This is the first in our ‘Brand Q&A’ blog series, where we bring you the inspirational stories behind our Interior Images brand partners.
Join us as we catch-up with Jackie Ashley to discover more about the ethos and inspiration behind Ashely & Co and its beautiful products. Read on to learn about Jackie’s vision for creating luxurious, functional, and sustainable products that will elevate your guest experience.
Q: You describe Ashley & Co as a ‘modern-day scent company’. Tell us about this.
A: Our main purpose is to create daily moments of joy, peace and tranquillity through the power of scent, and habitual positive rituals. We believe well-made scents with care and purpose applied, can soothe and heal. We’re not defined by just one category and have always used scent to cross different barriers. We love creatively connecting with our customers and improving each part of their day!
Q: How would you describe the products you create?
A: We believe in deep scent loyalty. Rather than mass-produced products for everyone, we make products that can breathe new life into the home and everyone in it. Our customers know and understand that Ashley & Co creates consistent timeless products for them, their most used spaces and beyond.
Q: Can you tell us what inspired you to start Ashley & Co?
A: Scent-filled moments from my past have a significant place in my memory bank. For Ashley & Co. its foundations were about melding together my love of scent and interiors and creating beautiful, functional products for the home. When we launched, we’d just moved into our first home and I drew inspiration from that environment, but also from past travels and products that I’d experienced and loved.
Q: What sets you and your products apart?
A: The Ashley & Co. range includes a breadth of products from Home Fragrance through to everyday Skincare, Hair and Body Care, as well as growing Kitchen and Petcare categories. Our intent is for people to be able to access and enjoy our scent-focused products every day, both at home and in travel, setting us apart from the competitor set.
Q: What are your most popular products for hotels and why do you think that is?
A: Our focus is primarily on increasing our use of more sustainable plastics and converting our customers to purchasing bulk refills for our everyday range of 500ml bottles, which include Handwash and Body Lotion for the sink, and shower amenities including Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Wash. We aim to make solutions simple but of the highest quality. It’s important for a hotel’s guests to have accessible, trusted formulations and products, with the assurance that these are also sold at a retail level in premium stores.
Q: What do you think your products bring to a property’s guest experience?
A: Scent holds a precious position in our lives, it’s the vehicle through which we find our sense of familiarity and pleasure. For us, every scent experience is as crucial to well-being as shared moments of human connection, whether it be at home or away.
Q: You place importance on ease of reuse and recycling – can you tell us a little more about that?
A: By no means do we claim to have perfected everything but our customers appreciate our thoughtful, considered design ethos that has led to a suite of unique, bespoke forms, always contained in premium yet mindful packaging. Our sustainability credentials are also a key reason for our customers to re-purchase, not only for the reliability of our formulations and production but reflected in TopUp – our range of refills that is currently our fastest-growing category.
Q: How do you test the effectiveness of your products?
A: Our products are made in Auckland and are Cosmetics NZ GMP Certified. This means that our products are manufactured using processes and procedures set out by Cosmetics NZ and International Standard. The raw ingredients used in our formulations are primarily sourced within New Zealand and a network of premium, select cosmetic ingredient suppliers from a sustainable network abroad. We choose to use ingredients for their botanical benefits some of which are New Zealand-sourced, distilled and infused including native KawaKawa and Horopito.
Q: What inspires the new products you create?
A: I continue to ask myself when looking at new products or categories – does this creatively connect with our community through the power of scent and genuinely create pockets of pleasure throughout their day? For me, a product would not come to fruition if I couldn’t see it having a place and purpose in my day as being both practical and uplifting!
Q: What is the proudest moment on your journey so far?
A: Here at Ashley & Co, we feel grateful to have been so supported by our community since the get-go. We like to return support to the people around us, as well as choosing specific groups and charities with which to collaborate – one of those is Cure Kids. We developed a close friendship with the leading Cure Kids ambassador, Eva, a very inspiring young woman. After a collaborative period of R&D, in 2020 we launched two new products developed very much around Eva’s wishes and her playful spirit. Wonder Washup and Soothe & Zap were sold through retail, Ashley & Co. online and corporate partners. We managed a result to be proud of; after this initial collaboration, we generated donations that exceeded all expectations for Cure Kids and their ongoing work surrounding child health research.
Q: What trends are you seeing in the amenities space?
A: Assurance that the formulations are quality, using ethically sourced ingredients and credentials that meet their sustainability expectations – whether this is in tubes and the content that these are made of being recycled, post-consumer plastic, bioplastic, or larger bottles and amenities that can be refilled.
Limiting paper and outer soft packaging waste is also on trend with a movement towards less soft plastic outers to sustainably sourced and FSC-certified outer packaging. All are balanced with careful consideration to maintain the luxury experience of a premium product.
Q: Why did you choose to work with Interior Images?
A: I feel Interior Images and Ashley & Co have similar core values – both started by Women with a passion! My first encounter with Interior Images was a personal phone call from Val. Val’s enthusiasm and passion for her business were clearly evident. To me, Interior Images represents a brand that has created a very loyal following and like us, plans to keep growing and responding to our community’s needs, while still adhering to our strong values and commitment to quality, reliability, and positivity.
Explore the Ashley & Co range available through Interior Images, https://interior-images.com.au/ashleyco/
