Morrama wins Gold at DBA!
Morrama has been awarded a Gold at the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards for its work designing the Wild refillable deodorant case and refill. The award was presented in London on 11 March 2026 and covers a project spanning the original 2020 product launch through to a full redesign completed in 2024.
The DBA Design Effectiveness Awards recognise design that delivers measurable commercial, social or environmental impact. A Gold is given where the evidence of design's contribution to business performance is both rigorous and significant.
About the project
Morrama began working with Wild Cosmetics in July 2019 with a brief to design the world's first plastic-free refillable deodorant. The product launched in spring 2020 and went on to become the UK's leading refillable deodorant brand. In 2024, Wild was acquired by Unilever for a reported £100 million.
The award submission covers two distinct phases of design work. The original brief required a completely plastic-free refill, an aluminium case designed for desirability at a premium price point, and a product architecture that could be shipped within Royal Mail large letter postage limits for direct-to-consumer subscription. The first 10,000 units reached market in nine months.
The second phase, beginning in September 2022, focused on improving usability, reducing cost and preparing the product for international retail expansion. The redesigned case launched in December 2023 and into retail in January 2024. It delivered a 12.5% reduction in unit cost, an 18.4% reduction in material usage per case, and contributed to a doubling of Wild's grocery deodorant sales within nine months of launch.
The results behind the award
The DBA assessment process requires entrants to demonstrate a direct link between design decisions and measurable outcomes. The evidence submitted with this entry includes:
- A cost saving per case totalling over £1.54 million across orders of the updated design
- Material reductions of 16.5% aluminium and 20% plastic per unit, equating to approximately 180 tonnes of CO2e saved in 2024 alone
- Customer complaints relating to leftover deodorant falling to fewer than one per month following the redesign
- Wild deodorant grocery sales doubling to £14.9 million in the nine months following the retail launch of the new case
- Wild named fastest growing personal care brand in the Sunday Times Top 100, July 2024
- Acquisition by Unilever for a reported £100 million
"Morrama are a very dynamic team who really helped us push the boundaries of what we thought was possible on this project with very tight deadlines and limited budgets. To create the first refill solution globally without plastic is an achievement we are incredibly proud of, and working with Morrama was the key to our success."
Freddy Ward, Co-Founder, Wild
