Chloe and Helaina Thomas founded Tucca swimwear straight after university. They open up about the challenges of being young women entrepreneurs.
Chloe and Helaina Thomas created a swimsuit that you can use in many different ways – but it wasn’t easy to convince people their design was even possible to make.
During this episode of Pretty Good Business, we talked with the two sisters behind the swimwear brand Tucca as they open up about the ups and downs of running your business as two young women entrepreneurs and the lessons they learned since creating their very first original design.
Can you tell us more about Tucca swimwear?
We started Tucca Swim in 2018 whilst we were both in our final years at university but the idea started way before that. Since we were young we spent every single school holiday in Mallorca where our love for swimwear was born. Before we started the brand we both had quite a collection of swimwear but we felt the majority of the swimwear we owned would not last more than a season… so we designed our own.
What is your background?
Chloe has a degree in photography and Helaina studied textile design so we are both really creative individuals. We’ve always thought outside of the box and love to push the boundaries in design.
What pushed you to start the business?
We wanted to create a bikini that was more than just a normal bikini. High quality, sustainable and can be worn in many ways. One bikini is an investment that will last longer if treasured! After university, we thought it was now or never… we saw a gap in the market for the younger generation for a British swimwear brand with fun and bold designs and we went for it!
You are sisters, do you think your relationship was important for the development of Tucca swimwear? How do you separate your relationship as sisters to the one you have as co-founders?
We’ve always said we would go into business together. It seemed a lot more natural starting something together rather than with a friend. The relationship between us being sisters is part of Tucca’s identity.
How many prototypes did you have to make before you got what you wanted from the product?
Our original multiway design was a huge challenge for us as the bikini top is the same as the bottom. We made the first prototype ourselves which we then took to a pattern cutter in London who made another sample for us. We then approached various manufacturers in the UK of which many said they could not make this garment as a top cannot be the same as the bottom but we proved them wrong! This design has since changed as we made the gusset area bigger, extended the straps to where we are now which is the 4th prototype on this design which we are both happy with.
What did you learn during the process of building a sustainable brand?
When we first launched we were sustainable in the way we produced the swimwear but not the materials. We have found over the last two years the eco-friendly materials to be promoted a lot more and easily available and it was in our second collection where we swapped to Econyl® fabrics – a regenerated nylon material that can be recycled over and over.
What has been the most difficult part of building your business?
The most difficult part has been protecting our brand identity in terms of our brand name and designs. The ‘Tucca’ name was a nickname given to Helaina as a child and one which is very personal to us and we were very unfortunate to have another brand go up against us on this. It wasn’t easy, but we won in the end.
How do you see the future of Tucca swimwear?
Our dream would be to have a small retail section in Selfridges or Harrods and to expand worldwide. We want to keep our collections small but iconic, timeless.
What is the project or design that you are most proud of?
Our multiway bikini, no doubts. There is nothing like it around and we are very proud of it.
What keeps you going/makes you happy to go to work every day?
Looking at our sketches and seeing them come to life in real products is really rewarding. It has been a hard few months with people not being able to travel but what has kept us happy is designing our new collection for SS21.
Do you have one advice for business owners that want to create a sustainable business? Anything that you wish you knew when you started?
Invest in good PR! We know it’s expensive but you have to get the brand name out there. Also, make sure that what you are doing is unique, there is no point in starting a ‘sustainable’ brand with a product that already exists. Don’t copy others and be different!
