Stand: Hall 4, Stand B13
CEO Doug Wren reflects on the heritage of Parks Candles, and how a renewed focus on manufacturing, innovation, and selective retail partnerships is shaping the brand’s future
What is the history of Parks Candles?
Parks Candles is a British, family-run home fragrance brand that began life as a side-street gift shop in 1989. From those modest beginnings, the business has grown into a globally recognised and much-loved name, known for its focus on quality. Our success is rooted in our dedication to crafting and delivering top-quality, eco-friendly home fragrance.
In January 2024, we welcomed new ownership and partnered with Home Fragrance Fillers UK Ltd, a prominent UK producer and manufacturer. This marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter for us.
With new directors at the helm, Parks Candles is undergoing a transformation to revitalise our beloved English brand. We’re reshaping our product line-up to cater to a diverse range of stockists, including garden centres, independent shops, and other premium retailers.
Tell us a bit about Home Fragrance Fillers UK.
Home Fragrance Fillers UK Ltd is a well-established home fragrance and candle manufacturer based in a purpose-built, state-of-the-art factory in Hartlebury, where we have a fully equipped development and research department.
All our fragrances are developed in-house, with all products manufactured in the Hartlebury factory. We currently produce own-label brands for a number of premium retailers and companies throughout Europe.
What is Parks Candles’ USP?
• Best-in-class product engineering: 100% natural wax proprietary blend, refined over decades to achieve a natural wax blend that outperforms paraffin, without using fragrance-free cores.
• Coreless Clean Burn technology: Ultimately, it’s all about the fragrance and achieving a clean, even burn with a consistent, pure fragrance dispersion that customers love – and keep coming back for. All our candles use Coreless Clean Burn technology, a trusted technology developed by Parks.
• Alcohol-free diffusers and room sprays: longer lasting than alcohol-based equivalents, and no export restrictions.
• Made in England: manufacturing is supported by rigorous quality control and accreditation, including ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and Sedex compliance. With ingredients sourced from around the world, manufacturing in the heart of England guarantees tightly controlled local quality control throughout the entire process.
What will the Spring launch look like?
We will launch with four distinctive collections: “Vintage”, “Classic”, “Country Garden”, and “Winter’s Tale”. Each has a comprehensive product range of candles, from our Mini Votive through to our luxury 650gm 3 Wick Candle – all presented in quality glass vessels and complemented by our award-winning Discovery Set. This launch will be supported by a range of UK-manufactured Reed Diffusers.
How will you service UK trade customers?
We will launch at Spring Fair with a purpose-built stand that reflects the quality the brand deserves, supported by a new trade website and a full suite of retail solutions to support our stockists.
The Parks Candles’ brand will be underpinned by a focused market strategy designed to enhance its presence within the premium retail sector. We will not be everywhere, choosing quality over quantity.
Georgina Silver has joined us from Yankee Candle as sales manager. She brings a wealth of experience and will be supported by a team of established, high-quality agents. We still have some areas vacant for those interested.
The senior team will also be supported by a very established sales & marketing director with more than 45 years’ experience in the market, to guide me and my fellow directors over the coming years.
Call: 0207 3433726
Email: sales@parkscandleslondon.com
Visit: www.parkscandleslondon.com