Georgie Carter

Pepped | Lifecycle Marketing Agency

Pepped is a boutique lifecycle marketing agency that helps growing health and wellness businesses attract, convert and retain more customers.

We work with businesses in the UK and US who are disrupting the fitness, health and wellness industry, from Unicorn status global brands such as Houzz and Hims to scale-ups such as Alexia Clark LLC and Jennis (Dame Jessica Ennis-Hills's fitness app)

Pepped is a collective of experienced marketing specialists who put health and wellness at the very heart of what they do.

► We specialise in the following areas; lifecycle marketing, CRM, email marketing, customer journey mapping, lead acquisition, content creation, content strategy, sales funnel optimisation, copywriting, website design, customer retention, customer engagement, customer loyalty and referral strategy.

CEO & Founder

hims & hers

• Responsible for the creation, implementation, and management of customer engagement, loyalty, and retention strategies that play a critical role in the growth of Hims in the UK.
• Communicate strategy, reporting, and analysis to rally stakeholders around
attrition, retention and engagement objectives

Lifecycle Marketing Consultant

Jennis Fitness

Houzz

• Responsible for sales funnel marketing and optimisation across 14 countries. Track record of consistently exceeding KPI’s by up to 182%
• Led the creation and implementation of new automation initiatives resulting in a 3x improvement in sales conversions
• Other key projects include; lead generation and nurturing campaigns, inbound marketing, B2B referral programme, developing a content hub and lead scoring
• Managed a team of three Marketing Coordinators and one Content Producer

International Online Marketing Manager

• Responsible for European marketing strategy and campaign implementation (across seven countries) including lead acquisition and customer retention
• Team contributed 25% towards the overall international engagement target for the business through execution of key marketing campaigns
• Managed a team of two Marketing Coordinators

European Online Marketing Manager

•	Part of a team of three who built and developed the current day email marketing process
•	Fully adept using Marketo and Salesforce to build successful marketing campaigns
•	Responsible for email marketing campaign creation and copywriting for the UK, France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark
•	Continually optimising and identifying opportunities to increase open and click through rates
•	Initiated and built a central ‘Help Centre’ for Houzz professionals across Europe
•	Part of a dedicated team designing and copywriting a new European wide welcome series

Marketing Coordinator

GREY London

Account Executive for Pantene & Sensodyne
•	Member of Account Team managing and activating TV, print and digital campaigns across the globe 
•	Role focused on originating projects and developing successful marketing campaign strategies 
•	Role included regular presentations to clients as well as managing and maintaining the client relationship 
•	A robust understanding of client markets, brand positioning and underlying consumer trends

Account Executive

Founder of Pepped - lifecycle marketing for DTC health & wellness businesses | The Telegraph Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch

👋 Hi, I’m Georgie — Founder of Pepped, a lifecycle marketing agency that helps DTC lifestyle, health, and wellness brands scale sustainably by turning one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers.

With over a decade of experience in email, SMS, and WhatsApp marketing, I’ve helped dozens of brands boost customer retention, increase LTV, and grow revenue — all without relying on endless paid acquisition.

At Pepped, we build data-driven lifecycle marketing strategies that:
💌 Convert browsers into buyers through high-performing welcome and post-purchase flows
🔁 Turn customers into repeat purchasers with personalised retention journeys
📊 Drive consistent, measurable growth through testing, optimisation, and performance insights

Our clients see meaningful lifts in repeat purchase rates, customer loyalty, and retention-driven revenue — because we focus on what really matters: keeping your customers coming back.

Recognised by The Telegraph as one of the Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch, I’m passionate about helping DTC brands achieve sustainable, profitable growth through smarter lifecycle marketing.

👉 Download The DTC Customer Retention Playbook (https://growth.peppedup.co.uk/retention-guide-2024-2977) or subscribe to The Pepped Periodical for practical tips, frameworks, and data-backed insights on boosting customer retention.

Someone asked me again this week:
 
“How do you juggle a toddler, a baby and running Pepped?” 👶 ☕

Let’s be honest:

There are days I feel like I’ve nailed it 💪

And days I’ve had porridge in my hair since 7am and the to‑do list is laughing at me.

Balance isn’t real — priorities are. And they change daily.

My takeaway?

You don’t need to be balanced. You just need to be intentional.

Helping DTC lifestyle brands retain customers with data-driven email & SMS marketing | Founder @ Pepped | Top 100 Female Entrepreneur

Had a call this week with a brand worried about sending too many emails.

Totally fair. No one wants to feel like spam.

But here’s the thing — customers aren’t annoyed by frequency.

They’re annoyed by irrelevance.

If every message adds value, it’s not noise — it’s service.

When we fixed this for one Pepped client, we didn’t send less, we sent better.

Targeted messages, smarter segments, clearer tone.

Guess what? Engagement went up.

✨ Takeaway:
Don’t apologise for showing up.
Apologise for showing up with nothing useful to say. 💌

👉 How do you decide when to send more vs say less?

