I was stuck at my desk in a massive open space office of a large PR agency on the 25th floor of a tall grey building in Victoria. It was a usual overcast autumn day in London, and after another long meeting about nothing I’ve realised that I don’t want to do this for much longer. There should have been more to life than 9-6 in an office, and work should have been more rewarding, liberating and meaningful.
So I started thinking, what else I could do instead that would give me a bit more freedom and inspiration.
I have always been into wellbeing, so after some internal brainstorming I figured out that I could apply my PR skills to the industry I had personal interest in. Back then the wellness industry in UK was at its grassroots and there weren’t many wellness PR specialists so it felt like a great opportunity.
Fast forward a few months, and I have landed my first two wellness clients who happened to be leading wellness resorts in Sri Lanka and Thailand. I had visited them on an extended soul-searching holiday after having resigned from the agency and was so inspired by what I’ve experienced that I’ve offered the owners to represent them in the UK on PR. This was back in 2011.
One thing led to another, and wellness travel PR has become my specialism. Over the next few years I was lucky to have visited and experienced a range of fabulous holistic resorts in Europe and Asia, many of which have become my clients afterwards for years to come: Fivelements in Bali; Tao Garden in Thailand; Barberyn and Diyabubula in Sri Lanka; Shreyas in India; Kaliyoga in Europe; Adventure Yogi, Middle Piccadilly and Green Farm Kent in UK; Cliffs of Moher Retreat in Ireland – to name a few.
Wellness travel was rapidly growing as an industry, there was a lot of interest in the topic from the media, and most importantly, I really felt in my element – I was promoting what I truly believed in myself. I was promoting holistic approach to health and it felt great being part of the global wellness movement.
Here are just a few highlights of the PR campaigns I have conducted for travel clients over the years:
- Fivelements featured in Conde Nast Traveller Spa Guide
- Tao Garden featured in The Independent
- Barberyn received coverage in Telegraph Magazine
- Shreyas covered by Red magazine
- Kaliyoga featured in Metro
- Middle Piccadilly reviewed by The Sunday Times
- Green Farm Kent received coverage in Natural Health
- Cliffs of Moher Retreat covered by House &Garden
After a few years of focusing solely on wellness travel I have started to expand my network and my offering. The wellness industry in the UK was growing rapidly, and I was trying to grow with it. I felt like I was ready to go beyond the wellness travel niche. A lot of new exciting wellness segments and brands were popping up, and I was eager to work with them. My offer has gone beyond media relations and I have started offering brand partnerships and collaborations which has become a very effective marketing tool. I have worked with clients in:
- Holistic apparel and accessories
- Health & nutrition
- Holistic health&beauty
- Wellness events
- Wellness experts
- Wellbeing apps
- Mother&baby wellness – my newest addition since becoming a mum in 2018
Here are some PR highlights:
- Holistic apparel and accessories: BAM bamboo clothing featured in GQ magazine
- Health & Nutrition: Nama restaurant reviewed by Madeleine Shaw
- Holistic health&beauty: Ayurveda Pura spa featured in The Times
- Wellness events; Bali Spirit Festival featured in Yoga Journal
- Wellness experts: Louise Murray health coach received coverage Sheerluxe
- Wellbeing apps: Silatha covered by Psychologies magazine
- Mother&baby wellness: Pommama partnered with Mamas&Papas
Over these past 10 years I have worked with nearly 100 clients, tried & tested over 150 wellness products and services, built relationships with over 200 journalists and over 100 wellness brands and organisations; secured over 1000 pieces of coverage and over 200 brand partnerships & collaborations. It’s been a very busy decade indeed! And boy was it rewarding!
What’s next? More fabulous clients, more exciting and successful campaigns that span across media relations, brand partnerships, event management, social media support, and general marketing consultancy.
Wellness will always remain my main area of specialism, and luckily it keeps growing and expanding faster than I could have ever imagined.