Kinology
When life hurts, Kinology redefines how we care for one another. As a more meaningful, long-lasting alternative to flowers, we've created Functional Fragrance to support you (or a loved one) through the tough times.
Our hand-blended, heart-led oils aren’t just another ‘calm’ blend—they’re expertly formulated by our Kinesiologist to help you cope when life gets messy. For grief and heartache, for loss and loneliness, for the moments when we just need someone to reach out and say: “I see you. You are not alone.”
Our all natural, essential oil blends not only smell beautiful, they’re therapeutic and they create a beautiful ritual and healthy coping mechanism.
So forget the wilting flowers. Let’s change the way we show up for ourselves and each other. Join us.
What inspired the idea for your business?
Like many start-ups the idea for our business came from the lock-downs of COVID. It was a crazy time of social distancing, friends were struggling, loneliness was real.
As a society we were sending gifts to connect; but flowers felt tokenistic and short lived, donuts felt fleeting and alcohol just isn’t a healthy coping mechanism.
We realised there was a gap – so we set about creating a product to fill it. Something that was meaningful, therapeutic, beautiful yet practical. Something supportive that made life a little more manageable, a gift that created connection when people needed it most.
Where is the business now? And where is it headed?
It’s been all-hands on-deck as we’ve focused on building a strong e-commerce presence and gaining valuable insights from local markets.
Our biggest milestone? We’ve successfully tested, refined, and proven our offering, laying the perfect foundation for our next exciting phase—wholesale expansion!
To support our retail partners, we’re gearing up for a PR launch to amplify our reach and drive new customers instore.
Due to customer demand, we’ve also been working on our NPD and will be adding the ‘Hormone Collection’ to our range. This collection includes blends for Peri-Menopause, Menopause and Puberty.
So watch this space!
How does your brand differentiate itself in the market?
We’re not just another calm blend.
We exist to help people cope when life hurts. When loved ones are feeling isolated in their pain, when you don’t know what to say or do – we’ve created a gift to connect on, to start the conversation, to let them know they’re not alone.
Every blend has been expertly formulated by Jaimie, our Co-founder and Kinesiologist.
“When creating a blend, I approach it as a practitioner – selecting the most relevant ingredients and balancing them to make sure they all work together, therapeutically and aromatically. It must support you emotionally AND smell beautiful”
“In the same way that lavender is widely known to help with sleep, we use orange for its uplifting properties, or frankincense to bring in love & protection. Every essential oil has an array of unique properties that can affect our memory and emotions. And of all the senses, smell is the fastest to affect our mood.”
Can you share the challenges you've encountered and how you've navigated them? What have been your key strengths and weaknesses, and what have you learned from them?
Our strength is our friendship. We trust each other and we believe in Kinology. We each bring different skills; as a Practitioner in Kinesiology and Massage Therapy, Jaimie has worked with essential oils for decades. Whereas Anika comes from a Branding and Creative background and has taken the lead on design, packaging and communications. We compliment each other in both skills and perspectives.
Our challenge has been our lack of experience in running an e-commerce business. Let’s just say It's been a very steep learning curve! But we’re proud of the fact that we’ve put our ego’s aside, rolled up our sleeves and with some trial and error, it turns out you can teach a couple of old dogs new tricks!
What are the core values and principles that shape your brand's decision-making process:
We believe in the healing power of connection. We understand life's not always easy. But with some time, some conversation, and the support of our loved ones, we can move through it together.
It’s our mission to help more people feel seen, supported and loved.
We do this through our therapeutic blends as well as the healthy coping mechanism they create.
Just as importantly, we show up and we lean into the tough (and often taboo) conversations around grief, heartache and loss. We’re here to listen, to learn, to hold space and connect with our Kin Community.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to start their own business?
Keep your day job – you’re going to need funding.
Get your MVP to market as quickly as possible. Don’t over-invest
Test, learn, adapt.
Put your ego aside and listen - you’re not supposed to know everything.
Prove your concept.
It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Stay curious
What achievement are you most proud of in your business journey?
Two years in and we’re still in the arena, showing up and doing our very best every single day. At the risk of sounding clichéd, we receive the most beautiful, heartfelt testimonials from customers sharing the difference our products have made. This is the stuff that keeps the wind in our sails and the fire in our bellies.