#EmailMarketing #DTCGrowth #CustomerExperience #RetentionStrategy #PeppedAgency

Every DTC marketer right now: frantically rewriting subject lines, adding “last chance” banners, and praying Klaviyo doesn’t crash.

Sound familiar? 👀

Before you dive headfirst into BFCM chaos, I’ve put together a short, practical guide:

💌 Peak Season Quick Wins: What Smart DTC Brands Are Tweaking Right Now

It’s a bite-sized checklist of the small-but-mighty flow updates, segmentation tweaks, and timing shifts our clients are making to boost retention and revenue before Black Friday hits.

Think:
 ✨ A simple way to stop your best customers being over-emailed
 ✨ The easy segmentation update that gets you more clicks (and fewer unsubscribes)
 ✨ The one flow that still drives results even when inboxes are flooded

If you’re in DTC — especially wellness, beauty, or lifestyle — this is your friendly reminder to optimise before you discount. 🍒

👇 Let me know if you'd like a copy and I'll ping you the link!

#DTCMarketing #EmailMarketing #Klaviyo #Ecommerce #BFCM

I tell clients all the time: “Don’t overcomplicate your comms.”

Keep it simple. Say what matters. Send it.

So naturally… I spent three days over-editing our own Pepped newsletter last month. 😅

When I finally sent it (half convinced it was too plain)…

It got double the usual replies.

Turns out — clarity still beats cleverness.

✨ Takeaway:
 If your email feels too simple, it’s probably perfect.

👉 What’s one message you’ve over-tweaked this week?

#ecommerce #emailmarketing #DTC #email

Grabbed my morning Pret (yes, the subscription lives on ☕).

And it hit me — again — why they nailed it:

You don’t keep customers loyal with discounts.

You keep them loyal by making their life easier.

Predictability. Convenience. Habit.

It’s not sexy, but it’s sticky.

For ecommerce brands, your “subscription” might be:
1) refill reminders
2) 1‑click top‑ups
3) personal reorder nudges - “hey, we saved your favourite bundle”

✨ Takeaway:
 Loyalty starts with removing friction.
 Make it easy, and customers stay.

#customerloyalty #DTC #ecommerce #

If something takes less than 10 minutes — I do it immediately.

 If it takes more than 10 minutes — I schedule it.

That one rule has cleared more mental clutter than any productivity app ever could.

As a founder, I’ll never win the ‘empty inbox’ award.

 But I can win back my brain space.

 Decide fast. Do it now or diarise it later.
 
No middle ground.

👉 What’s one micro-rule that keeps your days sane?

 #FemaleFounder #Productivity #Leadership #EntrepreneurLife #PeppedAgency

Ocushield

Ocushield exists, to let eyes thrive.

Ocushield's hero products are the worlds only Class 1, medically rated blue light blocking screen filter products (as classified by the Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK & the FDA in the USA).

In 2023, we launched an online eye screening test, completed in under 7 minutes by employees from a smartphone or laptop for corporates via intermediaries & health care partners. 

We want to enhance the optical pathway, so that the 13% of the NHS backlog in ophthalmology is improved on and 4.1 days which are lost every year to sight loss & eye issues is reduced.

Founder & SeeEO

Department for Business and Trade

My role as a DBT Export Champion is to leverage my experience and expertise in scaling internationally to provide advice, peer-to-peer support, and inspiration to businesses aiming to grow globally—particularly in the health and wellbeing sector. This helps shape government policy and funding to ensure businesses receive the targeted support needed to thrive on the global stage.

As the founder of Ocushield, a company now distributing products in over 149 countries and proud winner of the King’s Award for International Trade, I understand the challenges and opportunities of exporting. These experiences allow me to share practical insights on navigating global markets and building a successful international brand.

DBT Export Champion

Croydon Vision

Croydon Vision is a non-profit which supports and enables people with sight loss to live as independent, confident and fulfilled lives as possible. CV is a charity which supports all ages by providing a range of services at their two sites in Croydon, South London.

CV's objective is to provide individuals with sight-loss a safe space and a welcoming community. Our services meet the needs of our members throughout all stages of their lives working with children from 3 to adults and the Over 65's.

Board Trustee

City, University of London

The role of the Advisory Committee is to provide advice and guidance to the Enterprise
Education Team of City, University of London in support of the development of its strategy,
policy and activity.

The City Launch Lab is the City, University of London’s incubation space for student and graduate entrepreneurs. Currently responsible for the development of 45 companies, the Launch Lab not only provides a home for budding entrepreneurs in central London, it also provides access to an acceleration programme, mentoring activities and community focussed sharing of triumphs and challenges, as well as further provisions such as a mental health and well-being service over the course of 12 months. Currently the Launch Lab has a range of companies and as such has a big remit to keep a wide range of companies engaged and active within the space.

Advisory Board Member

Thrive Global

I contribute pieces on health, wellness and technology to empower living a better life in the digital age.  

Thrive Global is an American company that provides behavior change technology and media to individuals and organizations around the world with the mission of ending the stress and burnout epidemic. It was founded by Arianna Huffington in August 2016.

