Richard Joseph never imagined a pop art glass chopping board designed with his twin brother Antony in 2003 would spawn a £125 million homewares business. The 51-year-old brothers launched Joseph Joseph with no grand plan, focusing on useful, space-saving kitchen utensils that solved everyday problems. Their first year generated just £230,000 in revenue.

Starting with their father's encouragement and £10,000 worth of glass materials, the pair knocked on over 100 doors to sell their initial 5,000 chopping boards to London gift shops. They approach products as problem solvers rather than cooks, creating items like folding boards that pour directly into pans and balloon whisks that double as flat whisks for better storage.

Between 2006 and 2010, turnover doubled annually while the product range expanded beyond kitchenware into recycling, cleaning, bathroom and laundry categories. Today, Joseph Joseph sells over 600 products across 104 countries with 210 employees including a 35-person design team. Offices span New York, Paris and Sydney.

The pandemic boosted sales by 20 per cent as home cooking surged, though supply chain disruptions in China limited potential growth. The brothers own the business equally with no external investors, maintaining freedom to invest long-term in product development that can take years to perfect.