TheIndustry.beauty Awards Winners' Interview: Ed Currie and Andy Coxon, co-founders, AKT London

In this series, TheIndustry.beauty continues to celebrate the achievements of the winning brands from TheIndustry.beauty Awards 2025 through a collection of dedicated interviews.

With the Awards dedicated to 'The Innovators' of the industry, we set out to uncover the forward-thinking strategies behind their success. From our winners, we discover everything from the importance of innovation and the trends influencing the next wave of beauty to the biggest opportunities and challenges facing the sector today.

AKT London, the personal care brand known for its sustainable and performance-led formulations, was awarded New Product: Bath & Body (Prestige & Luxe) for its launch: The Body Wash Concentrate.

Founders Ed Currie and Andy Coxon speak to TheIndustry.beauty about developing their award-winning product, the core priorities that shaped the product’s performance and user experience, how they identify gaps in the market, and more.

What are the core values that drive AKT and how are they reflected in the business?

ED: At AKT, we’re always in rehearsal. Creativity and collaboration are everything to us - whether that’s in the studio, in our meetings, or in the shower (figuratively speaking, of course). We want the business - and everyone in it - to feel like they’re part of a brilliant ensemble cast. We try new things, we fluff our lines sometimes, but the show must go on - and it better bring the house down.

What’s your approach to identifying gaps in the market, and how do you transform those insights into successful, consumer-loved products?

ANDY: We don’t go looking for gaps in the market so much as we listen - really listen - to what our audience is asking for. That, mixed with a healthy dose of gut instinct as well as considerations about our environmental impact. Case in point: we haven’t added any water to our Body Wash Concentrate. You’re already in the shower - do you really need us to sell you more water?

The Body Wash Concentrate won at TheIndustry.beauty awards. In your view, what set this product apart and resonated most with the judges (and wider consumers generally)?

ED: The form factor is pretty unique: it’s a concentrated gel. You only need a small amount, then you activate it with water in your shower and it just blooms and blooms into an amazing, silky lather. It’s quite a theatrical experience seeing the formulation magically transform in your hands - as well as getting a really transportative hit of our iconic fragrance. It’s a sensory overload - in a good way, like we are taking our audience on a journey. Added to the fact it’s a sulfate-free formula so it leaves the skin feeling moisturised instead of stripped after use.

What was the significance of winning the award for The Body Wash Concentrate?

ANDY: It’s just incredible to get the recognition that we are doing something good and new. I feel like AKT has finally “arrived” and is on everyone’s radar. It’s been a long slog to get here from first making our multi award-winning deodorant in our kitchen back in 2016. We never thought AKT would be where it is, and to be honest it feels amazing.

I really hope our story inspires others from our theatre community: that there is another “akt” to life when/if you make the decision to leave the industry.

Can you share some insights into the development process behind the product? What were the key priorities you focused on to ensure the product delivered on performance and overall user experience?

ED: We’ve got a checklist: it has to perform - like really perform - both in efficacy and theatricality; the fragrance has to sing better than we do around the office; it needs to look stunning; and it has to be a natural-first formulation in sustainable packaging.

One of the things that really bugged me about body washes is that most of the formulation is water. We are paying in huge amounts of Co2 to transport water around. But I also can’t get onboard with a soap bar - we tried making our own, but everything left our skin feeling stripped (and not in a good way). This new concentrate formula is innovative, exciting to use, and just so good that when we discovered it could work - we were practically fan-kicking and twirling around the office.

What do you think are the biggest opportunities and challenges in the beauty sector today?

ANDY: It’s super difficult to get scale without relying on a big retailer. And even more difficult to get funding if you don’t have a big retailer. Only two or three years ago it was ALL about D2C online. No one cared about omni-channel. And now it’s ALL about omni-channel and that means getting some great key accounts.

ED: But even if you do land a huge retailer the costs involved can be excruciating so you have to have funding and a lot of cash in the bank to be able to support it. And we are seeing incredible brands like Ami Colé who have had to close down because of it.

What does it mean to be an innovator in the beauty industry today?

ED: It’s exactly what I want us to be known for. For us innovation and entertainment are number 1 - after all we come from the theatre world - and we want to be pushing the boundaries in what we make and how we show up. Nothing about our business model and strategy is normal… we do things very differently and we have hired a lot of people from the performance industries because they think differently too. It’s a fun place to work!

What trends are influencing the next wave of innovation in beauty?

ANDY: Honestly? Sustainability should still be leading the charge, but it’s slipped down the priority list for many consumers - especially in the US. There’s so much going on in the world, people want joy, not guilt. So we do the hard work for them. Everything we make is plastic-free and recyclable - because it shouldn’t be the customer’s job to solve the climate crisis in the skincare aisle.

How does AKT maintain its position as a leader in the industry? What strategies are critical to staying ahead of competitors and meeting consumer demand?

ED: It may all look playful and polished from the outside - but behind the curtain? There’s a whole cast of data scientists and strategists keeping things running smoothly. Art and science go hand in hand at AKT. We use the data to dream bigger, and the creativity to make it all sing. That blend of logic and magic, that’s our strategy.

What can customers expect from AKT over the next year? Any exciting innovations or new product developments can we expect?

ANDY: Of course, but we are keeping our lips firmly sealed (of course we will let TheIndustry.beauty know first!). You’ll see a few product launches next year, and some exciting new creative to go alongside them!