Young Soles: Case Study

Find out more about programme alumni, Young Soles.

Young Soles are an Essex based design and fashion company taking the children’s footwear market by storm. Keep reading to find out more about them and their journey on the Create South East programme.

Young Soles is an award-winning children’s footwear brand who are experts in bringing British heritage and contemporary styling to children’s shoes, effortlessly blending comfort with cool. The UK’s only children’s footwear brand lovingly produced in Europe using premium sustainable materials.

Young Soles footwear stays true to the brand’s ethos of evoking childhood memories whilst ensuring that all styles maintain optimum foot health for growing feet.

How have they progressed?

Like all business small and large, Young Soles has had to change and adapt to a new and ever shifting landscape. Over the last two years, Young Soles has been in a transition period moving from a predominantly global wholesale strategy to adding new selling channels via online marketplaces and focussing on direct-to-consumer sales.

A big part of the change has been the creation of a new online platform that gives parents from all social-economic backgrounds access to good quality children’s footwear through rewards for recycling, marketing and a subscription service.

Growing with Create South East

“Our mentor helped with developing an investor deck and looking at potential investors to approach. Having someone who had been through the process to speak with each week was a useful support mechanism and offered encouragement during challenging times.” - Louise Shill, Founder

Business Highlights

• Received the DCMS Create Growth Programme competition 2: Investor Partnership.

• Won gold for the best children’s footwear brand in the Junior Design Awards 2025.

• Successfully raised £150,000 SEIS investment.

Future Aims and Ambitions

The short-term aim of Young Soles is the same as it has always been and that is to make the coolest and most beautiful kids’ footwear around whilst maintaining optimum foot health for growing feet. And with the new platform launching in Q1 2025 parents from all social-economic backgrounds can access and enjoy our footwear.

For the long-term, Young Soles has some really exciting plans regarding the materials used to make our footwear, how our products are sold and promoted and how the 76 million pairs of kid’s shoes that are sent to landfill each year in the UK can be reduced.