Scented success: Passion for cologne birthed my venture

“I focus on scents for you, your body, and for your house to smell good. We have scents that are tailor-made for the house,” Kihara said.

In January 2020, she quit her corporate job after hitting a dead end working at an insurance company and sought a fresh start.

As the owner of Harps Scent, Kihara developed a taste for scents and appreciated them, but encountered problems sourcing them in the past, which led her to explore and venture into the market.

“I used to get my candles at Nakumatt in Nakuru, but following its closure, I realised that whenever I wanted to order scented candles, I was forced to order them from Nairobi, which was tedious,” she said.

The challenge prompted her to start her business with Sh150,000 in savings, seizing the opportunity to bridge the gap in the market.

“Creating a solution to a problem and making money out of it prompted me to establish my business. The challenge of ordering products and being disappointed after delivery was among the reasons I ventured into the scent business,” she added.

Kihara explained that scents have four families: floral, fruity, fresh, and woody, which give humans an aura of belonging.

As a unique venture, she educated her customers to understand more about scents and how they can be blended to achieve desired results.

Her joy in the venture focuses on her passion for scents and getting people to love them.

“Scents are emotive; I want my customers to come back to the shop, so I try as much as possible to make them understand and identify with the product,” she said.

Kihara emphasised the importance of research, stating that reading books and using the internet have helped her understand clientele needs.

Scents, she noted, go with moods depending on the time, which might differ every moment.

Her stock is procured from Nairobi from specific shops, following a rapport she had created with some business owners in the city.

Her dream is to ship products directly on a large scale, which requires significant capital.

“I sell my products to hotels, Airbnb, walk-ins, online, and offices, among others, but I have retained loyal customers who appreciate my work,” she said.