£160,000 boost will help Eco Market to expand

Their online marketplace for “eco-friendly, natural and fair trade” products was founded in Leeds in 2009. It offers a platform where customers can buy direct from more than 1,700 stall owners on the site, up from 500 a year ago.

“For eco-conscious shoppers, the story behind the product is really important – such as who the producers are, why and how they’ve made their product,” said Mr Patterson. “Eco Market personalises online shopping, re-
creating the experience found offline at farmers’ markets and craft fairs. It’s the feeling of buying from a person not a company that makes Eco Market so special.”

The investment round includes Martin Penny, the co-founder of Leeds-based hair product company ghd. Mr Penny is also a graduate of Leeds University and a key benefactor to the university’s programme of support and mentorship for aspiring entrepreneurs, which includes Enterprise Scholarship Awards, one of which Mr Patterson received in 2009.

Other investors include Elisabeth Ling, a former executive at PayPal and eBay; Nader Alaghband, angel investor and founder of app development company Appli; Owen Li, of Investcorp; and Ivan Mazour, an active investor through Innova Kapital.

This is the company’s second investment in two years. Last year, it secured £200,000 and moved to Tech City, in the Shoreditch area of London. Mr Patterson said the firm had struggled to recruit the right calibre of people in Leeds and was attracted to east London’s tech-based community.

Mr Patterson, who declined to disclose turnover, said: “Eco-friendly and natural products are extremely popular in the US and Australia. Thirty per cent of our traffic is from these countries and our goal is to scale this up significantly.”