Contributor

Boots Opticians

When people have problems with their vision, they visit an optometrist. Optometrists specialize in diagnosing problems with the visual system and providing corrective solutions that will improve their patients'​ sight.

Optometrists use specialized instruments to diagnose their patients'​ vision problems. For example, they use ophthalmoscopes to see inside of the eye, and retinoscopes to see how patients react to different lens strengths.

After a diagnosis is made, optometrists prescribe medicines, glasses, contact lenses, or other corrective eye wear that will improve their patients' vision.

Sometimes, optometrists find problems with the eyes that are caused by serious diseases like glaucoma. In these cases, optometrists must refer the patient to a medical doctor who can help treat the problem.

Locum Optometrist

Specsavers

Resident Optometrist

Vision Express

•	Conducting visual screening at corporate events for companies such as Financial Ombudsmen and Waitrose
•	Training new members of staff on customer care, product awareness, KPI's and merchandising

Corporate Screening

Croydon Council

Youth service managers had real doubts about how YOF/YCF could be safely and effectively managed by the already overstretched services. This is where the fund and management team was set up. Who better than the youth of the borough? Our task was to distribute £300,000 of the government’s money to projects and youth in the Borough. This allowed communities to improve local services and facilities via application for funds through being granted by us.

Mangement Team - Croydon Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Captial Fund

Optometrist & Founder, Ocushield | Workplace Eye Wellness Expert | Featured on Dragons Den, Forbes & USA Today | B Corp Certified | King's Award Recipient

Whilst studying Optometry at university, I launched the development of the initial product offering at Ocushield - medically registered blue light filtering technology that make eyes healthier, improves sleep and makes people happier. 

Currently supplying our online eye screening test, accessible for employees and patients via a web URL or app. Working with Benenden Health, AON, AIG Insurance and more... 

Having received a development grant from City University of London, I built Ocushield into an internationally distributed, MHRA/FDA medically registered product that transformed hundreds of thousands of peoples eye health and quality of life.

From humble beginnings to building Ocushield, getting featured on Dragons' Den (and winning over Peter Jones & Tej Lalvani in the process), Forbes, The Guardian & USA Today - talking about eye health and blue light, it’s been an entrepreneurial journey full of ups and downs and yes a lot of lessons.

At Ocushield, we have helped over 300,000 eyes in over 147 countries with our products to protect their eyes. 

We envision a world aware of eye health in the times of the booming digitisation and the accompanying eye strain thus helping people develop healthier eyes and happier lives.

Dhruvin Patel

We've just been shortlisted for an Optician Award...
Let's go!!


And that's something I'm really proud of.

It's for our Online Eye Screener and here's why that matters...

I always mention this when presenting about eyes.

52% of sight loss is preventable IF it's picked up EARLY.

But unfortunately... most people only go for an eye test when something already feels "wrong".

So we built a simple 4-minute screener that helps people understand their eye health before it becomes a problem.

No equipment, just 4 minutes and with guidance...

And the result has been brilliant!

Helping people engage with their vision earlier.

That's REAL PREVENTION and REAL IMPACT.

Also, that's cost saving for workplaces, NHS and insurers.

To now be shortlisted alongside some of the biggest names in the industry such as Specsavers, Boots, Vision Express and Moorfields clinicians...

From something that started as a small idea in my Uni bedroom.. that's honestly surreal.

Huge shoutout to the team! The ones refining the UX, clinical logic, partnerships and rollouts..

All the boring BUT important stuff that makes this possible.

And to the optical community:

Thank you for treating prevention as more than a "nice-to-have".

We're just getting started.

What's one thing you wish more people understood about early detection?

Optometrist & SeeEO | Dragons’ Den & King’s Award Winner

I asked the general public...
What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?

He didn’t say a beach. Or a city skyline. Or some picture-perfect holiday moment.

He said: “Watching my son being born.”

And that really made me think…

We don’t save our favourite moments in a camera roll We save them in our minds.

How someone’s face changes when they laugh.

The look in their eyes when they’re proud of you.

The moments that just stay with you.

Our eyes are literally how we store those memories. And yet…

We treat our vision like it’s guaranteed.

Meanwhile:

• We’re spending 10+ hours a day looking at screens
 • Our blink rate drops by up to 60% when we focus
 • The tear film evaporates quicker → eyes dry out
 • So we rub them
 • And over time, that irritation and pressure can thin the cornea

That’s how conditions can develop where the clear front window of the eye becomes weak 

and starts to bulge forward, causing blurry and distorted vision.

Especially those who rub often, or have undiagnosed dryness issues.

What’s wild is… Vision loss isn’t loud. It doesn’t arrive overnight. It just… quietly softens the world.

You only notice when clarity slips. And then you’re trying to reverse it.

So this isn’t about: “Don’t look at screens.” (we’re all realistic here)

It’s about protecting the thing that protects your memories.

