S9 E8: From Lockdown Idea to Luxury Brand with Elena London

In this Buying & Beyond, we sit down with Elena, founder of Elena London, a luxury home fragrance brand she built from scratch during lockdown after becoming frustrated with reed diffusers that seemed to lose their scent within days. What started as a search for a better product quickly evolved into a thriving business, built alongside a full-time career and driven by a commitment to quality, craftsmanship and customer experience.

Elena shares her entrepreneurial journey, from an early venture importing Australian salt to discovering her passion for home fragrance and creating hand-poured products made in small batches. We discuss the realities of building a product-based business, the meticulous process behind developing her fragrances, and why she refuses to compromise on quality, even when it comes to pricing. We also talk about the viral social media post that saw messages arrive from around the world, being shortlisted for the UK Start-Up Awards Consumer Product Start-Up of the Year, and her exciting plans for wholesale growth and a new candle collection.

Three Key Takeaways

1. Listen to your customers, not just your own taste.
 Some of Elena London's most successful products, including refill pouches and car diffusers, came directly from customer requests. Elena believes the best product development starts with understanding the problems your customers are trying to solve and creating solutions that genuinely fit their needs.

2. Quality over quantity builds loyalty that lasts.
 In a market full of low-cost alternatives, Elena has built her brand around exceptional product performance. Her reed diffusers can last up to six months or more, creating a level of trust that turns customers into advocates and drives repeat purchases.

3. Stay in your lane — your brand is your brand.
 From navigating imposter syndrome to growing alongside larger competitors, Elena's approach is simple: focus on your own values, stay true to your vision and avoid getting distracted by what everyone else is doing. Authenticity and consistency are what build long-term brands.

Find out more about Elena London and follow Elena's journey through her website and social channels. https://elenaldn.com/ @elenalondon_

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Hello and welcome to Buying and Beyond, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of retail buying.

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We're Kate and Lynn, and we are talking all things retail buying and beyond with real people in retail. So grab your drink of choice and come have a giggle with us.

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This episode is sponsored by the Buyers Club.

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SPEAKER_02 1:33

The future of buying isn't just smarter, it's more connected. Now let's get into today's episode. Hi everybody! Today's guest is Eleanor, founder of Eleanor London, a luxury home fragrance brand built with one simple frustration, beautifully packaged diffusers that barely last more than a few days. Starting the business from her home in Sussex in 2023, Eleanor taught herself how to create home fragrance products that genuinely fill the room and last for months. And honestly, we can absolutely vouch for this because Elena very kindly donated some of her products to our goodie bags for some of our events and just the amount of comments that we got about the incredible scents that are coming through on her products. Honestly, you have to try them. So she's been hampouring everything herself in small batches. The brand has quickly built a loyal following thanks to its focus on long-lasting fragrance, sustainability, and creating affordable luxury for everyday spaces. From reed diffusers and wax melts to rim sprays and car fragrances, Eleanor London is all about elevating little moments at home and proving that a modern consumer brand can be personal, thoughtful, and built with real passion behind it.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Hi Eleanor, thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Hello, thank you so much for having me. Really excited. I am so excited to meet the woman behind the incredible fragrances. I know Lindsay mentioned it a little bit in that intro, but I cannot tell you the number of people that have said to me, Oh my goodness, what is that smell? Like when I was setting up for the event, a family walking round came in, poked their head around, and were like, What is that smell? I was like, Oh my god, it's these wax smells, they're insane. And it has just scented all over my entire house. It's amazing, incredible. Thank you. You have so many different scents as well. I was very impressed with like all the different scents that you can go for.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Yeah, one of the things about the collection is I intentionally try to not have too many fragrances within it because I know how overwhelming it can get for consumers. But I do try to have when I'm thinking about the curation of collections, there's enough in there that there's going to be something that everybody likes. I hope they like everything. But ones that I suppose align with each other as well. Yeah, they kind of go hand in hand as well. Yeah, it's a nice thing that I hear quite often from customers is they like it all. And not to Dan any other brand, there's some others that they're like, oh, there's always one that I don't like or a couple of that I don't like. So yeah, I'm glad you liked it. Makes me happy to hear.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Yeah, and I honestly I wouldn't be able to choose my favorite because this I wouldn't be able to choose my favourite because they're all so lovely.

