Handmade clay=Niche hobby?

British brandSculpd has overturned this stereotype with $5 million annual revenue and 900,000 global fans.

Starting from a London apartment, in just three years, it has not only captured 900,000 social media fans worldwide, but also set a business benchmark with annual sales exceeding $5 million in the niche field of handmade clay.

Behind this, what exactly did they do right?

 

Image source:Sculpd

Reshaping Pottery, Healing the World

According to information,Sculpdwas founded during the severe pandemic in2020.

At that time,Giles Harrison and two other co-founders (names not disclosed) keenly identified a key need under the lockdown in London: people were stuck at home, anxiety was spreading, and there was an urgent need for a low-cost, immersive form of entertainment.

Although traditional pottery can bring a healing sense of creation, it relies on kiln equipment and requires professional techniques, making the high threshold daunting for most ordinary people.

Seeing this gap in demand, the three decided to make pottery“accessible to the public,” developing a set of home pottery kits that require no kiln and can be used by anyone.

 

Image source:Sculpd

Although none of them had an art background, they started their business by accurately grasping user psychology.

One of the founders mentioned in an interview:“We found that the healing value of creation itself far exceeds the finished product. The important thing is to let everyone experience the sense of achievement of ‘I can create too’.”

This“democratization of creation” concept has since become the core gene of the Sculpd brand, guiding their development direction.

In April 2020, Sculpd launched its first “home pottery kit.” Users do not need professional equipment and can make vases, candlesticks, and other utensils, which can be used directly after air-drying.

Once launched, this product quickly sold out, and the market response confirmed their previousjudgment:Low threshold+High satisfaction, is indeed a huge gap in demand.

 

Image source:Sculpd

Product Breakthrough: From Pottery Kits to Lifestyle Proposals

After having a blockbuster product,Sculpd did not stop at a single product.

Today, the brand has gradually expanded into candle making, textured canvas, mosaic crafts, and other fields, forming a rich“creative toolkit” matrix.

For example,the “Couple Date Night Kit” includes a dual toolkit and interactive tutorials, making handmade crafts a bridge for emotional communication.

At the same time, the brand also considers advanced users, providing them with mixed craft kits containing metal carving knives and high-temperature glazes, constantly expanding creative boundaries.​

This diversified product layout not only covers a wider range of people and scenario needs, but more importantly, it strengthens the brand’s core positioning as a“creative lifestyle solution provider,” which greatly helps to enhance user stickiness and repurchase potential.

 

Image source:Sculpd

Social Media Operations: Visual Aesthetics and Emotional Resonance

In social media marketing,Sculpd also excels.

1. TikTok

OnTikTok, Sculpd focuses on short and fast-pacedcontentshowcases, with accelerated tutorials paired with popular music, constantly reinforcing brand awareness.

As of now, the brand’sTikTokofficial account has accumulated 469,600 followers, with a total of over 482 million views and more than11.8 million likes,with impressive traffic conversion and interaction rates.

 

Image source:TikTok

Unlike the complex and profound content of professional pottery,Sculpdaccount postsvideos that deliberately highlight thesimplicityof creation,showingeach step clearly,thus attracting users to participate in clay creation.

For example, inFebruary this year, they released a fruit plate making tutorial, which was only a short 14-second video but garnered 10.6 million views on TikTok, winning the brand high attention.

 

Image source:TikTok

The inquiries in the video comment section are also considerable, with many comments such as“What clay is used?” “How long does it take to dry?”

This shows that such video content does bring a positive impact to the brand and also promotes product conversion to some extent.

 

Image source:TikTok

In addition,Sculpd also amplifies its brand voice by collaborating with influencers in lifestyle and aesthetics fields.

Among them, the collaboration with influencerChambre Mauve is a typical case.

Chambre Mauveis a clay craft influencer with310,000 followers. Her video style mainly focuses on anime IPs, creating works by combining clay crafts with various anime characters.

In collaboration withSculpd, Chambre Mauve used Sculpd clay to create a SpongeBob plate, combining popular IP with the product,not only promoting clay, but also leaving an impression in both the clay and anime communities. The video eventually received314,000 views, achieving a dual communication effect.

 

Image source:TikTok

2. Instagram

OnInstagram, Sculpdbrandfocuses on“stress relief” as the core content, publishing slow-motion making videos, such as a Reels video showing the making process of a “shell lamp”whichreceived61,200likes and600+ comments.

These videos focus on the presentation of light and texture, creating a healing atmosphere through delicate visuals, highly matching the platform users’ preference for aesthetic content.

As of now,Sculpd’s official account has gained 494,000 followers. Through a series of highly aesthetic cover designs, Sculpd hasestablished a complete user community onInstagram.

 

Image source:Instagram

Global Layout, Local Reach: Seamless Experience

In channel operation strategy,Sculpdbrandadopts a parallel and complementary model of independent site and third-party platforms. Theiroperational siteis not just a regular online store, but more like a place for users to communicate, share, and find inspiration.

In overallpagedesign,they use aconcise and clearinformationarchitecture,allowing visitingusers to quickly find video tutorials,UGC showcases, and other content. This model can effectively help the brand reduce user decision time and strengthen product conversion.

 

Image source:Sculpd

At the same time,Sculpd also set up a “Team Events” section on its independent site, encouraging users to participate in team creation and further enhancing community belonging.This designis very helpfulfor improving user activity and stickiness, and other brands can learn from it when building independent sites.

 

Team Eventspage Image source:Sculpd

On third-party platforms,Sculpdbrandhas established localized sites in Europe and America on platforms such as Amazon,andadjusts pricing and logistics strategies for different markets.

Drawing on Amazon’s localized logistics experience,they offerfast delivery services on the North American site,while on the European sitetheylaunch multilingual tutorials, improving user experience through services tailored to local needs.

This combination of global layout and localized operations enables the brand to efficiently reach target users in different regions.

 

Image source:Amazon

Final Words

Sculpdbrand’s case shows us the potential of niche categories in overseas markets.

For domestic companies, there are still many opportunities in overseas markets that have not been fully explored.

Nowadays, cross-border e-commerce infrastructure is increasingly improving, and platforms such asTikTok Shop,Amazon, etc. are constantly upgrading logistics and localization services, providing better support for Chinese companies going global.

The door to overseas markets is always open. As long as you carefully explore demand, refine products, and operate well, domestic companies can definitely find their place in the global market.