Percy Nobleman

Percy Nobleman is a British men's grooming brand founded by entrepreneur Freddy Furber, built around beard care and framed as "The Gentleman's Grooming Brand." According to the company, Furber started the brand in early 2012, frustrated by the "faceless" grooming products on the high street and wanting to redefine the well-groomed modern gentleman [1]. Several retailers and reviewers instead describe the brand as operating "since 2013," which most likely reflects its first wide retail availability rather than its start date [11].

The name is not that of a real founder. "Percy Nobleman" is a fictional gentleman character created to embody the brand's values, with the name presented as a case of nominative determinism. According to a founder interview, the character was loosely inspired by Furber's great-grandfather [10]; some retailer copy instead describes him as Furber's grandfather. The brand launched with a single beard conditioning oil and expanded from there into a broader men's range.

Furber founded Percy Nobleman in early 2012 with one product, a beard oil, at a moment when interest in beard grooming was growing. The company presents the brand's origin as a reaction against ordinary, anonymous grooming products, and positions Percy Nobleman around "style, presentation and performance" for men. The fictional Percy was given a backstory of his own: in 2015 the brand launched "The Adventures of Percy Nobleman," which it describes as the world's first Instagram comic book series, with instalments distributed inside product packaging.

The brand's early growth in the United Kingdom came through mainstream retail. By 2014 it had secured a nationwide listing in Boots [10]. In 2016 it introduced a Signature Scented Beard Oil, which the company says was developed over 18 months and built around "naturally derived silicones," described in its own material as a first for beard grooming [9].

By 2021, according to a Menswear Style founder interview, Percy Nobleman was available in around 2,000 stores globally, had begun expanding into the United States, and had entered a collaboration with Philips [10]. The brand's own account puts its current reach at more than 400 stores worldwide, alongside the US expansion and a collaboration with Philips tied to the OneBlade Pro [1].

Percy Nobleman is owned and operated by Ellipsis Brands, a UK-based contract manufacturer and brand owner, as one of its portfolio brands alongside Q+A and THIX [7]. Ellipsis describes itself as a company that formulates, develops and manufactures beauty and personal care products for other brands, working "under one roof" in a UK-based lab and production facility. Percy Nobleman's own ethical statement page redirects to the Ellipsis Brands site, which serves as the authoritative source for the brand's ethics and sustainability claims.

The brand positions itself as "The Gentleman's Grooming Brand" and uses the tagline "Style, sophistication and a little adventure!" Its stated values are style, presentation and performance, with products intended to "suit all men's needs." The Percy character and the comic book series function as the brand's storytelling device, tying the product range to a light adventurer persona rather than to a real historical figure.

Beard care sits at the centre of the range, which also extends into skin, hair, shaving and fragrance. The Signature Beard Oil, referred to on the brand's site as "old reliable," is described as using a natural alternative to synthetic silicones to give a non-greasy, soft finish, and is formulated from oils including sweet almond, argan, marula, avocado, jojoba, castor and sunflower, with vitamin E. The Vegan Beard Brush is marketed as "a brush for life," and the brand also sells fragrances, including the 1881 eau de toilette, described as a blend of leather, patchouli and moss.

On ethics, the company states that its products are not tested on animals and that the Signature Beard Oil is suitable for vegans and made in England. Its scented beard oil is described as free from synthetic ingredients including mineral oil, silicone and parabens. Parent company Ellipsis Brands says most of its packaging is fully recyclable and sets targets for all packaging components to be recyclable and for 30 to 50 percent post-consumer recycled content [5].

Percy Nobleman is sold through a mix of e-commerce, barber shop chains, standalone concept stores and perfumeries. Named retail partners include Boots and Next in the United Kingdom, Douglas and Flaconi in German-speaking Europe, Shaver Shop in Australia and New Zealand, Tommy Guns in Canada and QVC in the United States. The brand also lists a Percy Nobleman barbershop in Malta.

Percy Nobleman is an active brand. It operates a current e-commerce site, maintains named retail distribution across the UK, Europe, Australasia and North America, and has recently promoted a collaboration with Philips on the OneBlade Pro [1]. Its ownership under Ellipsis Brands is documented as of 2025 [7].