SPEAKER_02 4:17

So shall we go back to the very beginning? And do you want to just tell us how you got started with the business? Because I think it's incredible, it's just amazing to see how passion projects turn into businesses. So yeah, let's tell us how you got started.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

It was lockdown. I think a lot of people started lockdown. I was actually working still, I wasn't furloughed or anything. But I think with almost the isolation that came with COVID and everything like that, it just got me thinking, really, in terms of how unfulfilled I felt in my position at that point. I'm gonna say that it wasn't the job that I'm in now. And I just got thinking in terms of all of the skill set that I'd learned over my career. What could I do to put it to something that actually is my own? And I just genuinely really wanted to see if I could do it. And actually, it started, it didn't start off with home fragrances at all. The business started with the most amazing salt that was infused with herbs and spices from Australia. So I lived in Australia for a little while, and honestly, if I can ever find the salt for you guys, I'll have to get some to you. It was incredible. So the idea behind what I was going to do was import the salt, white label it, then and sell it on. And but I wanted to do, I wanted different sort of brands within the brands, so having the kind of food side with the salt, but then having a body uh part of it, so you know, salt scrubs, all of those things, and then having a home section where I was going to do candles, and particularly having a salt and pepper candle. So that's how it all started. And as I went on, actually the difficulties of importing was became more and more, and I just thought I just don't know if I can kind of get through a lot of the obstacles. But also the company that I was actually dealing with, they were a small business as well, and they just didn't think they they could keep up with the upkeep of it. So, but through that process, as I started learning and teaching and researching how to make candles, I just started falling in love even more. Home fragrances or candles and diffusers and stuff, I've always loved it. From a young age, they've always been in my bedroom, in my houses, and I just got really interested in it. I think a lot of the time people just see it as a candle. But when I started researching actually everything behind how it's made and the difficulties of it, might I add, I still haven't launched candles into my range because of this, because of the difficulty of it. Watch this space this year. So I ended up deciding to drop everything else on the salt side and whatnot, and just really focused in on home fragrances. As I said, I went through, I probably talked about starting my business for about three years. My poor family and friends must have been sick to death of me hearing talking about it. And a lot of actually what sort of stopped me was apart from things that in life, I had a house move, I moved down from London. So hence the Eleanor London, the brand was born in London, but it was launched in Sussex when I moved down. Yeah, I just I was trying to make the candles, and that was just blocking me from starting. And eventually I just said to myself, if I don't launch with what I've got, I was happy with the rediffusers, happy with the room sprays, the wax melts. If I don't start now, I'll never start. So I just decided to get launched and thought at some point the candles will come. And here we are now. So I I started the business back in November 2023. So it's just probably about two and a half years now since it's been going.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

Amazing.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Amazing.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

So incredible. And it's I think it'd be really and really incredible to get into your sort of product development process. But just while I'm remembering this, I saw one of your posts that you put out, I think it must have been a couple of months ago or a month ago, and it was about how you did you made your advent calendars one year, and they went so well that you made so many more. And then obviously, consumer buying patterns are never are just not easy to forecast these years these days, are they? So you reutilized all of the wax melts within them and packaged them up. I just thought I just thought that was really incredible. And you must have been, you must have had to pivot quite a lot over the last sort of two, three years into what is your product range?

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Yeah, it's every single day it's a complete learning curve. Um you know, I have never run a business before. My full-time job currently is nothing to do with home fragrances. So yeah, it's a constant zoning curve. And look, along the way, I've made some mistakes. I think probably everybody does. People that are running multi-million pound companies probably still do. But I think what it's taught me is just sometimes just stopping, just having a bit of a think and seeing what you can do. But yeah, that that's the product. So it's my discovery, my wax melt discovery boxes that that came from from that almighty mistake, which at one point I thought, oh god, this is going to cost the business. But a lot of the kind of the product development, you know, at the start, it was very much kind of thinking along the lines of I want to make sure that everything is as sustainable as possible, as eco-friendly. You know, the whole vegan thing has become a really important thing as well over the years. So ensuring that all my products have an element of that from the packaging side of it, you know, there's no plastic, everything's recyclable. And so there's like elements of thinking about that, thinking about the scent curation as well, whether it's a part of the collection. A lot of the time I launch collections together, so there's usually five or four or four or five new fragrances, or whether it is a standalone and what's the meaning behind all of it? Because I think scent is a lot more than just the smell that it creates, it's a lot about how it makes you feel in your home. It's about bringing memories about bringing memories back. I had a lovely comment from a lady a couple of weeks ago, actually, and she'd recently bought some wax melts and she came back to buy some rediffusers of this one particular fragrance because sadly she just lost a mum, and she just said the fragrance is just really comfort, strangely comforting for me. And I think that's the thing about scent, it's actually so powerful with what it can do. But yeah, so I think the scent, sorry, digress slightly, but the scent is a big part in the curation. But also, I listen a lot to what my customers are saying. So if I take like the refill pouches for the reed diffusers or the refill bottles for the car diffusers, that was very much a do you do refills for these, do you do refills for these? And at the start, I just I don't think I'd necessarily not thought about it, but I didn't think that I was gonna end up launching them as quickly as I did. So a lot about what I do is actually what do my customers want? You know, it's not what I think is nice, obviously it's important because I've got to sell it and I've got to back it and things like that. Um what the customers are looking for, what problem is it gonna solve for them?

