‘Fragrance connected me to a grandmother I never knew’
Stories Parfums is the luxury fragrance brand founded by Tonya Kidd-beggs, 50. Tonya lives just outside of Belfast with husband Ian and children Zak, 24, Ethan,
19, and twins Beth and Grace, 14.
THE IDEA
I worked in admin, then became a full-time mum. As my youngest girls got older, I had time to do something for me. I’d always loved luxury perfume and felt it connected me to who I am, as well as to others. I had never met my grandmother, but as a child I had played with her fragrance and jewellery, so through this I felt I knew her. As Grasse in France is the hub of the fragrance world, I rang some fragrance houses there and found one that would let me work there for a couple of weeks. I thought I’d come away with a bespoke fragrance and a new hobby, but the experience was more significant. I’d had a trauma aged 12 and, as a result, had blocked out many
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childhood memories. The scents had unlocked my past, connecting me to happy events. I wanted to share this powerful way of uniting people with their emotions, memories and wellbeing.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
It took another four years to launch my brand, using savings to finance the project. My husband thought I was mad, as
I had no experience in the industry. I started the slow process of finding the right people to work with, taking the two fragrances I’d blended (No 1 and No 2) to London, going to packaging shows and sourcing bottles. One of the key steps was finding a consultant who specialised in luxury beauty. I finally launched the brand as Stories by Eliza Grace (named after my girls), in 2018. We quickly became established, but the name was confusing to people, so we rebranded the following year as Stories Parfums.
BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT
In our first six months we launched in Harvey Nichols in Manchester and Dublin. Within a year we were in Fenwick and Fortnum & Mason.
STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE
Entering an industry I knew nothing about was difficult. Another challenge was sourcing a sustainable supply chain.
WHERE I AM NOW
We have grown online sales more than 400% in the past three years. We now produce hand and body lotions, and have perfumes No 3 and 4, plus candles coming soon. In lockdown, I set up a VIP scent club, where customers were sent perfume samples and I talked them through each one on Zoom. We’ve now taken this on the road. Our products are available in Europe, Russia and Israel. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I think about how far I’ve come.
BUSINESS BREAKDOWN
✢ Start-up costs: £40,000, comprising…
Research and development £15,000
Packaging £10,000
Marketing £15,000
✢ Current turnover: £500,000 storiesparfums.com