The sweet smell of success for Birkenhead business

But back in May 2021, Owen Drew Luxury Candles secured £50,000 investment from retail boss Toulker Suleyman after appearing on the BBC programme and the Birkenhead business has gone from strength to strength.

Here, in our latest Trader of the Week feature, owner Michael Skeggs tells us how they’ve grown the business from their kitchen in Wallasey and how pitching for the dragons has led to ambitions of having their products available for customers to buy at some of the biggest retail brands in the country.

If you would like to be our Trader of the Week, email heidi.summerfield@newsquest.co.uk

Owen Drew Luxury Candles owner Mike Skeggs

What’s the name of the business?

Owen Drew Luxury Candles

What’s the address?

Unit 2 Priory Point, St Mary’s Gate, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 5HU

Are you the owner/manager?

Yes, I’m the owner.

When did you open the business?

I opened the business in 2016.

The perfect bath experience

Has it always been in the same location?

No, we have had various premises in Birkenhead. We started in our kitchen in Wallasey.

Are you local to the area? Did you grow up here?

Yes, I grew up locally and still live in Wirral.

Tell me a bit about your business

Owen Drew is a multi-award-winning niche fragrance brand based in Birkenhead. We produce a range of natural soy wax candles, room mists and wax melts entirely by hand using artisan methods of craftsmanship. Owen Drew successfully pitched for investment on BBC One Dragons' Den in May 2021.

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Calming room mist

What do you do? What services do you provide?

We make luxury home fragrance products and perfumes.

Why did you decide to open your own business?

Owen Drew was born of an idea to create cleaner candles that are cruelty free and made of vegan soy wax that won’t leave soot on your walls and ceiling like cheaper paraffin candles do.

What’s your business background?

I don’t have a background in business. Before Owen Drew I worked in finance.

Why this type of business?

We stumbled into it. We had an idea to make things for ourselves and then started selling to friends and family. We had open days in our living room where strangers would come and buy from us! It grew from there!

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect your business?

We were open before the pandemic and managed to stay open throughout lockdowns. It has been an incredibly difficult time to operate a business and required us all to be super flexible and creative to keep going.

A white orchid candle

What makes your business different to others in the same area/field? What sets your business apart from your competitors?

We pride ourselves on our customer service and we have hundreds of five-star reviews which attest to this. Everything we make is created by hand by a small team and we all take great pride in what we produce. This means we have a popular product range that our customers love to recommend to their friends and family.

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Owen Drew candles are cleaner, cruelty free and made of vegan soy wax

Why do loyal customers return to your business?

We focus on customer service and building relationships with our customers making sure the experience of purchasing from us is personalised. We always try to make sure our customers fell well looked after.

What’s next? What do the next few months hold for you and your business?

We have just undergone a rebrand after securing investment on Dragons Den, so we are hoping to have products available in some big retail branches soon. We’ve also got plans to develop our product range.