Small, unexciting prevention:

• Keep screens slightly below eye level, reduces tear evaporation
 • Add more colour to your meals, your retina literally uses those pigments
 • Omega-3s support the oily layer of the tear film
 • And please… get a baseline eye exam before you think you need one

We get the car serviced. We update our phones. We insure our homes.

But the eyes that let us see the people we love?

We just assume they’ll be fine.

Your future memories depend on the choices you make for your vision today.

So… I’ll ask you the same question:
What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? 💙

Please, stop asking for advice.
You already know what needs to be done.

We live in a world where, we’re looking for too much confirmation.

Confirmation of our perspective, strategy and ideas…

I’ve seen some of the best people, just get on with it…

And I’ve learnt, whilst we spend weeks or months to explore

If the way we approach the project “makes sense” or if we’ve missed anything…

By sharing it with team members, advisors and your partner

You’re just slowing yourself down.

If you’re good at what you do, 99% of the time your gut won’t be wrong.

Of course if you’re genuinely unsure - always ask advice.

But if you’re 70% and over already at your conclusion…

Please don’t wait.

And yes, it might go wrong.

That’s fine…

Learn by executing.

That’s the journey of work and business.

Not second guessing your decisions to have a fall back..

Oh, actually I checked with XYZ and they also said this was fine…

So, we’re all to blame…

zzZ

Life’s too short.

Pull the trigger and make the decision.

If you feel great in your work more than 30% of the time… you might be too comfortable.

Because in reality, meaningful work isn’t meant to feel great all the time.

The best rhythm I’ve found, and seen in people doing things that matter, is this:

• 30% of the time, it feels great.
• 30% of the time, it feels okay.
• 30% of the time, it feels… not okay.

And that last 30%? That’s where growth hides.

We often romanticize work as a constant source of joy and purpose.

But the truth is, anything that stays too easy eventually stops evolving.

Comfort creates consistency — but too much of it creates complacency.

I was thinking about this through the Rule of Thirds.

Most of us live and work like everything has to sit in the middle:

Work in the middle. Pressure in the middle. Targets in the middle.

We centre our entire sense of worth on how “good” or “successful” work feels.

But the best leaders I know don’t live centre-frame.

They live in thirds:
• Work
• Health
• Relationships

Not perfect balance. Not equal time every day.

But a deliberate mix, enough to keep them grounded, challenged, and human.

Feeling great 30% of the time means you’re aligned with your purpose.

Feeling okay 30% of the time means you’re managing the day-to-day.

Feeling not okay 30% of the time means you’re still pushing, stretching, learning.

So if you feel great at work all the time, maybe the frame’s too tight.

Maybe it’s time to shift it, to invite in the tension, the uncertainty, the other parts of life that make the picture whole.

Because growth doesn’t live in comfort.
It lives in thirds.

What part of your frame needs shifting right now?

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I nearly became an owner of Specsavers.
BUT, I turned down guaranteed £££.

Specsavers, is an amazing business.
They own over 50% of the UK market share, when it comes to eye care.

Their model?
Well, each store is a franchise.

Meaning, a clinician has to operate the store.

Whilst, Specsavers do their thing and support with supply chain, marketing, admin etc.

8 years ago, when I qualified as an optometrist

The store I did my training at, one of their branches was offered up to me.

As, I had an interest “business”, & understood the commercial side of opticians…

Plus, I was an optometrist and it’s what you do “next” in your career.

Albeit, generally optometrists practice as clinicians a few years to really grasp the trade.

But here, I was - handed on a plate an exciting opportunity.

As the same time, I had launched my own business Ocushield® in the background.

Manufacturing the worlds first medically registered screen filters, to limit harmful blue light from screens.

It was taking off, we just did £60k in revenue from my bedroom…

I thought, maybe I can do both?

Or, Specsaver’s is a bonafide business model - I can’t go wrong…

But with my business, it’s risky… who knows what can happen.

Ultimately, I realised… being a Specsavers owner meant I could only reach customers in my local area

Which was Banstead, Epsom, Leatherhead etc…
Aka, limited reach and impact.

But, with Ocushield and my business - there was no ceiling.

With a direct to consumer, international e-commerce business… I was already getting customers from New York, Dubai, Germany (even though it was a handful of them)

I took the bold decision, let’s roll the dice.

Let’s create my own path, I can always come back to a franchise opportunity
But, I’ll regret not pursuing what I had created.

8 years on, I’m glad I backed myself, because...

Ocushield is a multi-million-pound business, we’ve protected over 300,000+ eyes, stocked in retailers like John Lewis, WHSmith and our products are being purchased by enterprise companies across the world.

So, if you’re ever considering two paths - the path not taken before might just bring you the purpose and impact you always wanted.

P.S - if I wasn't do what I am doing now, I'm 99% sure I would have ventured into opening an optician's store & who knows, I still might!

Optometrist & SeeEO | As seen on Dragons’ Den | King’s Award Winner

They say practice makes perfect.


Clearly, they’ve never tried saying “hyaluronic acid” on camera after no sleep.

