Bristol's VVAST Launches Data-Ingestion and Impact Reporting Tool for Shopify Brands to Tackle New UK EPR Fees

Bristol-based SaaS company VVAST has launched its new data-ingestion and impact-reporting tool, a Shopify-native software designed to automate compliance for direct-to-consumer brands facing new UK Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) modulated fees. From April 2026, incomplete packaging data automatically defaults to the most expensive fee band, a challenge VVAST's tool addresses by providing SKU-level intelligence to manage fee exposure proactively.

For thousands of growing Shopify brands, critical compliance data often lives in spreadsheets, managed by hand, if it's tracked at all. These brands are being asked to operate like enterprises without the necessary infrastructure, a challenge set to intensify with the EU's Digital Product Passport from 2027. "The cost of compliance is no longer a flat fee; it's directly tied to the quality of your data," says Richie Jones, Founder & CEO of VVAST. "Smaller brands simply don't have the teams or the enterprise software to manage this, and they're facing significant penalties. We're productising a decade of our agency's expertise to put that capability in their hands." VVAST, a B-Corp ecommerce company, is building the software to close this gap. Over ten years as a managed-services agency, VVAST traded more than £200m GMV for global direct-to-consumer brands — including £70m in FY24 alone — and its core technology is now deployed globally by one brand generating ~$500m GMV a year. VVAST is productising that proven playbook as tools that sit on top of Shopify. Its first product ingests product and supplier data at SKU level and turns it into automated compliance reporting. "Our software allows brands to see which products are costing them on fees before they even place an order, rather than reacting after an invoice lands," explains Ed Pitt, Co-founder & CTO. "This proactive approach, built on our proprietary D2C outcome data, is what makes our platform's intelligence defensible against generic tools." The outdoor industry serves as a key entry point for VVAST's solution. The company is running a pilot built on the European Outdoor Group's Sustainability Data Exchange (SDEX) — the outdoor sector's only standard for sharing brand and product sustainability data. The EOG will allocate VVAST brands and retailers to pilot with; existing agency brands VF and Deus are also lined up. "SDEX standardises the data, but it doesn't provide the reporting and intelligence layer that brands desperately need," adds Pitt. "That's where VVAST comes in, transforming raw data into actionable insights." VVAST is B-Corp and ISO certified, and is currently raising to fund the standalone software build, with institutional seed investors already tracking its progress.

Trend context

UK EPR modulated fees begin in April 2026: packaging is now rated red/amber/green on recyclability, and — critically — missing or incomplete data defaults to a red (most-expensive) rating, with illustrative red plastic fees up 29% year on year (PackUK / edie, Dec 2025; GOV.UK Year 2 fees). The EU's Digital Product Passport for textiles follows, with delegated acts expected 2026–27 and compliance from 2027–28 (European Commission ESPR Work Plan, via Carbonfact, Jan 2026). The EOG's own sustainability lead has said global policy is moving toward a point where this data becomes "a legal requirement" (just-style, Sep 2025). The infrastructure to comply at scale doesn't exist for small brands yet — that's the gap.

About vvast

Why we exist

VVAST believes the expertise to grow an ethical ecommerce brand — profitably, compliantly, without racing to the bottom on discount — shouldn't be locked behind agencies only big brands can afford. For ten years that knowledge lived inside a bespoke service model. VVAST exists to productise it: to put enterprise-grade commercial and compliance capability in the hands of brands that could never buy it, and to surface that same trust data to the consumer for the first time.

How we do it

VVAST codifies a decade of real trading — £200m+ GMV across global D2C brands — into software that sits on top of Shopify. Not generic tools, and not a custom agency build, but productised playbook: SKU-level intelligence on which products cost what on compliance, which suppliers to back, which storefront changes recover revenue. A two-sided dataset (merchant behaviour plus consumer trust signals) compounds with every brand that joins, and is enriched by integration with the EOG's SDEX standard.

What we do

VVAST builds a modular suite of Shopify-native and platform-agnostic software: a high-conversion theme engine ("vvastify"), a data-ingestion and impact-reporting tool, and a roadmap of apps covering merchandising, compliance reporting, subscriptions, returns and more — orchestrated by a central AI hub trained on proprietary D2C outcome data. A consumer-facing app is planned as the trust layer. The first shipped product is the ingestion and impact-reporting tool.

Why it matters

Thousands of growing brands are about to be penalised for data they don't have. From April 2026, incomplete UK packaging data automatically lands in the most expensive EPR fee band; from 2027 the EU Digital Product Passport extends the same pressure to every garment sold in Europe. These brands manage it in spreadsheets because the affordable tooling doesn't exist. Without it they overpay on fees, fall foul of green-claims rules, and — increasingly — become invisible to AI shopping agents that only surface verifiable products. The void VVAST fills is the missing infrastructure between "enterprise compliance software" and "a spreadsheet and hope."

