London stationery brand secures $50m investment to take “bold step forward”

A London stationery brand has secured $50m in Series C funding in its bid to become a global brand.

Paper, the direct-to-consumer brand at the forefront of the $200bn global stationery market, will use the investment to drive international expansion, with a particular focus on the US, which already accounts for over 30 per cent of revenue, in addition to growing its range of products.

The fundraise was led by the Paris-based firm Singular and was accompanied by dmg ventures. Existing investors Felix Capital and Beringea also participated in the round.

Taymoor Atighetchi, CEO & founder of Papier said; “I’m incredibly excited about the next big chapter in our journey to build a global category-defining brand and thrilled to welcome Singular as a partner in this journey alongside dmg ventures, Kathaka and existing investors Felix and Beringea. With this new round of capital, Papier can take a big bold step forward in our ambition to be a global brand and double down in our investment in the US market.”

Nahu Ghebremichael, partner at Singular, added: “Taymoor and the Papier team have completely reinvented stationery for today’s consumer. They’ve taken the traditional charm, sophistication, and personalised touch of the offline paper world, and merged it with a seamless, tech-driven consumer experience and production process.

“I’ve been so impressed with the team’s vision, ambition, and consumer-first values. We at Singular are thrilled to partner with Papier on taking this world-class brand to even greater heights.”

Since its launch in 2015, Papier has scaled year-on-year as customers seek high-quality stationery produced in a sustainable way. Papier witnessed a rise in demand for stationery, fuelled by a shift in consumers embracing analogue practises such as journaling and card-sending in pursuit of improved wellness and enriched connectivity. This, paired with a shift in increased home working and the rise of the “home office” during the pandemic, led to Papier’s revenue growing >150 per cent over the past 2 years.

Papier will be using the investment to tap into the vast US stationery market – US sales already account for more than 30 per cent of the brand’s total revenue and are on course to reach 40 per cent in 2022.

To serve the growing US customer base, Papier will be adding additional printing capacity in the market to enable faster delivery, as well as opening its first US office, in SoHo, New York, where it will build a local team with roles across brand, marketing and operations, taking the global team to over 100.