Privacy policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 October 2026

1. Introduction

Simpl Candle UK ("Simpl Candle", "we", "us" or "our") is a UK-based candle business operated by Lewis Butlin as a sole trader.

We are committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about how it is collected, used, stored and shared.

This Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information when you:

Visit our website at https://simplcandle.co.uk
Purchase products or enquire about an order
Contact us by email, through our website or by other means
Subscribe to marketing communications
Engage with us as a wholesale customer or prospective retail stockist
Otherwise interact with Simpl Candle UK

We process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), as amended.

2. Who Is Responsible for Your Information?

The data controller responsible for personal information processed by Simpl Candle UK is:

Lewis Butlin
Sole trader trading as Simpl Candle UK

Business Address:
36 Hazel Covert
Thetford
IP24 2UH
United Kingdom

Email: simplcandleuk@gmail.com
Website: https://simplcandle.co.uk

As a sole trader, Lewis Butlin is personally responsible for determining how and why personal information is processed for the business.

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us using the details above.

3. Personal Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Information you provide directly

When you make a purchase, create an account, submit an enquiry or communicate with us, we may collect:

Your name
Email address and telephone number
Billing and delivery addresses
Order details, purchase history and preferences
Payment confirmations and transaction information
Account information where applicable
Customer service enquiries, messages and correspondence
Marketing preferences and consent records

Payments are handled through our e-commerce platform and its payment service providers. We do not ordinarily receive or store complete payment card details ourselves.

Information collected through our website

When you visit our website, certain information may be collected automatically, including:

IP address and approximate location derived from it
Browser type and device information
Pages viewed and interactions with our website
Referral information and website usage data
Cookie preferences and other technical information

Some of this information is processed through Shopify and other website technologies.

Further information is provided in the Cookies and Website Tracking section below.

Wholesale and business contact information

We may collect limited information about retailers, prospective stockists and professional business contacts, including:

Business name, location and website
Publicly available business email addresses and telephone numbers
Names and professional roles of relevant contacts
Information about a retailer's products, business activities or suitability as a potential stockist
Publicly available company registration and legal-entity information
The source from which contact information was obtained
Previous correspondence and wholesale enquiries
Contact preferences, marketing objections and suppression records

We seek to collect only information relevant to establishing and managing legitimate business relationships.

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information for wholesale prospecting.

4. Where We Obtain Personal Information

We collect personal information from several sources.

Directly from you: When you purchase products, contact us, subscribe to communications or otherwise provide information.

Our website and service providers: When you interact with our website, payment services or customer communication systems.

Publicly available business sources: For wholesale research, we may obtain relevant information from business websites, contact pages, publicly accessible directories, Companies House and other publicly available business information.

Previous business correspondence: We may retain appropriate records of earlier enquiries, wholesale discussions and contact preferences.

Where we obtain personal information indirectly, we aim to maintain records of its source and provide appropriate privacy information in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

You may contact us to request further details about the source of personal information we hold about you.

5. How and Why We Use Your Personal Information

We process personal information only where we have an appropriate lawful basis.

Processing orders and providing our products

We use relevant information to:

Process and fulfil orders
Arrange deliveries
Provide order confirmations and updates
Handle returns, refunds and customer enquiries
Manage customer accounts where applicable

Lawful basis: Performance of a contract or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

Customer service and business administration

We may use your information to respond to enquiries, manage business relationships, maintain accurate records and improve our services.

Lawful basis: Our legitimate interests in operating and improving our business, or performance of a contract where applicable.

Accounting and legal compliance

We retain and process relevant transaction records where required for accounting, taxation, regulatory compliance and other legal obligations.

Lawful basis: Compliance with a legal obligation.

Marketing and promotional communications

We may use personal information to communicate about our products, offers and business activities where permitted by law.

Where consent is required, we will obtain appropriate consent before sending marketing communications.

Where marketing is lawfully permitted without prior consent, we will still respect applicable data protection requirements and requests not to receive further marketing.

Lawful basis: Consent or legitimate interests, as appropriate to the circumstances and subject to PECR.

