharge into a single global digital commerce platform.

BGF invests in UK-based PMC to accelerate global expansion and enhance its digital engineering and managed services across retail and commerce sectors.

THG Fulfil will install 430 Libiao T-sorting robots at its Manchester warehouse in September 2025, boosting capacity by 75% to process one million units daily.

Australian skincare brand Ultra Violette credits its rapid international growth to strong team alignment alongside new NetSuite tech, not just systems alone.

Nearly 80% of European brands plan to expand eCommerce beyond Amazon in 2025, embracing hybrid models amid rising costs and operational challenges.

Singapore's Travelgoogoo launches Travelgoogoo365, offering a £14 annual global eSIM membership with unlimited messaging across 123 destinations worldwide.

Cleeng has partnered with Primer to enhance global payment operations, aiming to reduce subscriber churn while boosting payment performance across markets.