SPEAKER_01 11:32

I think that's exactly the right way to be thinking. And you're right, it's your own brand. So you've got to feel like you want to be doing, but ultimately that's how a buyer thinks. We don't buy what we want or what we particularly like, you think about the customer, who's gonna be buying it and what do they want. And getting that kind of feedback directly from your customer is definitely the right thing to do. And I think when you're a small business, that is a really powerful position to be in, that you have such direct access to your customers and you can have those conversations with them. And I think sometimes when small brands maybe don't always listen to the customer or even tap into that, maybe don't realise that it is an opportunity for them to actually get some really valuable steering on where to take the brand and what products to be doing. And there's definitely an element of taking some opinions with a pinch of salt, so it's not just speaking to one person and they want that, and therefore I'm going to put go out and do however many thousands of units based on one person's point of view. But the more you talk with your customer, the more feedback you're getting, the more of a general sensus of okay, actually, I've been asked about this a few times now. Yeah, okay, the weightings there, that's definitely where there's going to be a demand, and I feel like I can back this and it feels right for my product, and I feel supported with this. Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_02 12:58

Yeah, no, it's incredible. So, how did you go about choosing the scents in the first place? Is there was there a particular reason why you launched with a certain range, or how did that come about?

SPEAKER_00 13:07

I honestly must have gone through so many different fragrances to see yeah, and it just really in the end, I think I said at the start, was you know, they were ones that I liked, but it was enough of a kind of differentiation, that's the right word, across the board in terms of what they all offered. So, you know, if you take sage sea salt, that's one of the more lighter, real fresh fragrances. Honestly, if you haven't cleaned your house and you need and you can't be bothered to clean your house, just pop a wax mount on of the sage sea salt, and it gives you the feeling that you've got a clean house. It's amazing. Just don't just keep your eyes closed, just stay look up. So you've got that, but then you've got things like the black pomegranate, which is a bit more of the deeper one. Exactly, yeah. And it's a case of also what fragrances work in different rooms, because probably in your bedroom, you're not going to want something that's of the kind of heavier fragrance. I always have my signature fragrance E in there just because it's light, it's got the top notes of a bit of fruit, bit of bergamot, but then it's really nicely balanced out with kind of jasmine and patuli, like white sort of flowers. So, yeah, it's a lot of trial and error, I think. It's going through a lot of different fragrances and just working out what will fit together within the collection. And then you must have an incredible nose. Yeah, you tend to hilariously when people walk into my room, into my house, they always go, Oh, it smells amazing in here. And genuinely, like a lot of the fragrances now I struggle to smell myself. Yeah, you end up going a bit nose blind. When it's fragrances that I've had in the collection for ages, so I quite often, because I use all my products around my own home, I really try to do a bit of a cycle of as to what I've got and what rooms I've got them in, just so I can keep smelling them. I think a lot of it is my full-time job is in the wine industry, and there's a lot of sort of similarities in the terms of it's about the fragrance notes. Obviously, I'm not drinking the oils. There's a lot behind the different notes and the different components of the fragrances.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

So you're mixing these yourself, so you're getting the sort of the straight ones and then you're mixing them, or do you buy them already mixed and then you work out which ones you're liking?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Yeah, so they're all bought pre-made. I can mix them if I wanted to and to make more uh bespoke fragrances, but at the moment I just don't have time to see uh to do that. So yeah, at the moment I I do a lot of research in terms of looking at what the notes are at the start anyway. Yeah, and then in I buy in a load of testers and then just go through them all. Smell them.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

I'm guessing similar to how you do it with wine that you mentioned, that you're not going around mixing your wines to make a whole new bottle of wine for yourself. Like you are again, it's like reading the tasting notes, right? You're reading, like, okay, what's in this wine and what makes this taste good, smell good, like what are the properties that it have, and you're applying those same principles very much as you're saying to actually candle making. I think that's a really nice synergy. Um, that you've got this skill for understanding sense and tastes and how different components can really complement each other.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's such a nice, oh my gosh, it's such an incredible thing to be packaging up. I'm just really living in what you just said about the moment, smells being about moments and how they make people feel. I think that's so important, isn't it? And often, you know, some of the bigger fragrance companies like sell out that, don't they? And they don't necessarily think about that so much, which is what's the beauty of the smaller fragrance businesses, you know, that you've still got that personal thought process behind it.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Yeah, absolutely. And I think this is from the very start, it's, you know, of course, I want to grow my business, but I want to grow it in a way where it always keeps the values that I want within it. You know, I would rather grow slower and ensure that everything is, you know, what I set out for this brand to be, um, than to lose that along along the way. And so yeah, it's part of that, the personal side of it. It's part of the reason why everything, you know, there's still small batch made. It makes sure that I can, you know, fully quality control. I know every single product that that leaves the store is the same quality as the last batch that I made.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

Yeah, no, absolutely, absolutely. So tell us a bit more about the actual development process. So we obviously mentioned that you're hampouring in your in your studio that you're actually in right now, which looks incredible with jars in the background. Um yeah, tell us a bit more about that and how that works.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

