ACCESSIBILITY IS A £446BN OPPORTUNITY — AND UK BUSINESSES ARE STILL MISSING IT

From Exclusion to Enterprise: Severely sight impaired founder launches accessibility venture to transform brand experiences

A decade after being asked to leave a London shop for entering with her guide dog, Sangeeta Uppaladinni is positioning accessibility not as a legal obligation, but as a commercial strategy.

Her new venture, Brand Positive Encounters®, is built on a simple premise: that businesses continue to underestimate both the scale and the economic significance of disabled consumers, and in doing so, are forfeiting substantial revenue opportunities.

The UK’s so-called “purple pound” — the spending power of disabled people — is estimated at £446bn annually, spread across 16.1m individuals. Yet, despite the scale, many organisations still approach accessibility primarily through the lens of compliance rather than customer experience.

“Too many businesses are still treating accessibility as a compliance exercise instead of looking at the whole customer experience journey,” Ms Uppaladinni said. “There are 16.1 million disabled people in the UK, with a collective spending power of £446 billion a year. Can businesses afford to miss out on that?”

Her argument reflects a broader shift in corporate thinking, where inclusion is increasingly tied to growth metrics rather than corporate social responsibility alone. For brands operating in competitive consumer markets, accessibility is emerging as both a differentiator and a risk factor — particularly as digital and physical customer journeys converge.

“When businesses make their brand touchpoints accessible, they can tap into that spending power as another revenue stream. At the same time, pan-disabled people can buy from the brands they want to love, with ease. It’s a win-win,” she added.

At the centre of Brand Positive Encounters® is the concept of “brand touchpoints” — every interaction a customer has with a business, from websites and marketing communications to in-store experiences and customer service. Ms Uppaladinni argues that while many organisations meet baseline regulatory requirements, they often fail to consider how accessible those touchpoints are in practice.

“Businesses often say they are meeting accessibility compliance and that should be enough. But in my view, there has not been enough progress in making brand touchpoints genuinely accessible in this day and age,” she said. “That is the gap Brand Positive Encounters® is here to address. It’s about helping organisations move beyond minimum standards and take an honest look at how their brand is experienced by pan-disabled people in the real world. Accessibility should be seen as a route to better design, clearer communication and more meaningful engagement.”

The venture offers two core services. The first is a structured audit of brand touchpoints, designed to identify gaps in accessibility across customer-facing channels and provide practical recommendations that can often be implemented without significant additional investment. The second is a leadership and strategy workshop, The Great Escape Blueprint, which uses the historical framework of wartime problem-solving to explore adaptability, resilience and decision-making under pressure.

“The Great Escape Blueprint is not separate from accessibility,” Ms Uppaladinni said. “It’s about constraints, problem-solving under pressure, adaptability and resilience. I drew parallels between the barriers faced by the POWs — the great escapers, the obstacles I face through disability, and the challenges businesses face today.”

Her approach is grounded in lived experience. Severely sight impaired since birth, Ms Uppaladinni says her day-to-day interactions with brands continue to highlight systemic shortcomings in accessibility — from poorly designed websites to inaccessible retail environments.

“I have lived this reality since birth. The daily obstacles of trying to participate in a world not built for disabled people, and even trying to buy from the brands we love, can lead to frustration, stress and disillusionment,” she said. “I wanted to roll up my sleeves and make a difference by working with businesses as a strategic partner in accessibility. I do that through a 360-degree approach, focusing on leadership mindset, behavioural change and auditing brand touchpoints.”

Her professional background spans marketing communications, policy, consultancy and disability advocacy, with experience working alongside organisations including Siemens, DKT International, NHS bodies, Spacial.com and Oxford College of Marketing.

The business is targeting mid-to-large corporates and public sector bodies, with an initial UK-wide rollout and plans for international expansion. Its positioning reflects a growing recognition that accessibility, when embedded effectively, can enhance not only inclusivity but also overall customer experience and brand perception.

“What makes Brand Positive Encounters® different is its behavioural, lived-experience approach, looking beyond whether something passes checks to how it actually feels and functions for people. Many organisations focus on compliance. I want businesses to look wider than that,” she said.

For Ms Uppaladinni, the message to corporate leaders is direct: accessibility is no longer a peripheral issue, but a core component of commercial strategy — and one that businesses ignore at their own cost.