Greater Manchester is home to a vibrant community of ambitious businesses that combine creativity, compassion, and global vision. Among them are two very different companies—Masumi Headwear, a sustainable fashion brand supporting people experiencing medical hair loss, and Content Chemistry, a video and animation studio specialising in healthcare and technical storytelling. While their sectors differ, their export paths reveal a shared determination to reach international audiences and to grow responsibly with strategic support from the GM Business Growth Hub and the International Scale-Up Programme.
Empowering Confidence Worldwide: Masumi Headwear’s Export Journey
Founded in Manchester in 2015, Masumi Headwear (Avakino Ltd.) began with a heartfelt mission—to create stylish, comfortable, and high‑quality headwear for people experiencing hair loss due to alopecia or chemotherapy. The company’s identity is deeply tied to founder Ali Nowroozi’s background in the wig industry and his experiences supporting cancer patients. Masumi’s designs are crafted from soft, organic bamboo and cotton, with double‑layered techniques ensuring comfort and breathability for sensitive scalps. This commitment to quality and compassion is evident throughout Masumi’s brand story, which highlights its evolution into a close‑knit team reaching a global customer base.
Masumi’s international growth has been significant. The company already exports to the United States and several European markets, including Germany, Italy, and Spain, and continues to expand into territories such as the Far East, the Middle East, and emerging luxury markets across Europe. Currently, around 40% of Masumi’s turnover comes from overseas markets. Ali describes exporting as essential to the company’s mission: “We believe everyone, everywhere, deserves to feel confident and beautiful with Masumi Headwear.”
Support from the GM Business Growth Hub has been instrumental since the company’s earliest days. Masumi benefited from strategic branding, trademark guidance, digital marketing support, and international market insights from the Hub, all of which strengthened its overseas positioning and helped secure new partnerships and distributors.
Ali credits the Hub as a long-term partner: “Your team’s guidance has helped us refine our strategy and overcome barriers to entry in new territories… we would 100% recommend the Hub to any business looking to grow.”
Participation in the International Scale-Up Programme (ISU) marks the next chapter in Masumi’s global ambition. Ali sees the programme as a catalyst for becoming a recognised international brand, offering the strategic knowledge needed to navigate complex global logistics and strengthen Masumi’s international brand presence.
Telling Global Stories from Greater Manchester: Content Chemistry’s Export Growth
Based in Cheadle Hulme, Content Chemistry brings a different kind of Greater Manchester creativity to global markets. The company transforms complex healthcare and technical information into engaging visual stories, from slick animations to IMAX‑scale event openers, working with clients across industries and continents. Their website describes a broad portfolio of video, animation, and digital storytelling services designed to “educate, engage, and excite” audiences.
Exporting became increasingly important as the company’s client base expanded across the United States and Europe. Today, the US accounts for 33% of Content Chemistry’s turnover, up from 25% the previous year, which is a strong indicator of international growth momentum. Garry Paton explains that their export journey is primarily driven by client demand, as many of their healthcare and technology partners operate globally, making it essential for Content Chemistry to have a presence in key international markets to support delivery and deepen those relationships.
Their decision to join the International Scale-Up Programme aligned perfectly with this phase of growth. Garry describes discovering the programme as “serendipitous,” offering access to experts, mentors, and peer networks just as the company was planning a structured overseas expansion. The programme provided tools to finalise their international action plan and explore new routes to market.
For Content Chemistry, the GM Business Growth Hub has also been a long-standing source of development support. The company has benefited from workshops, training for staff and partners, and connections to the wider business community—support Garry describes as invaluable: the Hub helped confirm best practice, provide directional clarity, and equip the team with the specialised training needed to scale internationally.
Shared Resilience, Shared Ambition
Although Masumi Headwear and Content Chemistry operate in completely different spheres—one rooted in compassionate, sustainable fashion and the other in high‑end video and animation for scientific and technical audiences—their export journeys reflect a shared path of resilience, purpose, and ambition. Both businesses have grown from Greater Manchester foundations into outward‑looking companies with strong international demand, demonstrating how a clear mission can resonate across borders.
Their progress has also been strengthened by years of steady support from the GM Business Growth Hub, which has worked alongside both businesses through periods of opportunity and uncertainty. From navigating the fallout of Brexit and COVID to dealing with shifting tariffs and changing global trading conditions, the Hub has provided a consistent source of guidance to help these companies adapt and bounce back when needed.
That resilience, built through long-term partnership rather than one-off interventions, is what has enabled both Masumi Headwear and Content Chemistry to keep moving forward internationally. Participation in the International Scale-Up Programme has further accelerated their development, giving them the structure, confidence and expert insight to expand into new markets with clarity and ambition.
Together, their stories show how businesses with different products, audiences, and missions can follow parallel routes to global success when local support and international vision align.
Greater Manchester companies have the ambition and capability to thrive globally — and the right support can make all the difference. Explore how the International Scale-Up Programme can help your business build an export strategy, access specialist advice and unlock new markets by visiting our programme page.
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