NEOM Wellbeing

NEOM Wellbeing is a British wellbeing and aromatherapy company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Harrogate, England [8]. It makes essential-oil products built around scent and mood — candles, reed diffusers, electric diffusers, bath and body ranges, and skincare — all using what the company describes as 100 percent natural fragrance. The brand styles its name in capitals as "NEOM", a name drawn from the combined initials of its two founders.

The business was founded as NEOM Organics, later trading as NEOM Organics London, before adopting its current name, NEOM Wellbeing; some retailers, including John Lewis, still list it as "NEOM Wellbeing London". It remains active, marking its twentieth anniversary in 2025 and continuing to launch products and expand internationally.

The company began with Nicola Elliott, an entertainment editor at Glamour magazine. After what she has described as "seven hectic years working a 60-hour week as a journalist", Elliott said she felt the effects of a fast-paced life — "poor sleep, increased stress and low energy and mood". She trained in aromatherapy and began blending essential oils in her kitchen, work that grew into NEOM. The brand launched in 2005 with four candles made, in the company's words, with "only 100% natural wax and 100% natural fragrance".

Accounts of who founded the company differ in emphasis. NEOM's about-us page tells the story chiefly through Elliott and credits her as founder [2], while its B Corp page quotes "Oliver Mennell, Founder and Chair" [4]. Wikipedia and editorial coverage describe the two as co-founders, noting that the name NEOM was formed from their combined initials [8]. Mennell was a private equity analyst at the time of founding. Retail Gazette reported that the pair raised early funding unconventionally, through "Nic selling her car and some savings I won on a Chris Evans game show" [10].

NEOM moved from its candle origins into "bath, body and skincare, taking a 360 degree approach to enhancing wellbeing", as one of its founders put it. The brand opened its first high street store in Wimbledon Village in 2015 and went on to operate several UK locations it calls Wellbeing Hubs. It entered the United States market in 2021 through retailers including Nordstrom, Amazon Prestige Beauty and Anthropologie, launched a separate US website in 2023, and opened a store in the West Village in New York City in 2024 [8].

In 2025 the company marked its twentieth anniversary. Coverage that year reported revenue of around £45 million and a workforce of about 50 people, with distribution extending to roughly 18 overseas markets across Europe and Asia [10].

NEOM is a privately held company. It has taken outside investment over its history: Michael Warshaw, a former owner of Molton Brown, invested in 2011, and the private equity firm Piper invested in 2017 [8].

NEOM frames its products around how a person feels rather than how they look. The company organises its range around four concerns — better sleep, less stress, more energy and a mood boost — and says it "provides wellbeing moments for all through 100% natural fragrances", working from the idea that "it's the small steps that make a big difference when it comes to better wellbeing". Founder Nicola Elliott has summarised the founding vision more bluntly: "Everyone I know is struggling with something — stress, sleep, energy, mood. So, why not create a brand that is all about how you feel, not how you look?"

Press coverage has placed the brand at the early edge of the wellbeing category. Retail Gazette described NEOM in 2021 as a "disruptive brand" that was "well ahead of its time with the concept of a natural wellbeing brand in a market that was, and to a large extent still is, otherwise dominated by synthetic formulas and fragrances" [10]. Cosmetics Business later characterised it as "a pioneer in luxury wellbeing" and "category-defining" [9]. The brand positions itself at the prestige end of the market and is stocked by UK department stores including Selfridges, John Lewis and Fenwick.

Essential oils sit at the centre of the range, alongside magnesium and the brand's 100 percent natural fragrance. An early signature was a blend of 24 essential oils developed to calm the mind, which became one of NEOM's bestsellers [9]. The current line spans home fragrance and candles, bath and body products, a magnesium range, and skincare such as cleansing balms and face mists, much of it grouped by the four wellbeing concerns. The Wellbeing Pod, an electric essential-oil diffuser, is a recurring product in the brand's awards.

NEOM is a Certified B Corporation [3]. The company says it uses recycled materials in its products and packaging and frames its work as "balancing our profit and purpose, with every decision being taken to prioritise people and planet". In 2021 it described itself as targeting "climate positive and zero waste by 2025" [10]. The brand also runs a charity partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support.

NEOM has been a regular presence in UK beauty and wellness awards. It was named Best Wellness Brand at The Sunday Times Style Beauty Awards in 2025 [5]. Individual products have won widely: the Wellbeing Pod took Best New Electrical Appliance at the CEW UK Beauty Awards and a Good Housekeeping Institute "Best Electric Diffuser" recommendation in 2024, and the Wellbeing Soak Multi-Vitamin Bath Oil was named Cosmopolitan's Best Bath Soak of 2024. The company's magnesium bath products, sleep candles and pillow mists have featured in awards from Marie Claire, Glamour and others across several years. NEOM was also included in the Sunday Times 100 list in 2022 [8].

NEOM Wellbeing is active. It marked its twentieth anniversary in 2025, continued to win awards that year, and has expanded its retail footprint in both the UK and the United States within the past few years. The brand remains UK-headquartered in Harrogate and privately owned, with Piper among its backers.