Verve chatted to Olivia about her journey in the business, and some hot tips for gift giving.
What was your original inspiration behind starting Taken Care Of?
In 2011 my family was affected by the Christchurch earthquake. Since those fateful months, our family and friends have relocated, not only all over New Zealand, but the globe. At one point, I had extended family it the South Island, a brother in Berlin, brother and sister in Sydney, Mum and Dad in the North Island and I was living in Sweden.
So many situations arose during this time where I wished I could have sent a gift to let my loved ones know I was thinking of them, but I simply couldn’t find anything that represented my personal style or taste that was quite up to scratch.
I have always absolutely adored wrapping paper, (I used to colour coordinate all of our Christmas presents under the tree every year) and more importantly, being so personal with every gift I gave, no matter how big or small. It felt like a little something was missing in the gift boxing industry, the care, sentiment and personal meaning, that every single gift is different and should be curated intentionally for that person.
Tell us about the beginning and what it was like starting your own business from scratch?
I was extremely lucky to start Taken Care Of with my incredible business partner and Mum, Vicki. She has started and sold multiple hugely successful businesses and her knowledge, experience and support was fundamental in the conception and starting of TCO. I think I may have still gone into things a little naively, not knowing exactly what to expect, but at 22, you are kind of fearless which I’m so grateful for now.
How do you select which products to offer as part of your gifting service?
I would definitely categorise myself as a bit of a shopaholic…my favourite part about TCO is the product sourcing and ideation stage. We taste test everything, use the wellness products ourselves and definitely have a few Friday staff wines together as a team before anything is used in the boxes. From there, each pre-curated gift box is about who that recipient is, the sentiment behind their gift and most importantly, that we are conveying your emotion in a physical way. We want whatever the reason you’re sending a gift, maybe for a new mum or to celebrate a big milestone, to be reflected in the products themselves and the way they are paired together.
Our build a box feature is something I adore, seeing people choose the products specifically for the recipient or reason, it’s so interesting to see what gets paired together. One product to someone could be an inside joke and to another something deeply personal.
How do you integrate the traditional artform of giving into a modern day platform?
At the heart of TCO, there has always been a huge emphasis placed on the trust our customers are placing in us to reflect their sentiment and physically connect them to someone they care about. I would say our business ethos is about being traditionally modern. Genuinely caring about our customers, our team and connecting people. We try to reflect this in the tone of our website, social media, the way we email and bring our customers into our TCO family and along for the journey.
Tell us about a gift you’ve received yourself that really warmed your heart?
The first thing that comes to mind is my Nanny’s wedding band. When my mum, (Vicki’s mum) passed away a few years ago, this is one of the pieces I was given. It isn’t expensive or covered in diamonds, it’s a simple, thin gold band that was worn for so many years, she needed to have a band welded either side of it so it wouldn’t break. Nanny was a huge inspiration for many of the values of our business, she was an extremely modern woman, working a career with three children wasn’t the norm during her time and she was always so proud of the women myself and mum have become in business. To wear that every day, it feels like she is always with me.
Do you have any hot tips for gifting, for people wanting to curate the perfect box?
I usually start with thinking about my relationship to the person, is it funny, personal, sentimental, business. From there, I think about how we are connected, what do we share and most importantly, what sentiment am I wanting to portray to the person. Every gift you choose, try imagining writing something down or saying the words you are trying to convey, it could be ‘I’m so proud of you’ or ‘I miss you’. From there, any gift you choose whether it’s an experience or something physical they will receive, does this reflect how I want them to feel, what our relationship is and the sentiment of sending a gift to them.
See more from Taken Care of at https://takencareof.co.nz/
