Marianne and Noëlle of webshop De Groene Linde
In 2007 Marianne started from her attic room a small webshop in essential oils mixed by herself . Meanwhile, De Groene Linde in Heiloo is a family business with more than 25 employees, where every bottle of oil is still filled by hand. Noelle (photo above) had a part-time job there as a student and liked the work so much that she started working there full-time after graduating. Among other things, she takes care of the social media for the webshop and the purchasing of crystals. Together they tell more about the webshop. Marianne came into contact with the power of essential oils from her training as a complementary therapist. 'Essential oils contain substances that are unique to each plant and get their scent from that,' she explains. 'These substances affect the human body when they are inhaled or enter the body through the skin. A lot happens there, especially at the hormonal level. They are expectorants and encourage the body to heal itself.' She has since specialized in creating scent frequencies. 'These have a lot of effect especially in the aura and on an energetic level. Because essential oil naturally has a high vibration, it has an effect on a person's energetic system. Especially when the vibration of this energetic system is low.'
Marianne started her webshop in 2007
Purely by feeling
Marianne makes the blends (mixture of different essential oils) purely by feeling. 'I channel the blends as it were. I do not look at all at what properties a certain fragrance has on a physical level. Sometimes I read the recipe back and then I think to myself: why on earth did I put this in? This is how I do this with fragrance frequencies. If something is made that is meant for complaints like coughs or colds, for example, then of course I look at the properties of the oils chosen. Making a fragrance frequency is an intensive and exhausting process. Yesterday I happened to make a new line and the rest of the day I sat on the couch like a mop.'
A street full of trees
'I wanted a name with a color in it,' Marianne says of the genesis of the company name. 'I was working behind a small attic window and looked out over the street where I lived at the time. A green street full of trees. That's how I came up with the name De Groene Linde. I immediately called my husband Ton, to ask what he thought of it. He was on the train at the time and immediately went to see if the domain name was still available. De Groene Linde was a fact. Only much later did I find out that the street where I lived was full of Linden trees and I had no idea about that!
Marketing
Marketing is Ton's showpiece. 'He has been working from the beginning to increase the findability of the site,' Marianne explains. 'Our motivation is that we grant everyone the power of oil, for this you have to be findable. That's why we pay a lot of attention to being findable on Google. He hired an agency for this back in 2009. Furthermore, since 2020 we have been actively working on Social Media ourselves and so we have a company that takes care of the findability on Google.
The premises of De Groene Linde in Heiloo
More space
From the attic room the bottles of oil were sent to customers. But after only a year, the attic was bursting at the seams and it was time for another location. 'In addition to the oils, we stock a wide range of different crystals, cards, books and more. To be able to stock all of this and ship it properly required more space. I found that very exciting, but Ton had a great job to do so we were able to pay for it. In 2015 he joined me in the company because I couldn't make it on my own anymore by then.' 'In the current building in Heiloo you'll find production, shipping and our office department,' says Noëlle. 'And also a beautiful showroom where customers can experience the power of the fragrances and see the range of crystals, books and other beautiful products.'
Every day is different
Noëlle trained as an interior designer at the Wood and Furnishings College in Amsterdam. 'I liked it so much at De Groene Linde that I started working here full-time after my studies. Totally different from what I studied for. I started in the production department, but now I work full-time in the office. I deal with social media, the website, purchasing crystals, photography and I work behind the scenes for the showroom. Quite a list, but that's what makes my job so much fun. Every day looks different! I always enjoy learning new things and my many different jobs allow me to do just that.
Proud of the end result
'Our webshop is unique because it is mostly filled with our own products,' Noëlle continues. 'These products are created by ourselves and each bottle is still filled by hand with care and attention, stickered and shipped by ourselves. Still real old-fashioned handwork, which is done daily with a lot of love by my colleagues. We are a close-knit company where everyone has his or her own tasks. But even though everyone is responsible for their own task, we work together on the final product. Then when another new product is created, all departments are involved and we are all equally proud of the end result.
Agate with Amethyst
Introducing new products
To introduce a new fragrance, De Groene Linde has created a whole working process. 'I create the fragrances and take care of the labels,' Marianne explains. 'Our colleague Lisa takes care of the necessary documents. Then bottles are made and photographed by the media team. Newsletters are sent to the corporate customers so they know a new line is coming. Social media posts are written and prepared. Then the new fragrances will appear on the site. The consumer newsletters go out the door and then it can start running.'
Thinking up and executing everything myself
What does Noëlle enjoy most about her job? 'Actually the whole process. From Marianne's creation process until the final product is on the website, we have everything in our own hands and I am involved. Especially putting the final product on the website and creating content to bring our website to the attention of our customers is a big part of my job. I really enjoy photographing our products in a beautiful and stylish way. Together with my colleagues I take care of the content so this is again a process that we devise and execute all by ourselves.'
Noëlle's tip
Does Noëlle have a good social media tip for other web shops? What works very well for us is working with a schedule. This runs about 3 months ahead. This gives us a lot of time to work on our social media with care and attention. I would recommend that to everyone!'
Just spray
Her favorite blend from the shop is the Clean Energy.'Our best-selling product. I really have it everywhere like at home, at work and standard in my bag. It really is a 'must have' for energetically cleansing the environment and yourself. If you easily pick up negative energy from your surroundings, after a spray with Clean Energy you feel great again.'
A creation millions of years old
In terms of crystals, Noëlle finds it difficult to pick a favorite. 'Because I buy the crystals, I have many different types of crystals in my hands every day. In each crystal I see something I really appreciate and each crystal is beautiful in its own way. What I find very special is that a crystal is a creation of the earth millions of years old.'
Bestseller
Mother Earth Oil is a bestseller in the shop. 'Many people are not well grounded, which causes a lot of discomfort in daily life,' says Noëlle. ''Mother Earth essential oil puts you back in your base, making you feel relaxed and safe,'' Marianne explains why it is that many people are not well grounded: ''If you're in your head a lot because you have a lot on your mind or you have a lot to think and concentrate, your energy moves mostly to the top of your body. Your head feels full or you suffer from headaches. You may also be a dreamer, flitting about nicely and totally disconnected from everyday life. Or you may be out of your body because you've had to deal with trauma, in which case it's too painful to connect with your body.' 'The complaints can be very diverse,' she adds. 'Like feelings of anxiety, not feeling safe, not getting your life in order and back pain are just a few. Getting well grounded allows the energy to flow well from top to bottom. You drain excess energy so you are no longer in your head. You feel carried by the earth and you feel safe.'
Reliability
Back to the webshop: What has membership in WebwinkelKeur brought the webshop? 'WebwinkelKeur means for us a certain reliability towards our customers,' says Noëlle. 'By reading the reviews, customers know what to expect. Our colleague Doortje keeps track of all the reviews and reads everything that comes in. This way we always know what's going on with our customers. With a 9.7 most customers are very satisfied with our webshop, which we find very valuable. If people are not satisfied, we are happy to look for a solution. Our goal is to make all customers happy with their order.
Future plans
What are the future plans of De Groene Linde? 'Ton is turning 65 this year and we plan to hand over the company so gently to our two sons,' Marianne says. 'They will continue to chart the course of the company. I will continue to create, of course, and I want to devote myself to writing books. Ton will also remain active behind the scenes (especially with findability). We will continue to do everything we can to touch people with the healing scents of De Groene Linde.
View the membership page of The Green Linden here
Photo above by NIKI Photogrphr.