Papier secures $50M Series C funding to fuel international expansion

• Papier has, on average, doubled in size every year since launch making it the largest & fastest growing stationery start up globally
• The US market is on track to account for almost 40% of the brand’s revenue this year, having grown 5x since 2019
• Papier also announces the opening of its first US office, “The Loft” in SoHo, New York, hiring positions in brand, marketing and operations

London, 14th February 2022: Papier, the direct-to-consumer brand at the forefront of the $200B global stationery market, has announced it has secured $50 million in Series C funding. The investment will be used to drive international expansion, with a particular focus on the US, which already accounts for over 30% 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, the backers of Cazoo and Zoopla, Lansdowne Partners and Kathaka, which brings Papier’s total investment to date to $65M. Existing investors Felix Capital (Farfetch, Mejuri, Mirakl) and Beringea also participated in the round. 

Nahu Ghebremichael, Partner at Singular, will be joining the board at Papier, bringing her expertise in scaling consumer businesses – having worked with the likes of Deliveroo, Target and eBay – and advising the business’s next stage of growth as it bridges both UK and US territories. 

Nahu Ghebremichael, says,

“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.”

Taymoor Atighetchi, CEO & Founder of Papier adds;

“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.“

Since its launch in 2015 by Founder Taymoor Atighetchi, Papier has scaled significantly year-on-year as customers seek high-quality, exceptionally designed stationery produced in a sustainable way. Papier witnessed a huge rise in demand for stationery over the last few years, 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% 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% of the brand’s total revenue and are on course to reach 40% 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. This international focus will go hand-in-hand with Papier expanding its product offering beyond its notably loved stationery products into writing and desk accessories. 

Sustainability has always been deeply rooted in the business’ mission and will continue to be at the forefront of the business’s mission going forwards. Papier’s on-demand production model means that the business manufactures only what the customer wants instead of holding lots of stock. All Papier products use papers that are sourced from sustainable forests and are FSC certified, meaning that by choosing Papier, customers are making a more sustainable choice and growing global forestry.

Since its inception, Papier has quickly established itself as a household name in the UK by curating eclectic in-house designs and category-defining collaborations, which account for 50% of Papier’s sales. Papier’s collaborators include the V&A, Mother of Pearl, Temperley London, Rosie Assoulin, Headspace and Matilda Goad to name a few.

Millennials are Papier’s biggest customer demographic accounting for 53% of active customers but Gen Z customers are Papier’s fastest-growing audience as they utilise the brand’s stationery products to find balance in their digitally-native lives. Papier has an engaged and brand loyal community with an NPS of over 75% and 90% of customers identifying Papier as “a brand for people like them.”

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For more information, please contact Abigail Carrigan at [email protected]

About Papier

Founded in 2015, Papier is an online stationery brand that invites you to uncover the endless possibilities of a blank page. Alongside in-house collections, Papier collaborates with upcoming artists, iconic brands and inspiring fashion labels to curate its emporium of notebooks, notecards, diaries and more. 

Whether it’s setting out your wildest dreams on the page or a simple to-do list to get you ready for the day, Papier stationery is all about the transformative powers of putting pen to paper. Every design can be personalised so it means more, alive in the hands of its maker. 

Papier is building a category-defining stationery brand for paper people all over the world. 

About Taymoor 

Born in London, British-Iranian Taymoor grew up on Portobello Road where he was the market’s youngest antique dealer. His family name,  Atighetchi, translates to “art dealer” in Persian, which is exactly what his father is. Inspired by his father’s artistic roots, Taymoor went on to study History of Art at The University of Cambridge and whilst there, co-founded ‘The Tab.’

Taymoor is a leading digital entrepreneur rethinking the way everyday objects move through our lives via the disruption of the stationery industry. In 2015, he saw a gap in the market, with no brand championing sustainable and agile production of well-designed stationery, which led to Papier being born. 

About Singular 

Singular is a venture capital firm partnering with remarkable, ambitious founders across Europe to build transformative tech companies. Singular takes a highly collaborative approach to partnership and is committed to bringing tangible value to portfolio companies, from their earliest moments through all stages of their growth. The team helps the most innovative entrepreneurs across sectors and countries fulfill their potential, working side by side to create the conditions for global success.

About Nahu Ghebremichael

Nahu is a London-based partner with Singular. She joined the firm from Deliveroo, where she focused on scaling operating models and go-to-market strategies leading up to IPO. Prior to that, she was a leader in fintech and wellness tech companies in the US. Nahu has a deep interest in customer-first brands & platforms, marketplaces, and B2B solutions that enable businesses to scale effectively. She is unabashedly focused on working with great people who are also good people. Nahu started her career at Bain & Company.

A California native, Nahu is largely solar-powered and perpetually chasing a few extra minutes in the sun, on a beach, or in the woods. You can find her bouncing between the West Coast, Europe, and the UK, or @justnahu, where she quietly lurks on Twitter.