Depends on what I'm making. The probably the longest process of the products that I make are the wax melts. So I have a big wax melter. When I first started, I was literally so jugs that you can see just behind me here, I was putting putting those into then a pot a saucepan of water, and I was making it all on the hops. So that's how it originally started. It was so small batch made that it was actually in the kitchen on the hops. So, yeah, a little bit easier now because I can do it a lot more at the same time. But yeah, it's a case of I have the molds for the wax melts, and it's either I have the bars or small circles for discovery melts. And a thing about uh when you're making wax melts, and this is the same for candles as well, is a lot of it is down to temperature. So, you know, if you're out on temperature, that can completely mess up the badges. So I have to make sure I'm actually concentrating when I'm doing it, and sometimes I do lose a bit of concentration and have to start again. But yeah, it's all called, I know the oils have to be added in at the right points. If they are added in too early and the wax is too hot, it can burn off the oil, so then you don't get any fragrance. If they are added in when the wax is too cool, uh, it can create issues when you're actually trying to set or cure the wax. And then it's for tanicles. This is probably the longest point. I actually put dried uh botanicals into all of my wax melts. So if you ever see, if I show you actually discovery melts to give them a little bit more of a so you can see which ones which the one so when it starts like setting slightly, then each individual one has got all the botanicals that are put on, and then you leave them to cure. The great thing with wax melts is they cure a little bit quicker than what candles do, and then you yeah, leave them and then obviously box them up and they're ready to go. The room sprays and the rediffuses, they're a bit more of a quicker process, but that's been a lot of kind of the trial and error as to working out the blends between kind of the bases, the carriers with the oils to make sure that you know they bond well, but also that they are long-lasting. I think you know, you you said in the intro, one of my massive frustrations uh was about how little time-wise that actually products were lasting. And I used to spend an absolute fortune on home fragrances, and this was with some fairly big, well-known home fragrance brands as well, and they'd smell amazing in the shop, and I'd get them home. And genuinely, a week later, I'd be like, I can't I can't smell them. And I did all the tricks, you know, flip the reeds over, give it a shake, you know, rebond it, and and just nothing, or it would run down really quickly. So after a month, it would be totally gone. And that's one thing that's really important to me is that you know, a read diffuser gets to somebody and it stands the test of time, so they can smell it. You know, it's a really good scent throw throughout the room, but also that last, I say to people that my rediffusers, I think on my packaging I've put up to three months. This is maybe when I was uh I wasn't as confident behind myself on it. But so many of my reviews say six months. I've had people saying they're still going after a year, which is great for them, it's terrible for me, but actually, you know, it's it's people have yeah, people are really happy with it and ultimately become really loyal customers and repeat customers because that they genuinely can see that the quality behind a product, um, but is actually, you know, a fraction of a price of what some of these bigger brands do. You know, I've been at markets before and people have come up to me and said, Oh, 34 pounds for a read diffuser, that's quite a lot. You know, I can go down to the supermarket and spend £12 on a read diffuser. And I always say to them, there is a real reason why you're spending £12 on. Reed diffuser, and you know, apart from the actual quality of it, so in terms of how long it will last, how much you will smell, it's actually a lot in terms of the ingredients that are put into it. Um, really not great, quite toxic ingredients at times. The same with candles as well, these ones that I mean pack a punch in terms of the smell, but a lot of the time are using paraffin wax, um, which again, you know, it's just things that you don't want in your household.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Yeah, I've almost been surprised how there hasn't yet been a huge amount of legislation that actually acknowledges that and actually how harmful some of these products that seem so simple, easy, safe actually are. And I I think almost like it's seen as a separate thing to have something. I feel like sometimes people don't always see the difference as you're saying as actually okay, spending a bit more, but actually having a really lovely quality product. I remember speaking with somebody that started has all the technical testing that basically says how brilliant it is, but didn't want to talk about it because they didn't want to feel like they were bad mouthing other companies. And I get that, but also I was like, we've got to start somewhere with educating and showing people actually there is a difference, and there actually are some products that aren't good for you because no one talks about it. There's this idea that all candles are relaxing, good for your well-being, and that's not necessarily the case.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I I don't know how factual this is, and I won't say the brand, but I was talking to another lady who runs a candle company, and she was telling me that you know that there is a big brand out there that actually sell in their products as being, you know, their candles at using soy wax, but actually are indeed using paraffin wax. And yeah, it's I think it's I do try to talk about that when I can and educate people on it because it is important. You know, people I often actually get asked, is it safe for my dog or is it safe for my cat? So I actually end up putting my dog on Instagram quite a lot just to go look, she's around, you know, I'm making it around her all the time, and I'm happy to do so because I know it's it's safe. But yeah, I think it's an important thing for people to start learning, to start checking labels. Um I mean, on all home fragrances, there is always a warning label. Um, you know, don't drink it, don't, you know, there's there's there's those kind of things. But if you really delve down into some of the other ones in terms of what ingredients are in there. Looking at the ingredients, definitely. Ones that you need to steer away from.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Yeah, and I think people are getting more attuned to doing that with food and with beauty products, you know, like definitely with food. If there's a load of ingredients on there that you've never even heard of, probably going to be very, very ultra-processed. But it's harder to do that for you know, just the general public when it's something like fragrances, because there may be some fragrances or names for things you don't know. But on the whole, are there any particular words that you know of that people should be careful of? I can never edit this bit out. I think but I just wondered before I said it, because I wondered whether it's just like I don't want to have because there's going to be things that bind it, but I'm assuming if a very natural product will literally say lavender, like lemon, whatever. But are there also like you need to have a certain amount of oil in it or a yeah?

