LDC Top 50 2025
Barty Walsh
Co-Founder
ORDO
Barty Walsh co-founded ORDO in 2019 after identifying a lack of effective, affordable options in the electric toothbrush category. “I wanted to make better oral health accessible to everyone,” he explains. Consumers worldwide have flocked to the brand and ORDO is now the third largest player in the UK.
Walsh is using his market clout to take direct action in addressing Britain’s children’s oral health crisis by working with charities, retailers and the government. And his ambitions go beyond oral care: “I have the unwavering belief that we will be one of the biggest electrical personal care brands in the world,” he says.
I have the unwavering belief that ORDO will be one of the biggest electrical personal care brands in the world.”
Q&A
What has been a catalyst for growth?
Because we focus on net profitability as a business this allows us to constantly innovate, and that innovation is directly led by what consumers want. We always wanted to do a kids’ product and have launched a collaboration with Squishmallows, which has been amazing for the business. Our superpower as a challenger brand is our naivete. We have come into a category with no preconceptions which allows us to challenge the status-quo and make a product that people feel excited by and want to use every day. No one has really licensed a toy brand in oral care before – most are cartoons or movies, and they just put a sticker on a very basic toothbrush. We’ve really gone into the world of the characters and the brands, which has captured kids’ imaginations.
What drives you?
I believe in hard work. I may not be the brightest spark, I’m not great at maths, but I am a very driven person.
We want to create products that make life better for people. Cost shouldn’t exclude anyone from keeping their teeth healthy, that’s my guiding light.
That means that accessibility is at the heart of everything we do. We invest a lot of money in value engineering, pushing our innovation as far as we can to give customers the best product at the most affordable price point. We also create products for people with different needs – for example, we’ve made a product for people with dexterity issues; we 3D print a custom adaptive add on handle that makes it easier to brush. I’m extremely passionate about ORDO making a real difference to people and their wellness.
How did you get this business off the ground?
I’ve always wanted to build my own business. I worked as an architect for seven years saving up the money to start something. Between us, the three shareholders put in £600,000 to get it off the ground. Now we supply to consumers across the UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, US, some European countries and United Arab Emirates.