Filmed last week… and I absolutely fumbled my lines. 

Hyaluronic acid? Apparently Adam's brain said “hylu… hyloo… hy-lu-whatever”. 

And then I asked someone: “Would you take £100 OR skip sleeping tonight?” 

Oopss. Wrong line.

His answer:  Are you okay? 

Maybe in his head: Bro, just let me sleep. No amount of money is worth dry, burning, zombie eyes. 

But here’s the bit that matters: 

I used to think everything had to be perfect before hitting publish. 

Flawless delivery, flawless script, flawless everything. 

The truth? You’re never getting it perfect on the first go. Or the second. Or the eighth where you still can’t say hyaluronic acid properly. 

You get better by doing it. 

Messy. Clumsy. Human. 

And the message is still the same: 

Being sleep deprived for 16+ hours impacts your brain, the same as being over the legal alcohol limit. 

Your eyes feel it first. Your work feels it after. 

So look after your sleep. Look after your eyes. And stop waiting to be perfect before you start. 

Progress > polish. 

What’s something you hesitated to do because you were scared of not being perfect? 

Drop it below. We’re all learning.

“What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
“My missus,” he said.

Then he smiled.
“Wedding day. 53 years ago. Still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

And honestly… it stopped me.
Because it reminded me of something we don’t talk about enough.

We spend so much time obsessing over productivity, sleep hacks, longevity, supplements, leadership frameworks…

But the real moments — the ones that stay with you for 53 years — all depend on one thing we take for granted:

Being able to see them.
The look on someone's face.

A shared moment across a room. 
The tiny details that make a memory feel alive.

The more I work in eye health, the more I realise this uncomfortable truth:
People treat their eyesight like a “nice to have” — until the day they suddenly can’t.

And by then, it’s often too late.
We assume vision loss happens to “other people.”
We assume screens won’t affect us.
We assume blurry vision is just tiredness.
We assume early symptoms will sort themselves out.

But the eyes don’t work like that.
Your sight slowly changes while you’re busy living your life.

That man’s answer reminded me why I care about this work so much:
It’s not about blue light.
It’s not about screen time.
It’s not about filters or devices.

It’s about protecting the ability to see life clearly long enough to remember the moments that matter.

Your partner's smile.
Your child’s first steps.
The sunrise you never thought you’d wake up early enough to catch.
The silly moments that become the stories you tell decades later.

Vision is memory.
Vision is identity.
Vision is connection.

And the truth is:
Most of us won’t appreciate the value of healthy eyes…
…until something threatens it.

So if you take anything from this stranger’s answer — take this: 
Look after your eyes now, so the most beautiful moments of your life stay vivid later.

Because the best things you’ll ever see won’t be on a screen.
They’ll be the people you love, in the moments you didn’t realise were unforgettable at the time.

What’s one sight you never want to forget?

LinkedIn is like Instagram…
Sometimes I don’t feel worthy enough.

On IG there are dozens of FIT people with six packs…

All over the place…

& it makes you think, dam - I look unfit, ugly and out of shape…

That’s why I reviewed my Instagram following…

As over time, it just has a negative impact on your psyche.

Unfortunately, LinkedIn is a bit like Instagram.

Unless you’re a massive unicorn business or raising millions of pounds….

Like an OpenAI, Uber, Meta - it can seem like you’re just not quite “fit” enough.
But, I realised - the reality is…

Most businesses that exist and are doing well - aren’t unicorns or raising millions of £££

They’re building, with less flashy headlines and are most likely going to be an SME..

Over 50% of the businesses in the UK employ less than 250 people.

Generate £2.8 vs £2.0 trillion against large enterprise for example.

To whoever is part of a business in the UK, however early or late…

But, not making the headlines - you’re still doing great.

Let’s not get caught up in the Instagram esq.’ hype of this world.

Real businesses, real people make up 99% of business.

Let’s encourage more amplification of stories and successes from these companies.

& if you ever feel like you’re not doing enough, like I have sometimes…

We’re not all here to build he next unicorn or the fastest growing AI startup…

And that’s definitely ok

Because, end of the day…

There’s still so many mouths fed and positive impact created, by the non unicorn businesses.

Kids born in 2025 will spend 181,000 hours on screens.
That’s 21 years of their life.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Not 21 years of travelling. Not 21 years of exploring. Not 21 years of memories.

21 years of screen time.

That projection from PentaVision genuinely stopped me.

Because while it’s easy to point fingers at “kids these days”…

the truth is, they’re inheriting a digital world we built.

We’re the generation that remembers life before this —

before phones became the default,
before homework moved to tablets,
before entertainment fit in your pocket 24/7.

They don’t have that reference point.

We do.

And if future generations are headed for two decades of screen exposure,

then the question becomes:

What are we doing to help them protect the eyes they’ll depend on more than any generation before?

Because screens aren’t going anywhere.

Technology isn’t slowing down. AI, AR, VR… the future is only getting brighter — literally.

So maybe the answer isn’t “less screens”.

Maybe it’s healthier screens.