SPEAKER_00 25:41

There's honestly the the names of half the things in there I can never pronounce. Pronounce. And if I start trying to say them.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

I think that's what makes it hard, is that there are definite elements within it that you wouldn't know because it's not something that comes naturally to you to know.

SPEAKER_00 25:59

Yeah, exactly. And it's like it's that thing as well of when you're trying to obviously market your brand and trying to educate people, it's not, you know, you're not doing it in a way that they're like it's not a science lesson, you know. I'm here because I I love the brand, or you know, I I love to treat myself or treat others and things like that. So there's that kind of balance of of kind of um, yeah. So but I think like an added benefit, basically, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Yeah. And you don't want to sort of go down the road of going, my products are better and these ones are awful, either, because you want to create a kind of like calm, you know, inviting message to your customers, right? And you're not, I mean, I used to hate that when some brands would come in and pitch to me as a buyer and they and they would start their pitch off by saying, How they're better than this up, this brand, this brand, this brand, this brand. And it just pits you off straight away.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Yeah, completely. Yeah. And I I also think that, you know, your your brand is your brand. Don't worry about what anyone else is is doing, you know, think about what you're about, what your values are about, how good your products are, and things like that. And just concentrate on what on what you're doing. Yeah. You know, the people will be interested because of that, what of what what you've created. Um, it's almost wasted energy talking about what other people aren't doing right. Um, you know, I mean, I know I've I've said a couple of bits, bits here on here, but I think it's just to kind of shape um the understanding of it all. But yeah, I think you've just got to stay in your lane, concentrate on you, and uh and it comes. Push that message out there, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:40

So I love that you're going with a real kind of organic growth. I think that I like, like you've said, although your products maybe, as you're saying, like people don't need to buy so frequently because they last them so long, they're gonna be buying them for gifts. Yeah, they're gonna be buying them for every room in their house. Like, actually, the year like the retention is there. So while you might not have the like high frequency, actually, you've got the commitment that they're gonna come back time after time and also spread the word, which is a much, much, much more meaningful way of going. Of like, as you talked about, scent being so personal and evoking that emotion and people feeling a connection to it is a much more natural way than just being like £12, get as many as you can.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. It's almost that thing. I mean, you know, they always say sort of when you're building a business, build that community, and and I think you know, I that's what I've been able to do. Um, you know, I mean, sometimes I I I do the do markets, and genuinely people come down to it and they're like, I saw you were doing it on Instagram, and you know, I've come down. It's amazing how many people I've met that you know, customers that I see their names all the time come through, or they pop me messages on on Instagram, and I'm always chatting away to them, but have never met these people. But I feel like I know them, and I think kind of vice versa. Um, and so that's that's always a really lovely thing. And and yeah, it's you know, I've I've got some customers that you know have been here right from the start, and you know, you see the amount of orders, you see the amount of of money that they spend with me, and it's incredible. Um, and you know, that's that's what I want. I don't want, you know, I mean, I do want thousands, thousands of people ordering from me, but it in terms of I would rather it be a smaller pool of people that are genuine, you know, almost like my brand. Really engaged. Yeah, like you know, we'll go out and I know a lot of my loyal uh customers tell their friends, they all they're always saying, Oh, we told my other friend here, or I get messages and say from people to say, I've just placed an order, my friend so-and-so told me about you. Um and that's what I want to build.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

