D Louise: The discipline behind building a modern consumer brand

There are businesses that begin with a market gap. And there are businesses that begin with something more personal. For Olivia Jenkins, D Louise sits firmly in the latter. The jewellery brand was born at a moment she describes as “a perfect storm”, a period marked by loss, uncertainty and a lack of direction.

“I had lost my mum… I had no purpose in my life and I truly was unfulfilled every single day,” she says. What followed was not a carefully mapped-out entrepreneurial journey, but a decision to move forward regardless. Naming the business after her mother created something deeper than a commercial venture.

“I knew from the get-go, I can’t quit. I have to make this work,” she says. That sense of meaning has shaped the business’s growth. In its earliest days, D Louise operated from a spare bedroom, with Jenkins learning every function from scratch.

“I started from absolutely nothing. I had no idea how to sell a product, marketing, accounting,” she says. The instinct was simple: take small steps, every day. Over time, those steps compounded.

Today, the business generates around £1m in monthly revenue and is expanding into wholesale, with partners including Next, Flannels and Beaverbrooks. But the more interesting thread is not the pace of growth. It is how that growth has been built.

One part is product. D Louise entered a traditional category with a modern proposition: waterproof, sweatproof jewellery designed for everyday wear. It is a subtle shift, but one that reflects a wider change in consumer behaviour.

That shift has created opportunities to meet customers in new contexts, from gyms to marathons, where traditional brands are less visible. It is a reminder that growth often comes not from reinventing a category, but from reframing how it fits into people’s lives.

Another part is focus. Jenkins credits much of the business’s momentum to adopting a disciplined approach to priorities. Drawing on the Traction framework, the company focuses on just three key objectives at a time.

That clarity is increasingly important. As customer acquisition costs rise and channels become more crowded, spreading attention too thinly can dilute impact. Jenkins points to a shift away from heavy reliance on paid advertising, which once accounted for up to 60 per cent of spend, towards more sustainable growth.

“The maths have to work,” she says, reflecting advice from mentor and former Gymshark CEO Steve Hewitt. That balance between ambition and discipline runs through the business. Growth is pursued, but not at any cost.

There is also a strong emphasis on partnership. Jenkins describes having a co-founder as “so important”, not just for capability, but for resilience. “You have no one to bounce off” as a solo founder, she says.

The dynamic between her and co-founder and fiancé Jack highlights the value of complementary skill sets. It is less about dividing roles neatly and more about amplifying strengths.

Perhaps the most consistent theme, however, is mindset. Jenkins returns repeatedly to the idea of control, focusing on what can be influenced, rather than what cannot. “You have a choice, whether you want the story to define you,” she says.

That perspective has been tested. External shocks, including sudden tariff changes in the US, forced rapid pivots and uncertainty. The response was not to retreat, but to adapt, shifting focus to other markets while maintaining a long-term view.

“It’s about being resilient and pivoting when the business needs you to,” she says. Underpinning all of this is a belief that momentum is built, not found. Jenkins describes a simple daily habit: identifying three things that will define a successful day. It is a small system, but one that reinforces consistency.

For her, the biggest lesson is not tactical, but psychological. “The biggest mistake that I made was believing that I couldn’t do it,” she says.

In that sense, the story of D Louise is less about jewellery, and more about what happens when belief, discipline and purpose align and are sustained over time.