Healthier habits. Healthier boundaries.

Teaching kids:

• To look up every 20 minutes
• To play outside even when digital is easier
• To blink (yes, really!)
• To rest their eyes without feeling guilty
• To value the world beyond pixels
• To protect the sense that lets them see their future clearly

Future generations will live in a digital-first world.

But they don’t have to suffer for it.

If they’re going to spend 21 years of their life looking at screens…

let’s at least make sure they can see those years clearly.

What’s one healthy screen habit you wish you learned earlier?

The most beautiful moments in life don’t happen on screens.


I asked two women a simple question:
“What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”

And their answers… honestly, they stuck with me.

One told me about Hawaii.

Underwater. A coral reef so vivid it didn’t feel real.

And the first time she ever saw a turtle gliding past her.

The other smiled and said:

“A sunrise I caught one morning… one of those rare ones where the world feels quiet and you feel completely alive for a few seconds.”

No filters.
No likes.
No audience.

Just moments you can only experience when your eyes are actually open to the world in front of you.

And it reminded me of something I forget far too often:

The memories that stay with us aren’t digital.

They’re visual.
Human.
Lived.
A turtle in the ocean.
A sunrise nobody else noticed.

The kind of beauty you only get by looking up, not down.

Yet we treat our eyesight like it’s optional.

Hours on screens. Little rest.

“Eye health” sitting somewhere at the bottom of the to-do list.

But your eyes are the lens that records your life.

If that lens fades… so do the moments.

So here’s my gentle reminder, to you, and to myself:

Protect the sense that lets you actually see the world you’re trying so hard to enjoy.

What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?

Applying for a job? Or sending am email?
No one owes you anything…. Zero, zilch.

This took me a while to understand, but

Sending an email… or
A connection request on LinkedIn

And got no reply?

It used to drive me mad.

Worst, connection requested accepted, but they don’t reply to a message?

Well, maybe instead of thinking I’m owed a reply because…

I put the effort in to send it 

Actually, no one asked for my message.

So, really and truly… don’t expect anything back.

Now, I do my thing…

Without expecting a thing.

Why?

You don’t get hung up on WHY someone didn’t do that reciprocating action.

Because, 99% of the time it’s not got anything to do with you.

They could have other priorities
Their dog could have died
Their child is in hospital
Or, they just don’t care.

And, that’s ok.

Stay, persistent… yes

But, don’t take it personally.

& yes, when applying for jobs it might be slightly different.

But, it is what it is (in my opinion, its a game of volume).

The market is tough out there, I don’t think pressing one button to apply with a generic CV and cover letter is worth a unique reply.

Put the effort in, do something different. That deserves a considered reply.

What do you think?

Big News! We’re teaming up with YuLife 🎉


I’ve been looking forward to sharing this… and TODAY'S the DAY!

We’ve been quietly building in the background, and now I finally get to talk about something that feels genuinely exciting for the future of employee wellbeing in the UK.

We’re partnering with YuLife, one of the most forward-thinking wellbeing and insurance platforms out there...

To bring vision firmly into the wellbeing conversation.

YuLife now supports hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, with public figures showing over 400,000 lives insured, growing to around 570,000 people covered across their ecosystem.

That’s a huge portion of the UK workforce now getting access to proactive, digital-first wellbeing support… 

And now we get to add eye health into that journey.

Right now, 90% of screen-based employees experience digital eye strain.

And vision-related issues cost businesses around 4.1 days of productivity per employee, per year.

So having the chance to sit down with the YuLife team and talk openly about the scale of the problem, and the solution, was something I’m really proud of.

At Ocushield, we’ve built an online eye screening solution that lets employees check the status of their eyes in 4 minutes, straight from a smartphone or laptop.

No app. No friction.

Just quick, clear insights on your peepers.

Vision, colour vision, depth perception etc…

Six simple tests that help people understand their eye health, fast.

& appropriate signposting if escalation is needed like a full eye examination.

And the alignment with YuLife is spot on.

They lead with prevention.
They lead with behaviour change.
They lead with digital-first wellbeing.

And that’s exactly where we believe eye health needs to be.

For YuLife users:

You’ll now see exclusive Ocushield rewards in your YuLife app, including 20% off medically registered screen filters and blue light glasses.

And if you’re on the Wellbeing Pass… you’ll get a free eye test using our online eye screening.

This partnership means we can bring preventative vision care to hundreds of thousands more people across the UK workforce.

Huge thank you to the brilliant teams on both sides for making this happen.

This is only the beginning 💙

Nadia Elgaddal Sam Fromson Oscar Hausman

Turns out the cheapest ‘treatment’ for vision loss is… sweating.

Exercising might be saving your eyesight…
and we’ve all been sleeping on it.

A new study just found something wild:
Mice that exercised had up to 45% less eye damage after researchers simulated age-related vision loss.

Forty five percent.
From… movement.

And yes, it’s mice, not humans.

Yes, we need bigger studies.

But stay with me…

Because this lines up with something eye experts (and honestly, optometrists like me) have suspected for years.