Um, you know, so how did the branding come around? Sort of this you talk about, and Lindsay, you mentioned it too, about you know, this kind of calm and like sort of serene, and that's what it gives off. Is that what it was kind of is that that the feeling we're evoking with it? Because I'm getting it very strongly.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Yeah, oh thank you. Um, yeah, exactly. The do you know for me the packaging was was all or the whole branding. I mean, that's that's really the first point of it that came. Um, I mean, after the sort of various iterations of different names for it, um, and I landed on Eleanor London, I got to work in terms of of the logo and the colour palette and things like that. And I, I mean, I I I love the colour sort of like sage green and things like that, because I did I do think it does give you that feeling of calm. Um, but I sort of tried, I really tested with different styles of colour of that, which has actually become an absolute nightmare when it comes to printing, uh, because printers really struggle to get, no matter how much I send hex codes or RGB codes or anything like that. Oh, I've had all sorts come back, and I'm like, that is not my green. But we get there. But a lot of it is, you know, it's so important packaging in terms of that is the first thing that people are going to see. You know, as soon as they open that box, you know, that's the impression that they're gonna get, and that kind of sets sets the scene for the for the rest of it. Um, but also I wanted to create packaging or or design or a brand that was very min minimalist. Um, I think, you know, there were a lot of brands out there which I loved, I loved, loved the products, but actually the labels were really busy, or there was a design on it that I didn't particularly like. And I think I spent a lot of time either just sort of turning round products because I didn't want them on show, or you know, actually taking the labels off. And I wanted my products to be something that not only smelt great in people's homes, but actually looked good as well. Um, you know, or was easy just to fit into any interior. It sits there, it does its thing, and and and so so that was a lot of the thinking behind behind the branding.

SPEAKER_02 32:18

Yeah, yeah. No, I mean I I echo what Kate says. I I think the brand, I think that's what stood out to me first of all, to be honest with you, obviously, because we can't smell through Instagram. Um but yeah, it was just so clean and so lovely and so yeah, welcoming to any environment, really.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

Thank you. Yeah, it's been um, I mean, I'm not a graphic designer um in any shape or form. Uh so I've been I've been proud of the branding. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

Yeah, definitely. It stands strong, stands strong. So, what would you say was has been your favorite moment since launching the business? And I'm sure you've probably mentioned quite a lot of them already, you know, talking like sort of talking about your customers and all the amazing messages that you've got back from them. But has there been sort of one pivotal moment um where you're like, yes, this is great.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

I I've got this. I mean, look, there has been so many. I mean, if I, you know, the that first order. Um, but genuinely, I still get excited on every order I get, like I did that first order. But yeah, through the years, there's there's loads of little things that have just been amazing. Um, I think probably the most recent thing um was back in January. I applied for um an award. Um and I'd I thought about applying uh last year, and I've just thought, oh, I've just got no chance, I'm not gonna do it. And then this year I saw it again and I just thought, oh, do you know what? I'll just I'll just do it. You know, what what can I lose? I'm not gonna lose anything, I've not had to pay anything to apply. Um, you know, and I actually didn't tell anyone. I did the application and I just sent it off and that was it. I just totally forgot about actually genuinely forgot about that I'd actually applied. And then my parents were staying with me, and I was just about to drop them off at the train station because they live in Portugal, so they were heading home, and I got this email through, and I was like, oh my gosh, and I started reading it, and I had been shortlisted for the Consumer Product Startup of the Year award through UK Startup Awards, and I honestly I read this email and I got really teary. I was so kind of overwhelmed with happiness, almost that's I work all hours that I can on the business. You know, I do my full-time job, and then in the evenings, in the mornings, in the weekends, it's everything's about the business. And although obviously every time I get a lovely comment, every time I get an order, that's always validation of you know, you're doing something right, and it's an amazing feeling. But the award just really sort of cemented it. Um, it was a panel of judges that's obviously really in that space, and yeah, had sort of read everything about my story, everything that I was doing, and seen it. And um, yeah, so I mean I've not won, but I feel like I'm like genuinely celebrating like I have won. Um, the awards night is actually next week, next Thursday. And I I mean, I'm really competitive usually, and normally I'm like, this is all about the winning, it's not about the taking part. But this time, genuinely, I I'm excited to go. And if I win, obviously amazing. But if I don't, honestly, it's a massive win. So so I think this year that's probably been one of the most exciting things that's that's happened this year. It just feels like the brand's being recognized a bit more for it's sort of like a lot of it.

SPEAKER_02 35:52

Yeah. Exciting. That's so cool. Where's the award ceremony?

SPEAKER_00 35:56

It's actually in Oxford, in a cinema. Um, so it'll be yeah, it'd be different, but really excited. Um, again, a bit nervous about it. Ultimately, it's going to be a really good networking event for my business as well. I'll probably take some products and just stop getting it. Put them on the tables.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

Yeah, yeah. Put them in, put them in the loo.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

Put them in the loo.

SPEAKER_02 36:21

Um, yeah, no, I mean, we always find trade shows are actually really good places for that, especially for the brands that exhibit there, because they all then mingle with each other and they um get advice from each other. And you know, you need to have your own community, don't you, to sort of ask each other and like share knowledge and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 36:39

Absolutely. I think that's the thing with running a small business, is sometimes, particularly if it is just you, it's you're you know, running it every aspect of it, it can sometimes kind of feel a bit um lonely. And you've met so many amazing um small business owners, particularly female business owners, like incredible brands that they've they've built. And it's great because you we can just bounce different ideas off, or you feel like you have just having a bit of a rubbish day. You've got somebody to talk to that actually understands, and yeah, so that that kind of that's another part of the community building that I just I just love is is other people that are in it, are slogging it, and doing amazing things with it as well.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

For sure, it's amazing. So, what's the future look like? What do you where where do you want to see yourself now, Jackin? Where where do you want to take the brand and what's what's yeah, what's sort of the next year your ambition, next year's ambitions?

