Sophisticated scents using 100% soy wax
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WHO ARE YOU?
Olivia Burns founder of Olivia’s Haven; I am a marketing and branding expert who wants to build a global, luxury modern brand with a focus on illustration and storytelling amplified through digital channels, particularly social media.
WHAT did you do ?
At 21, following completion of a degree in Marketing and Management from Newcastle University, I made the journey south to London with my university pals to start my career in marketing. For almost 10 years, I worked in both big global companies and smaller start-ups helping them with their marketing strategies, campaigns, and branding - yet I still had a desire to create my own brand from start to finish.
HOW did you do it?
I have always been a self-confessed candle lover but in January 2019 my fascination with the link between scent and how it helped me to recall my own memories grew. I started experimenting with wax and fragrance oils as I strove to create the ultimate range of scented candles inspired by my own scent memories.
WHEN did you start your company?
Olivia’s Haven is a digital-first, luxury home fragrance brand based on the North Coast of Northern Ireland. Having launched in February 2020 as the world was going into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Olivia’s Haven soon eschewed the traditional wholesale business model, withdrew from all existing retail accounts, and instead pursued an innovative but challenging direct-to-consumer strategy. Selling the range exclusively through the company’s own e-commerce website.
As a lifelong candle lover, I felt like there was space for luxury candles with fresh, sophisticated scents at an accessible price point. Building an immersive and sensorial brand experience for Olivia’s Haven is important to me and has brought me so much joy and fulfilment on so many levels - I hope everyone gets as much pleasure out of experiencing the collection as I do in creating each product.
WHY are you innovating with this product or service?
The starting place for creating any new scent is the story; every scent has to have a very special reason for making it into the collection. The beautiful stories behind each scent combination is told on the box and brought to life with playful and colourful designs.
Meticulously crafted, each candle is hand-poured, vegan friendly and made using 100% soy wax. Beautifully contained in stylish white matt vessels, the glass tumblers are designed to be reusable (from a hairband to a make-up brush holder) which means you can still enjoy Olivia’s Haven long after the candle is finished.
In just two years in business Olivia’s Haven has enjoyed lots of successes including being nominated for multiple awards and features in The Daily Telegraph, Good Housekeeping and Forbes to name a few.
On top of this the business reached a big milestone in June 2021 when we took on a new 5,000 sq. ft premises to help us support the demand and added 8 people to the Olivia’s Haven team.
WHERE are you from?
Born and raised in Coleraine, Northern Ireland where my business is also based. My childhood was an extremely happy one and all of my memories serve as personal inspiration for my candles’ scents, stories, and brand aesthetic.
INDUSTRY: Home Fragrances
SOCIAL MEDIA :
SOCIAL MEDIA :
https://www.instagram.com/olivias_haven/
https://www.facebook.com/oliviashavenni
https://www.linkedin.com/company/olivias-haven/
