Press & Media - UK Business Available for Comment
Independent UK Retail Business Available for Comment
Parkminster Home Fragrance Company is an independent British candle and home fragrance business founded in 2010 by Krystyna Patey in Sussex, South East England.
Today, the company operates from a rural location in Cornwall and employs a local rural team producing and supplying home fragrance products for customers across the UK.
Having traded continuously for more than 16 years through major economic and social changes — including post-recession recovery, Brexit, Covid lockdowns and the current cost-of-living crisis — we are able to offer a genuine frontline perspective on changing consumer behaviour in the UK retail sector.
Over the past two years in particular, we have seen a significant decline in consumer confidence and disposable income, especially within discretionary spending categories such as home fragrance, gifting and lifestyle purchases.
A Unique View of UK Consumer Spending
Parkminster Home Fragrance Company operates across both wholesale and direct-to-consumer retail, giving us a broad and unusually detailed view of changing UK shopping trends.
Approximately 50% of our business comes from wholesale supply to more than 100 independent retailers across the UK, including:
- gift shops
- florists
- garden centres
- boutiques
- independent lifestyle retailers
The remaining 50% of sales come directly through our ecommerce website, which ranks strongly on Google for highly competitive search terms including candles and reed diffusers.
This combination gives us insight into:
- independent high street performance
- changing online consumer behaviour
- customer confidence and discretionary spending
- retail pricing sensitivity
- seasonal retail trends
- the pressures facing small independent businesses
Areas We Can Comment On
We are available for interviews, quotes and commentary relating to:
- declining discretionary spending
- changing customer buying habits
- inflation and rising retail costs
- consumer confidence in the UK economy
- independent retail challenges
- gift and home fragrance retail trends
- ecommerce and online retail behaviour
- high street trading conditions
- the realities facing small UK businesses in 2025–2026
What We Are Seeing
Some of the major changes we have observed include:
- lower average order values
- increased customer caution around non-essential spending
- fewer impulse purchases
- greater price sensitivity
- customers shopping less frequently
- stronger reliance on promotions and seasonal purchasing
- independent retailers becoming increasingly cautious with stock purchasing
As a business operating across both wholesale and ecommerce, we often see changes in customer confidence and retail demand long before official economic data reflects them.
About Parkminster Home Fragrance Company
Parkminster Home Fragrance Company creates British-made candles and home fragrance products including:
- candles
- reed diffusers
- room sprays
- wax melts
- seasonal gift collections
The company was founded by Krystyna Patey in Sussex in 2010 and now operates from Cornwall with a rural team serving customers and independent retailers throughout the UK.
Media Enquiries
Krystyna Patey
Founder – Parkminster Home Fragrance Company
Telephone: 01326 352053
Email: info@parkminster.co.uk
Professional photographs, product imagery and additional company information are available on request.