Childhood friends turn tooth whitening concept into £1 million business

A group of three young entrepreneurs have turned their tooth whitening idea into a business that is set to top £1 million turnover.

Childhood friends Tom Riley, Matthew Lloyd and Chris McPhillips, all 30, run the WhiteWash Laboratories.

Dentist Matthew, economics graduate Tom and business graduate Chris, who have been friends since their school days, set up the business in 2010 after spotting a gap in the growing dental supply and teeth whitening market.

The business, which has a sister medical supply company called VERIFY+, also has strong export sales which account for 35% of turnover.

WhiteWash have jointly won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Best New Business Awards Tees Valley.

Tom Riley, managing director of WhiteWash Laboratories, said: “We are delighted to win this award – it reflects the hard work and talent of the team at WhiteWash Laboratories.

“We’ve always been quite entrepreneurial – Matthew, Chris and I have known each other since we were at school and we even used to have a business together as kids, selling sweets to our classmates in the school playground!

“We came up with the idea for WhiteWash Laboratories when we noticed a gap in the market for a premium brand of teeth whitening and oral care products and have never looked back.”

Matthew Lloyd, director of WhiteWash Laboratories, said: “We’ve developed these unique, effective and safe products with UK dentists to create a full range of products which will really revolutionise the teeth whitening market, including our Professional Teeth Whitening Strips, which administer exactly the right amount of teeth whitening gel for an effective treatment.

“We are really looking forward to expanding the business and taking it to the next level. The teeth whitening market, which is worth £15bn in the USA, is a growing sector in the UK, Europe and our other international markets, as people become increasingly conscious about their appearance, and it’s not at all surprising.

“After all, everyone sees your teeth and so a bright and white smile is the healthiest-looking and most attractive accessory you can have.”