GROWTH STORIES

Gootopia: From homegrown idea to creative enterprise 🚀

Gootopia’s story -  from kitchen table idea to growing franchise operator - has GRO Retail’s SOAPBOX platform at the epicentre. In 2022, Chris Saville and his partner Nishi Bowan Saville presented their concept for a retail experience taking slime as its key product on the SOAPBOX stage. He impressed the judges so much that they went on to win it. That was the beginning of their growth journey to accelerate, which is now going from strength to strength.

Growth Stories (7)

Chris Saville & Wife Nishi Bowan photographed after their SOAPBOX win, with Landsec judges Oliver Duthie, Adam Sawyer & guest judges Roger Wade, Founder & CEO, Boxpark & Joy Nazzari, Founder, DNCO

We sat down with Chris to understand more about that journey and what the future has in store for the brand. ↓

1: Chris, can you explain the concept of Gootopia?

The idea for Gootopia came about following many attempts at making slime for our own children. Having eventually landed on a successful recipe, this sparked an idea: if we could provide a slime-making destination where kids could get creative and make slime (as well as buy it) we could be on to a winner. We opened our first site in February 2019 in a railway arch in Brixton and have subsequently expanded to three shops in Lewisham, Wandsworth and Romford. We have also successfully recently partnered with Gravity Trampoline Parks opening sites in spaces within existing leisure businesses, along with franchise stores in other parts of the UK and in Malta.

2: Tell us about your experiences at GRO Retail. How has the event contributed to your growth?

We first attended GRO Retail in 2022 and decided to give the SOAPBOX competition a shot. We were thrilled to win it, and the prize offered was a retail space in Southside Wandsworth. This allowed us to open our first site in a shopping centre, significantly elevating the brand profile and allowing us to test the Gootopia concept in a high-footfall location.

There’s no doubt that winning the competition provided an acceleration for the brand, leading to a permanent, more developed Gootopia concept at Southside and providing exposure to high-profile judges and brands, including potential investment discussions that came off the back of it.

3: What advice would you give to others considering taking part in SOAPBOX?

For me the key thing is to showcase your USP because I think what people are looking for in that competition is something different to a ‘traditional shop’. I think the brands that stand out are the ones that can easily show that point of difference and generally the ones that are more experiential or have a community element. Also, on a practical level, if you've got something to demonstrate on the day, even if it’s an AI generated image, it will help your cause.

4: How do you see the future of Gootopia, particularly your future as a franchisor?

The franchise model is key to our future growth. For franchisees, Gootopia is an attractive prospect due to the initial capital expenditure being low, compared to other franchises, and the size requirements of our sites - smaller retail units will work for this. Also shopping centres have responded well to the prospect of having a brand that offers a family-friendly experience for shoppers.

5: Any last words?

Franchising is a brilliant and (I think) neglected career path that a lot of people, like me a couple of years ago, don’t even know is an option. Franchising offers entrepreneurial opportunities but with the support of a proven model, which is often more cost-effective than starting from scratch.

⭐️ www.gootopia.co.uk

Growth Stories (8)

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