British-designed vacuum cleaner named Which? runner up product of the year to Apple’s Airpods
Paul and Rachel Bagwell are the couple behind the Halo Capsule cordless vacuum cleaner that placed second on this year’s Which? top 50 list. The Warwickshire-founded company has had a huge year, coming runner up to tech empire Apple, having launched only 12 months ago. Expert testers whittled 3,500 products down to 50 based on exceptional innovation, value for money and sustainability.
As a busy family team, Rachel and Paul understood the need to reduce the time spent on cleaning tasks. The Halo Capsule is the couple’s first product, offering a solution to fit everyday life.
The Halo Capsule is the first ever cordless with all the performance and capacity of a full-size corded upright but for less than half the weight. This is made possible by uniquely using 1mm-thick carbon fibre as the main construction element of its body. The exceptionally strong, ultra-light and ultra-thin material means there is more internal space for big dirt capacity, large batteries and high-performance motors.
Paul had been in the industry for 20 years, but after taking some time away, he adopted an outsider’s perspective. With fresh eyes he found there was a real gap in the market with competitors simply scaling down their old technology making vacuums unnecessarily heavier, more complex and less valuable.
There was a need for a truly lightweight cordless vacuum that was still powerful with big capacity. And so Capsule was created. The couple’s first action was to show Capsule to customers to be certain that it fulfilled what they knew were significant unmet needs – and the feedback was great!
Armed with this confirmation, the couple then took the plunge, quit their day jobs and launched Halo all while juggling a young family.
As a family run business Rachel and Paul are passionate about minimising the environmental impact of our daily lives. This means the Halo Capsule is built to last and is as sustainable as it is easy to use. The ultra-light cordless vacuum combines design, function and is unquestionably one of the most environmentally conscious vacuums on the market. As well as being made of recyclable materials, Halo’s servicing option is designed to keep the product in top condition, and the pack of 52 dust bags that are supplied as standard can collect enough dust to fill a whole bathtub!
“We are absolutely delighted to see such high-profile endorsements for our first product this year and are over the moon with our placement on the Which? top 50 against huge brand Apple,” said Paul.
