Founded by Nor-Folk, a lifestyle brand, Sop is a botanical body care and natural fragrance brand inspired by the landscape and language of Norfolk, England.
Being a proud supporter of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, they have kept ethical and sustainable promises with their customers. All of Sop’s products are cruelty-free and vegan. Plus, they are free from artificial colours and fragrances.
Itʼs about living just right. Pausing. Easing up. For Sopʼs design, they have always kept everything minimal because they believe simple designs lead to a simpler life. They are depicting peopleʼs needs without living expensively but living just right. Sop and their team are guiding us to find our happiness within the calming nature and the beauty of minimalism.
Candice ChiaEn Hsieh of Setting Mind interviews Fiona Burrage, creative director of Sop.
Hsieh: How did your journey in the body care and fragrance industry begin?
Burrage: As a person I’m quite intuitive with my body and my work. As someone who has also been an athlete I also understand the importance of maintaining a healthy and positive mindset. Scents felt like a natural and organic progression for me.
With Sop being vegan and not using any synthetic fragrances, the oils selected have been chosen to improve overall health and wellbeing. In the world we all live in, now more than ever, I believe products must serve to improve the life of the consumer.
What was your motivation for cultivating Sop?
Sop was conceived during the renovation of our Water Cabin (nestled on the riverbank in the Broads National Park). I wanted to harness the feeling and sense of place I garnered from Norfolk so that our guests could continue to relive those feelings when they returned home.
How did you come up with the name for your brand?
That’s a really interesting question, whilst I’d been thinking about the concept for several months, the name ‘Scents of place’ came to me when I was in the shower. Being both a multi-disciplined designer and photographer my days are busy, I don’t tend to find time to purposefully reflect in the studio. And in all honesty, sitting with a blank page has never been how I create. I find when I’m relaxed, often in a completely unrelated setting things fall into place.
One day I was replying to emails when I had the eureka moment… “What if I shorten the name to an acronym, Sop?” The identity designed itself in minutes and I knew at that point exactly how the rest of the brand and products would work as a collective.
How does Norfolkʼs landscape and language inspire Sop?
I’m not native to the region, so I don’t have any preconceptions, everywhere I explore and see is new and I’m hugely inspired by the county’s big open skies and sweeping landscapes. I’m also really interested by language and in particular dialect in a globalised world. So for example our body wash is called Dene, a Norfolk word for a sandy stretch of coast.
dene (noun), a sandy stretch of coast.
Your toes sink into the warm fawny grains. The ebbing border, neither land nor sea, meanders on for miles. Stay awhile and let the sea spray soothe you. How does Dene make you feel?
Feel fortified, enlivened, and inspired with bergamot and black pepper essential oils.
And what does Dene do?
Helps to cleanse skin, elevate mood, reduce stress, and improve circulation.
Our shampoo is called Smur, a Norfolk word for fine rain or drizzle. Conditioner is Loke, a Norfolk word for remote track. And our Handwash is called Beck, a Norfolk word for stream.
How are you implementing sustainability to your brand? Can you share any some strategies with us?
From the outset I want us to work towards becoming a B corp company, so we’ve already been scrutinising our approach and methods, our processes are responsible and we are driven by diligence and sustainability, rather than the bottom line. Our carbon footprint is small, from creation to fulfilment, this all happens in a 3 mile radius.
We have a charitable partner we support, with the aim to eventually moving to a share of profit model. Our packaging is aluminium which is infinitely recyclable. We offer consumers the opportunity to purchase a pump (To reuse). Our boxes and mailing bags are compostable. As we grow I’ve got further ideas about how we can continue to refine our processes.
What is your expectation for Sop, and how would you define Sopʼs growth in the future?
I’m only interested in growth if it’s sustainable and we are releasing a product that truly will enhance wellbeing. There are other complimentary products I would love to sell in time and we have been working on. I am passionate about our cabin and have thoroughly enjoyed the process of having people come to stay. In the future I would love the opportunity to have a flagship store in our home city and possibly something hospitality related above.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