You can object to direct marketing at any time by contacting us at simplcandleuk@gmail.com or using an unsubscribe method provided in a marketing message.

Website security and fraud prevention

We may process relevant technical or transaction information to protect our website, prevent fraud, investigate suspicious activity and maintain the security of our services.

Lawful basis: Legitimate interests, legal obligations or another applicable lawful basis depending on the circumstances.

6. Wholesale Research and Business-to-Business Communications

As part of developing our wholesale business, Simpl Candle UK researches independent retailers and other businesses that may be interested in stocking our products.

We may use publicly available business information to assess whether our products could be relevant to a particular retailer and to prepare an appropriate business enquiry.

Our wholesale research activities may include:

Identifying potential retail stockists
Reviewing publicly available information about a retailer
Finding appropriate business contact details
Checking legal business identities
Assessing whether a proposed business enquiry is relevant
Preparing personalised correspondence
Checking previous contact records to avoid duplicate or unwanted approaches
Recording responses, objections and business preferences

Lawful basis for wholesale research

Where personal information is processed for wholesale prospecting, we may rely on our legitimate interests in identifying and developing suitable business relationships.

When relying on legitimate interests, we consider whether the processing is necessary and proportionate, what an individual might reasonably expect and whether their rights and freedoms outweigh our interests.

We seek to minimise the personal information collected and avoid unnecessary or intrusive processing.

Electronic marketing and PECR

We distinguish between corporate subscribers and individual subscribers when assessing whether a marketing email is permitted.

Corporate subscribers may include limited companies and limited liability partnerships. Sole traders and certain partnerships receive different protections under PECR.

We do not assume that a publicly available email address automatically permits unsolicited marketing.

Where consent is required, we will not rely on legitimate interests as a substitute for that consent. We will only rely on an applicable exception, such as the soft opt-in, where its legal conditions are satisfied.

Where we send permitted business-to-business marketing, we identify ourselves and provide a straightforward way to opt out of future communications.

We respect previous requests not to receive marketing and maintain appropriate suppression records.

Information about individuals at businesses

Where a business contact can be personally identified, such as through their name or professional email address, we recognise that UK GDPR may apply even when the information is used in a business context.

We aim to provide relevant privacy information within the timeframe required by law, including when we first communicate with an individual where applicable.

7. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Research

Simpl Candle UK may use AI-assisted tools, research services and workflow automation to support business administration and wholesale prospecting.

These technologies may help us:

Discover potentially suitable retailers
Organise publicly available business information
Identify relevant contact details
Assess commercial suitability
Prepare draft business correspondence
Identify possible duplicate records or previous contact history

Services used for these purposes may include Tavily for web research, OpenAI for AI-assisted processing, Google services for business records and communication, and n8n for workflow automation.

Limited information relevant to these activities may be processed by these service providers in accordance with their applicable terms and privacy arrangements.

We remain responsible for determining whether personal information may lawfully be processed and whether a business communication may be sent.

Our wholesale prospecting process includes human review. We do not use automated wholesale lead assessments to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning individuals without appropriate human involvement.

AI-generated or automatically collected information may be incomplete or inaccurate, and relevant information may be checked before it is relied upon.

8. Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to support its operation and, where applicable, understand how visitors use our services.

These technologies may be used for:

Essential website functions: Supporting shopping baskets, checkout, security and other services necessary for the website to function.

Website analytics: Understanding website traffic and how visitors interact with our pages.

Preferences and functionality: Remembering settings or preferences to improve the browsing experience.

Marketing and advertising: Measuring or supporting advertising activity where these technologies are enabled.

Some technologies require your consent before they can be used. Others may qualify for exemptions under applicable law, subject to the relevant conditions.

Where consent is required, we seek it through our website's privacy and cookie controls.

You may manage available cookie preferences through our website's privacy settings and your browser.

Disabling some technologies may affect website functionality.

Our online store is powered by Shopify. Further information about Shopify's use of cookies is available at:

https://www.shopify.com/legal/cookies

9. Sharing Your Personal Information

We may share personal information with trusted third parties where reasonably necessary to operate our business.