Who it's for

The founder-operator of a growing D2C brand — call it £600k to £10m in revenue — who sells on Shopify, believes in doing things properly, and has just realised that EPR, plastic tax and the Digital Product Passport are landing on a team that doesn't have a compliance department. They can't afford an enterprise platform or a full-time sustainability hire. They need their existing data to do the work. That's the person VVAST is built for.

Proof points

£200m+ GMV traded through the vvastify engine over 10 years; £70m GMV in FY24. Core technology deployed globally by one brand at ~$500m GMV per year. B-Corp certified; ISO and Cyber Essentials certified. 72% lower-carbon storefronts — vvastify 2.0 emits 72% less than baseline standard Shopify theme. vvastify built on Shopify Storefront 2.0, in production with listed US brands.

Traction & credibility

Running a pilot on the EOG's SDEX programme — a real, established industry standard adopted across ~125 EOG members. The EOG has allocated VVAST three brands and two retailers to pilot with. Spun out of a 10-year profitable agency with a named roster of D2C brands including VF and Deus. Further brands lined up to pilot, including Santa Cruz and a UK beauty multi-brand (~£32m GMV). Richie Jones is a founding member of The Future Fellowship, an invite-only AI-futures circle convened by futurist David Mattin (Head of Technology Research at GMI). Raising to fund the standalone software build (SEIS/EIS), with institutional seed investors tracking progress.

Spokespeople

Richie Jones

Founder & CEO

Richie spent a decade running VVAST as a managed-services agency, trading £200m+ GMV for global direct-to-consumer brands and building the "vvastify" technology behind it — all while the business stayed in profit. The frustration that drove the pivot: sitting in meeting after meeting presenting insights that could help any brand, knowing they were locked inside a model only big brands could afford. So he's carving the IP out of the agency to productise it as software. He's a founding member of The Future Fellowship, an invite-only circle convened by futurist David Mattin to track how AI reshapes markets — foresight he brings directly into VVAST's roadmap.

Ed Pitt

Co-founder & CTO

Ed brings 30 years of software development and engineering leadership across startups and scale-ups. He owns the technical bet at the heart of VVAST: that a decade of proprietary D2C outcome data, not a generic model, is what makes the platform's intelligence defensible — the thing a generic SaaS can't replicate and an LLM can't hallucinate its way to. He's the right voice for any journalist who wants to go under the hood on the ingestion pipeline, the SDEX integration, or the "mindful AI" approach.

Adam Hall

CSO

Adam is an 18-year sustainability strategist known for initiatives that move the standard, not just meet it. Edie named him one of the Top 20 Business Leaders Defining the Next 20 Years of Sustainability, and his work has been featured as a case study by both the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. He co-founded the North Devon World Surfing Reserve — the UK's first environmental designation of its kind — is a long-term trustee of Protect Our Winters UK, and previously served as a trustee of #2MinuteBeachClean. At VVAST, he's the reason the impact claims hold up.

Talking points

The asset

VVAST launches data-ingestion and impact-reporting tool for Shopify D2C brands

vvast.net/standalone-packages-2

The story

VVAST has launched its new data-ingestion and impact-reporting tool, a Shopify-native software designed to automate compliance and impact reporting for direct-to-consumer brands. This tool ingests product and supplier data at the SKU level, enabling brands to navigate new regulations that demand accurate reporting or face increased fees. It productises a decade of VVAST's agency compliance work, allowing smaller brands to proactively manage fee exposure before orders are placed.

Why it matters

From April 2026, UK Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees are modulated by recyclability, with incomplete data defaulting to the most expensive 'red' band, where illustrative plastic fees are up 29% year on year. The EU Digital Product Passport will extend similar data burdens to garments from 2027. Most growing Shopify brands currently manage these complex requirements using spreadsheets, leading to potential overpayments and compliance risks.

Who does it impact

UK and EU-selling D2C brands on Shopify, roughly £600k–£10m revenue, without a dedicated compliance or sustainability function. In the outdoor sector specifically, the EOG's ~125 members already wrestling with SDEX data requests.

Proof points

VVAST's core technology has processed over £200m GMV across 10 years, including £70m in FY24, and is deployed globally by a brand generating ~$500m GMV annually. The company is also running a pilot on the EOG's SDEX programme, an established industry standard designed to replace manual spreadsheet work for data exchange, anticipating future legal requirements.

CTA

Readers should be directed to https://vvast.net/standalone-packages-2/

Key facts

Key Functionality: SKU-level data ingestion, automated compliance reporting, impact reporting
Target Audience: D2C brands (£600k-£10m revenue) on Shopify without dedicated compliance teams
Regulatory Focus: UK EPR (from April 2026), EU Digital Product Passport (from 2027)
Integration: EOG's SDEX standard (pilot)

Get in touch

Richie Jones

Founder & CEO

Drop me a note and I'll reply by email.