SPEAKER_00 37:38

So obviously keep continuing to grow it. I mean, last year I grew the business up to six percent year on year. So it's doing that, but a lot more, I think, this year. I've sort of changed a bit of direction in certain things that I'm doing. So I've stripped back a little bit on all the markets that I'm doing, and it's so I can spend a lot more time on the D2C side of it, really getting the website working. So there's that part, growing the wholesale side of the business. It's one of those things with wholesale where obviously you margin, the amount of money that you're actually getting from them is smaller, but obviously the volumes are there. But it's also being able to get my products around the UK where I can't get to, where I can't always be. I'd love to really open up to other markets. I think that's one thing recently, one of my posts. I mean, it I don't I wouldn't say it went viral, but in terms of my posts, it went went fairly viral. So I got gained a lot of new followers from it. And a lot of them I've had messages from people in Brazil, people in Sweden, South Africa, and all of them going, how can I get I've just been on to your to your website, I can't buy the products. I'm like, oh, I don't sell sell outside of the UK. So I think that's something that I need to to look into this year, but it's just it's just growing it, just getting it out into getting more people to find out about the brand, but making sure that my loyal customers are really looked after along the way. Um, and launching candles. It will be the business will be three years in November, and I'm determined that by autumn I will have I'll be launching a candle collection.

SPEAKER_02 39:30

That's so exciting. And is there any particular retailers that you'd love to see yourself in?

SPEAKER_00 39:35

Oh sorry putting you on the spot there. So yeah, no, I mean look, I I love all a lot of the the independent retailers. I um I think for a first off, in terms of ease of getting in into places, there's lots of like independent shops that I'd love to see my brand in. Um I think as well because there's that real alignment with what I do, who I am. And a lot of these independent shops are run by females or males or whatever that you know are trying to run a family at the same time as run the shop and things like that. So there is that part. The bigger ones, uh do you know? I mean, I I've always loved Oliver Bonus. I think it's a really cool shop that they're gonna be. Um and and I th I think I think they could do with some help on the home fragrances. Yeah, that'd be the smell of some of those, but but yeah, I think I I don't know. It's it's I suppose with a a lot of what I do in the business, I'm still trying to build that self-confidence in me that that I can do it, and it's and it and it's building over time. So when I think about what shops do I want to be in, yeah, the likes of John Lewis would be amazing, those real sort of big ones. But then then that sort of the imposter syndrome sort of starts coming in and starts going, well, you're not gonna be able to do that, they're not gonna be interested in you and things like that. So then that I think that's what then stops me from actually moving forward. And I know sometimes you just gotta go have those conversations, apply for those awards, and you just where that's got you.

SPEAKER_02 41:18

There you go. Yeah, yeah, for sure. But it's all about confidence, and I think you should take an incredible amount of confidence from all of the customer feedback that you've been getting, all the feedback we got from our events. It you're building something really, really lovely, organically and authentic, you know. And I was just also really amazed at how much knowledge you've got from from the fragrance side of things. You really sound like you've been doing this for 10 years, you know, from self-taught, I assume.

SPEAKER_00 41:46

So yeah, it's just, I mean, as say at the start, those first three years, I did a lot of research on on everything from all the different types of waxes, all the different types of oils, everything like that. I've I've put myself into I've invested a lot of into myself in the business. If I see that there is a course from somebody that's you know has been in the in the industry for a very long time and is teaching everything, I usually pay for it. I'm like, I'm there, I need to learn more. But by read up, I'm still learning, but but I think I think it's important to understand what you're doing, understand the products that you're you're selling. Because I think if you don't, I don't think anyone else is gonna really sort of get it.

SPEAKER_01 42:32

So yeah, absolutely. What's your favourite product and what's your best seller? And are they aligned?

SPEAKER_00 42:38

Oh, it's like asking me who my favourite child is. I I would have to say my well, my my favourite product. Oh, that is tough actually, because I was gonna say my my read diffusers, but then I do love my my discovery melts. But no, I'm gonna go with the read diffusers, and the reason being is because they're sl so low maintenance. You get them out of the packaging, you pop the reads in, you put them on the side, and they do their thing. You know, all I say is every so often flip the reads, like once a week or every couple of weeks, and they just do the thing. And every time you walk into the room, you just get the sort of waft of the fragrance, and it's lovely. What's your favorite fragrance? My see that really it's it's such a mood thing. Um I mean, I I love my signature fragrance, E, because it's I I mean, I think I put it in the product description, it's kind of like everything that is Eleanor London. But but yeah, I just it's it's so down to how I'm feeling that day, what I want. If I get if I pick up a discovery box, the fragrance that I'm selecting is just where I want to be at that that point.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:52