These may include:

Shopify: To operate our online store and support e-commerce functionality.
Payment service providers: To securely process payments and transactions.
Delivery and fulfilment providers: To arrange shipment and delivery of orders.
Google services: For email, business records, spreadsheets and related administration.
Research and AI service providers: To support limited business research and the preparation of wholesale correspondence.
IT and hosting providers: To operate, secure and maintain our website and business systems.
Professional advisers or authorities: Where disclosure is necessary for legal, regulatory, accounting or legitimate business purposes.

We aim to share only the information reasonably necessary for the relevant service or purpose.

We may also disclose information where required by law, to protect our legal rights or in connection with a legitimate transfer or sale of business assets.

Third-party services may process information under their own applicable privacy terms.

10. International Data Transfers

Some of the technology and service providers used by Simpl Candle UK may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where a transfer is subject to UK data protection requirements, we take steps to ensure that an appropriate legal transfer mechanism applies.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include UK adequacy regulations or appropriate contractual safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to recognised standard contractual clauses.

You may contact us for further information about the safeguards applicable to your personal information.

11. How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including any applicable legal, accounting or regulatory obligations.

Our retention decisions take account of:

The nature and purpose of the information
Whether an order, enquiry or business relationship remains active
Whether the information is accurate and still relevant
Any legal record-keeping requirements
Whether the information is needed to manage complaints or protect legal rights
Whether a person has requested that we stop contacting them

Customer order and financial records may be retained for the periods required under applicable tax and accounting laws.

Wholesale prospect information is reviewed for continued relevance, and information that is no longer necessary should be deleted or anonymised.

Where someone objects to direct marketing, we may retain limited identifying information on a suppression list for as long as reasonably necessary to ensure that their objection is respected.

12. Keeping Your Information Secure

We take reasonable organisational and technical measures to protect personal information from unauthorised access, disclosure, loss, alteration or misuse.

These measures may include access controls, account authentication, secure service providers and restricted access to business records.

We aim to limit access to personal information to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

No electronic system or method of transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

If you believe your personal information has been compromised, please contact us promptly.

13. Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have the following rights, depending on the circumstances:

Right of access: To request a copy of personal information we hold about you.

Right to rectification: To request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.

Right to erasure: To request deletion of your personal information where applicable.

Right to restriction: To request that certain processing of your information is restricted.

Right to data portability: To receive certain personal information in a portable format where the legal conditions are met.

Right to object: To object to processing based on legitimate interests in certain circumstances.

Right to object to direct marketing: To require us to stop processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes. This right applies at any time.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

You may also have rights concerning certain decisions made solely through automated processing.

To exercise your rights, please contact:

simplcandleuk@gmail.com

We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

We will respond in accordance with applicable legal requirements. Some rights are subject to limitations or exceptions.

14. Marketing Preferences and Opting Out

You can ask us to stop sending direct marketing communications at any time.

You can do this by:

Using an unsubscribe option provided in a marketing email, where available
Replying to a wholesale marketing email and requesting no further contact
Emailing simplcandleuk@gmail.com

When you opt out, we will stop using your personal information for the relevant direct marketing activity.

We may retain minimal contact information to prevent further unwanted marketing.

Opting out of marketing will not prevent us from contacting you about an existing order, responding to a service enquiry or sending other necessary non-marketing communications.

15. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not specifically directed at children.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for marketing purposes.

If you believe a child has provided personal information to us inappropriately, please contact us so that we can consider the appropriate action.

16. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of websites that we do not control.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you choose to visit.

17. Complaints

If you have concerns about how Simpl Candle UK handles your personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate and respond.

Email: simplcandleuk@gmail.com

You also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator.

Information Commissioner's Office

Website: https://ico.org.uk

We will not treat you unfairly for exercising your data protection rights or making a complaint.

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to our business practices, legal requirements, technology providers or the ways we process personal information.

When changes are made, we will update the date shown at the beginning of this policy and publish the revised version on our website.

Where required by law, we will also take additional steps to inform individuals about significant changes.

19. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how your personal information is processed or your rights under data protection law, please contact:

Lewis Butlin
Sole Trader — Simpl Candle UK