59. Urban Apothecary

Founder: Tajinder Banwait
Founded: January 2012
Website: urbanapothecarylondon.com

The brainchild of female entrepreneur Tajinder Banwait, Urban Apothecary began at Banwait’s kitchen table after she had found it impossible to find the perfect unique candle holder and decided to design her own. Having launched the business in 2012, Urban Apothecary has come a long way from its kitchen origins and now stocks its luxury homeware products, which include decorative glass and home fragrances, in 26 John Lewis stores, and on the shelves of Fenwick, Bergdorf Goodman and a number of independent stores.

By 2015, Banwait plans to double the number of stockists to 100 and with additional John Lewis deals in the pipeline, turnover is set to increase to over £1m. Claiming to be the first of its kind in the UK, the burgeoning company is carving out a niche for itself in the extremely lucrative candle market with unique fragrances such as the Sweet William fragrance; an ode to Prince William and Kate’s royal wedding. Currently operating on a wholesale and retail basis, the lifestyle brand has two additional revenue streams planned for the coming year including contract manufacturing for third party clients and a new division focusing on international distributors. International expansion is also on the cards.