We talk so much about exercise for your heart, your weight, your mood…

But almost no one talks about how movement affects your eyes.

Yet the evidence keeps growing.

Studies show physical activity might help reduce the risk of glaucoma.

Helps people with diabetes control their blood sugar, lowering chances of retinopathy.

And now this… a possible protective effect against AMD, one of the biggest causes of blindness over 50.

And it made me think…

We spend hours researching supplements. Arguing about blue light myths. Debating the perfect pillow for better sleep.

But something as simple as 30 minutes of walking a day might be doing more for our eyes than we realise.

It’s funny how the basics are the things we ignore.

Even I’m guilty of it. I’ll obsess over my screen habits… then skip a walk because I’m “too busy”.

The irony is painful.

And look, we’re not saying exercise is a magic cure. Or that running a 5K will prevent AMD.
But movement changes the body.

Blood flow.
Inflammation.
Cell activity.

And maybe, just maybe, it changes the way our eyes age too.

So here’s what I’m taking from it:

Stop waiting for the perfect treatment.
Stop assuming eye health is just genetics or luck.
Stop thinking it’s all out of your control.

Do the simple things… consistently. Your future vision might depend on it.

What do you think?

It only takes one train ride to expose everything you never meant to share.


I was on a commuter train when I noticed something surprising.

A government official had fallen asleep on their laptop…

with sensitive information open on the screen for anyone to see.

Not intentionally. Not recklessly.

Just a human moment... Tired, travelling, switching off for a second.

But it made me pause.

Because it showed me something we rarely think about:

Most privacy risks aren’t dramatic. They’re accidental. Quiet. Everyday life.

And even if we’re not carrying government files…

We all have things on our screens that matter:

• client proposals
• financial details
• internal plans
• personal messages
• private conversations
• work we simply don’t want read over our shoulder

The truth is, the modern commute has become an office.

Cafés have become meeting rooms.

Flights have become our deep-work space.

Our screens travel everywhere with us, which means our information does too.

Privacy protection is so important nowadays.

So whatever you’re working on… stays between you and your screen.

Not the person next to you. Not the person behind you.

A small Monday reminder:

Sometimes it’s the smallest habits that protect us the most, especially when we’re working from anywhere.

In a world where we work from anywhere, what does ‘privacy’ mean to you now?

You make around 19,000 eye movements a day…yet most of us don’t give our eyes even a single minute of care.

For something we rely on every waking moment, to work, to connect, to make memories, we treat our eyes as if they’ll just run on autopilot forever.

But they don’t. Your eye muscles tighten. Your focus slows.

Your vision fatigues long before you feel it.

And in a world where we’re staring at screens for 8, 10, 12 hours straight… those little moments of
strain add up faster than people realise.

So here’s a simple mindset shift:

You don’t need a full routine. You don’t need equipment.

You just need 60 seconds.

Look up. Down. Left. Right.

Roll your eyes gently.

Blink slowly.

Shift your focus from far to near.

One minute.

It’s the smallest investment with one of the biggest returns: clearer, fresher, more comfortable vision.

Your emails can wait.

Your vision can’t.

If you try the routine in the video above, tell me how your eyes feel after 👆

Most people think eye strain comes from “too much screen time.”


But it’s rarely that simple...

Digital eye strain, or computer vision syndrome, is usually the result of lots of small factors stacking up through the day.

Here’s what’s really happening behind the scenes:

You blink less.

When focusing on a screen, your blink rate drops from around 18 times a minute to just 3–5.

That means the protective tear film on your eye evaporates faster, leaving your eyes dry and gritty.

The air around you doesn’t help.

Office air conditioning and low humidity are two of the biggest drivers of dry eye symptoms.

Even small changes like adding a plant or using a humidifier can make a difference.

Then there’s glare.

Most people stop noticing it after a while, but it quietly forces your eyes to keep refocusing.

If you can see reflections of ceiling lights in your screen, your eyes are working harder than they should.

Another one, no distance resets.

When you focus close-up for hours, the muscles in your eyes get locked in.

The 20-20-20 rule (look 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes) helps to relax that strain.

And finally, text. oof!

Tiny fonts and harsh contrast make your visual system work overtime.

Enlarge text, use reader modes, and lower your screen brightness when possible.

These are all small, evidence-based tweaks.

But together, they decide whether your eyes feel fine at 5 PM…

or like they’ve run a marathon.

So I’m curious… which one of these do you think affects you the most?

Keep rubbing your eyes…
and you’ll damage your vision FASTER.


Sounds dramatic... but it’s actually just biology.

When we work on screens for hours, our blinking rate drops by more than half.

Your eyes dry out. They get irritated. So natural instinct is you rub them to feel better.

But that rubbing does something most people don’t realise:

It increases pressure inside the eye and stresses the cornea.

Do it once? Fine. Do it every day while working?

Over time, that pressure can actually change the shape of your cornea.

There’s even a condition linked to frequent rubbing called keratoconus.