Um so but if if if if I really have to choose one, I would say my signature fragrance. your best seller as well or so that yeah that's that's been up there I mean if I I looked actually uh last week and the for the read diffusers the the top sellers are e uh lime basil mandarin and sage sea salt or was it black pomeg pomegranate should know this I think it was sage sea salt.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

And I guess that kind of changes maybe through the year different seasons as you say like depending on how people are feeling and kind of the what's happening externally is kind of impacting the sort of fragrance people might want to be having. Yeah I really love of yours and I feel it's really different. Are the car fragrances? Yeah because I don't feel like many brands offer it. And when I think of car fragrance and wanting my car to smell nice because let's face it it's an extension of your house a lot of the time because amount of time some people do spend in their cars. And I always think of having to go down to Halford's and get one of their kind of like very sickly scented jelly beans or something like that. And it's actually really lovely to know that you offer car fragrance in a really lovely scent that you actually want to smell rather than like a the pine fresh true pine fresh panderine or something. It's something you actually want to be surrounded by while you're sort of driving along.

SPEAKER_00 45:27

I find as well those fragrances I got my car cleaned the other week and they always drop in one of their their freshness and honestly it almost sort of gives me a bit of a headache. Yeah and I think it's it's that sort that's that's the synthetic fragrances. They're the ones you kind of don't want and and like you say a lot of it's quite sickly sweet and but I'm glad you said actually about the kind of the extension from your home in in into the car. It's we do all spend a lot of time I mean I I commute for for my full-time job into the office and I can be on the road for for two two and a half hours sometimes to to get there. So it's yeah it's that kind of again bringing that the calmness or the maybe the uplifting sort of side of it into it. And I think the the design's just a little bit nicer than the than the the Christmas tree shapes or the jelly beans.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

So yeah they and they've done so well the the car diffusers are yeah amazing I mean every time I go to the markets they always sell out it just feels like it's not a natural move for a lot of brands to think of to be like oh I do you might do the candles you might do diffusers you might do wax melts and you kind of like think of that being a capsule collection. When you're thinking about other points I don't feel like many go into car fragrance and I just think it is so innovative and genius.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Thank you. Do you know as well what I found with it is it's it almost targets a lot of a wide a wider cast of different demographics of people. So a lot of a lot of with my home fragrances it's it's as you would think it's it's females with my brand I've kind of built it and I sit probably around the the 35 40 to 50 kind of age age bracket. It's people who really care about their homes and want to treat themselves or want to gift to other people. The cars I've the car diffusers I've just found have just been such a sort of broad brush I had an 18 year old boy or lad a man I should say if he's 18 buy from me at a market and he actually strangely he went for the signature fragrance which is I I suppose a bit more of the f feminine side of fragrances and it it's it's all the time it's it's just it's just men it's women different age age ranges it's but it's it's amazing actually to see.

SPEAKER_02 47:52

So so yeah I love that and it yeah it's thinking about those kind of new product areas and thinking okay what are my opportunities and where can I go with this and that just feels like a very key one I'm excited to see the candles that you bring out and what they're like and then any other future product opportunities where they may be yes it's uh yeah watch the space I think uh there's a lot in my head there's a lot on paper I just need to get it done now but uh yeah I'm really excited for for what's ahead for for the business for the brand yeah it's um super exciting year ahead definitely absolutely amazing well thank you so much for joining us we uh we've absolutely loved talking to you and it's just so nice to talk to brands that are really organically driven and there's so much expertise and knowledge in there and yeah we will share all your links to your socials and website in our show notes so anybody can go on and I really would recommend purchasing especially the wax melts I've got the wax melts Kate I think you've got a read diffuser haven't you and honestly they are just such incredible scents so please go purchase and yeah I'd go for a discovery box because it's so hard to choose one of the scents but definitely get a discovery box choose one and then get a discovery box to see what your next scent might be.

SPEAKER_01 49:10

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 49:10

Thanks Elena have a good week next soon bye bye if you've enjoyed listening to this episode please please please like and subscribe and leave a review and if you already have thank you thank you thank you we all need a bit of retail therapy and this is the perfect time for you to offload about that super cringeworthy story. We would love to hear from you all your funny stories and experiences or even any dilemmas and maybe we can help or at least find someone who can and don't worry we will keep these anonymous and remove any names and brands we would also love to hear from you on any topics you would like us to talk about please send all of these into buyingandbeyondgmail.com or drop us a DM for our Instagram page at buying and beyond Kate are you a drama queen? No drama just makes things interesting that's true all these thoughts and opinions are our own and based on our own experiences working for a wide variety of retailers these are all in the hope to entertain and educate and not to reflect negatively on any place we currently or have previously worked.