Why home is still Toronto for this tattoo startup just bought by a giant

The French pen giant BIC is buying Toronto’s Inkbox for $ 65 million and while the temporary tattoo company is interested in expanding even more internationally, the founders say they will continue to run the core of their business in the city.

“This is our home base. We manufacture from scratch and do it all in Toronto, ”says Tyler Handley, who co-founded Inkbox with his brother Braden in 2015. “We are very determined that it should stay in Toronto, because we want to build the local ecosystem and local. talent, because the next generation (here) will need it. ”

Although there has been a history of Canadian companies moving to major acquisitions, the Handleys have always used home-grown talent to fuel Inkbox. That’s what contributed to their success, with some $ 27 million (US) sales in 2021 alone. Toronto is also where they first came up with the idea of ​​Inkbox as a two-man team working out of Ryerson University’s Fashion Zone.

The idea for Inkbox began with Tyler’s own personal experience. The brothers were both passionate about design and art, and because he was in his early 20s – the age usually associated with defining yourself – Tyler wanted to get a tattoo.

“I wanted one with a cool geometric shape, but thought, ‘I can not see myself with this in 10 years,'” he said.

He started playing around with temporary tattoos, but only found the cheap, childish versions that flake away, crease and everything shines. There were no other options.

“It did not make me feel cool or confident as a young adult. “I could not believe it existed,” said Handley.

There was certainly a way to give people the ability to rock realistic looking body art without committing to a design for life.

The brothers and sisters dared to do their own research and discovered a raw fruit extract from Central America that would leave a more realistic, longer lasting inky appearance on the skin. They started with stencils, but they knew the product was not yet scalable. It was simply not accessible and consumer friendly enough. So they took their time and grew.

Although they did not expect many customers in the early days, they had an Instagram presence with a few thousand followers. On launch day, things started slowly but had a big impact.

“We had about four sales on our first day. It’s honestly something I will never forget, someone who pays for something you have created, ”Handley said.

Those early days gave them confidence, knowing that there was demand for their idea.

That same year, the two went on Kickstarter to ask for $ 40,000 to further develop their idea. They eventually raised more than $ 275,000 with nearly 7,000 fans. Up to that point, they had not generated any press, but the overwhelming support validated their idea and got into production.

“It put us on the map,” Handley added.

Eight years later, Inkbox has expanded beyond the Canadian market, attracting customers from around the world. They have thousands of designs and new application methods. They also opened a temporary tattoo shop for appointments in College Street featuring eight local artists with a mix of styles.

Their most recent product is the Tattoo Marker, which gives customers the ability to draw temporary tattoos freehand on themselves or their friends.

They have also created an artist partner platform, giving local artists – and those around the world – the ability to apply to sell their designs for clients to buy. Handley said their artists earned a combined $ 1.5 million (US) in 2021.

“I think it’s honestly amazing,” says Elyse Martin, a Toronto artist and tattoo student at You’re Welcome Tattoos. As part of the list of Inkbox artists, Martin sees the company playing a major role in uplifting Canadian artists.

“There are so many artists in Toronto alone and I’m so happy to be part of this collective,” Martin said, adding that artists are often overlooked. “It brings more eyes to tattoo artists in Toronto. The art and tattoo culture here is incredible, and it gives me hope that we will continue to thrive and grow as an artistic community. ”

While Martin is training to become a tattoo artist in permanent ink, she finds joy in temporary tattoos and sees it driving the normalization of tattoos in society.

“Art on the body must be what you want to make of it; whether it’s permanent with a needle and ink, and whether you do not want that long term of a commitment and just want a nice picture on you for a few weeks. Everyone must be able to choose their own journey. ”

Tyler Handley (who now has several permanent tattoos) hopes to normalize temporary tattoos as an everyday personal accessory. And he does it with a staff of 158 in the city.

“When Braden and I started the business, we really had no idea what we were doing. In true beginning form, you are currently learning day in and day out, ”he said. “There is still a lot to do, there are steps we still have to take. We want to do it in Toronto. ”