The cornea thins and starts to bulge. Vision becomes blurry, distorted. And it often requires long-term management.

Now add this:

If your eyes are irritated in the evening, your brain stays in alert mode, not “wind down” mode.

So your body feels tired… but your mind stays switched on. You get into bed. You should be asleep. But your brain is still working.

The fix isn’t to stop rubbing.

It’s to stop the reason you’re rubbing:

1/ Look away every 20 minutes (20 feet, 20 seconds)
2/ Use warm, softer lighting after sunset
3/ Reduce blue light 90 minutes before sleep
4/ And use lubricating eye drops instead of rubbing

Small habits. Real impact. Calmer eyes. Better focus. Deeper sleep.

If you want to take care of your mind,
start by taking care of your eyes.

Do you notice yourself rubbing your eyes when working — or more at night before bed?

Most people know the 20–20–20 rule…


but honestly, that’s just the entry-level stuff.

If you’re on screens all day (like the rest of us), there are way more effective, science-backed habits that make a noticeable difference, and most people have never even heard of them.

So here are 5 under-the-radar eye habits your future self will be very grateful for 👇

1. Match your screen to your room, not the other way around

Your eyes hate mismatched lighting.

If your screen is brighter than your room, your visual system works overtime to interpret contrast.
Studies from the AAO show adjusting brightness + contrast to your environment reduces strain massively.

Simple tweak, big relief.

2. Keep your screen slightly below eye level

This one surprises people.

When the screen sits higher than your eyes, your blink rate drops… fast.
Blinking keeps the front surface of your eye healthy.

Lower screen = natural lid protection = fewer headaches + less dryness.

3. Micro-breaks beat long breaks — every time

Most people wait an hour for a “proper break”.

But research from ergonomics studies shows it’s the 10–15 second micro-pauses every few minutes that ease muscular tension best.

You don’t need to leave your desk.

Just pause… breathe… look away… reset.

4. Change your viewing distance throughout the day

Staring at one distance for hours is like flexing your bicep and never letting go.
Your eye muscles never relax.

Look at something 6+ metres away now and then, it gives your visual system a proper reset you can feel.

5. Cool your eyelids (yes, really)

One of my favourites.

A short cool compress reduces inflammation on the eye’s surface and eases pressure around the temples.

Migraine sufferers especially feel the difference.

It’s incredibly underrated.

Eye care doesn't have to be complicated.

People often think eye comfort needs fancy products or long routines.

Not true. Most of the improvement comes from tiny, boring, everyday choices.

Screens aren’t the enemy, imbalance is.

A few small habits can literally change the way your eyes feel by the end of the week.

Which small habit are you experimenting with?

5 underrated eye habits

Most people think of Ocushield as “the blue light brand”.


But that’s only chapter one.

“What’s next for Ocushield?”

And honestly… it’s a question I’ve been thinking about for years.

Because protecting your eyes from screens is one thing.

But supporting your eyes holistically, every day, is the real mission.

So yes… we’re diversifying.

Two new areas, both rooted in eye health.

The first? Eye sprays and eye drops.

Why?

Because if your eyes are dry, irritated, or tired…

it doesn’t matter how good your screen habits are.

Your eyes simply won’t feel good.

And here’s a fun (and slightly alarming) fact:
When you’re staring at a screen, you blink 3–4 times a minute.

You’re supposed to blink 18–20 times.

That’s an 80% drop… without even realising it.

Which means your eyes aren’t getting the lubrication they need.

Which means dryness. Which means strain.

Which means that heavy, tired, uncomfortable feeling so many of us think is “normal”.
It isn’t.

So the next chapter for Ocushield is simple:

Protect your eyes.
Support your eyes.

And help you actually feel good while living a digital life.

Blue light filters were the start.
But eye sprays, drops, and more…

that’s where we’re heading.

Because your eyes deserve more than coping.

They deserve care.

As we get ready for our January rebrand…

What would you love to see us create next?

Most people try to fix their sleep in bed… but the solution actually starts in the bathroom.

I know... sounds odd.

But hear me out.

One of the strongest signals your body uses to fall asleep isn’t a supplement… or meditation… or putting your phone down early.

It’s temperature.

Your brain needs a tiny drop in core body temperature to switch into “sleep mode.”

That’s the biological trigger.

And here’s the surprising part:

A warm shower taken 1–2 hours before bed helps you cool down faster afterwards.

Warm water brings blood to the surface of your skin.

When you step out, your body releases heat efficiently…

lowering your core temperature naturally.

Translation: Your brain gets the message. You fall asleep faster. Your sleep is deeper.

And your body settles more easily.

But the mistake most people make?

Showering right before bed. You stay too warm.

And your brain never gets the “time to switch off” signal.

So the trick is simple: Warm up… then cool down… and let biology do the rest.

A tiny habit — but a huge difference in how you sleep.

I’m sharing this now because weekends are often when we try to “catch up” on sleep…

but it actually comes from small habits like this, not extra hours.

What’s one simple change you’re planning to make for better sleep this weekend?

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