Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriella Liu.
Hi Gabriella, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
If you had asked me a few years ago whether I’d be building an incense company, I probably would have laughed.
My career was anything but traditional craftsmanship. Like many people, I was focused on building a career, chasing opportunities, and constantly planning what came next. Life moved fast, and somewhere along the way, I realized I had become very good at being busy, but not very good at slowing down.
Ironically, the inspiration for INCENZO came from something I’d known my entire life.
Growing up in a Chinese family, incense wasn’t treated as a luxury product or a trend. It quietly existed in the background of daily life. It accompanied tea, reading, conversations with family, moments of reflection, and holidays. It wasn’t about escaping reality. It was about becoming more present in it. That idea is deeply rooted in Taoist philosophy, where harmony, stillness, and living in rhythm with nature are seen as essential parts of a balanced life. In many ways, incense was one of the simplest expressions of that wisdom.
I also grew up around the influence of traditional Chinese medicine, where balance is everything. The body and mind are not treated as separate from the world around them. Instead, there is an understanding that well-being comes from alignment, from paying attention to energy, breath, environment, and daily habits. That perspective stayed with me. Even before I had the language for it, I understood that small rituals could have a powerful effect on how we feel.
Years later, after living abroad and experiencing different cultures, I started searching for that same feeling again. What I found surprised me. Most incense available outside Asia felt disconnected from the tradition I remembered. Many products relied on synthetic fragrances, produced thick smoke, or were marketed purely as decoration or spirituality. The craftsmanship, the natural ingredients, and the philosophy behind incense were often missing.
That was the moment the idea for INCENZO began to take shape.
Of course, having an idea is the easy part.
Building a company meant learning everything from scratch. I wasn’t just designing products. One day I was speaking with artisans about traditional production methods. The next day I was teaching myself website design, writing product descriptions, answering customer emails, organizing photo shoots, figuring out shipping and logistics, and packing orders late into the evening.
There were plenty of moments when things didn’t go according to plan. We discovered that what we thought customers cared about wasn’t always what they actually cared about. We thought they would ask about fragrances first. Instead, they asked questions like, “Is it made from natural ingredients?” “Will it produce a lot of smoke?” “Is it safe around my babies or pets?” Those conversations completely changed how we built the brand. We stopped thinking of ourselves as simply selling incense and started thinking about building trust.
That shift also brought us back to the deeper roots of the tradition. In Taoism and traditional Chinese medicine, the goal is never excess. It is balance. It is creating the right conditions for something to unfold naturally. That became a guiding principle for us. We wanted to create incense that felt clean, intentional, and grounded in nature, something that could support a moment of calm without overwhelming it.
One of the biggest challenges has also been one of the most rewarding: introducing an ancient cultural tradition to a global audience. Rather than asking people to understand centuries of history all at once, we try to meet them where they are. Whether someone lights incense before opening a book, during their morning journal, while working from home, or simply after a long day, those small rituals create space to breathe. That’s something people everywhere understand. And in a world that often pulls us outward in every direction, those few minutes of stillness can feel almost medicinal.
Looking back, INCENZO has never really been about incense alone.
It’s about preserving craftsmanship that deserves to be remembered. It’s about translating Taoist wisdom and the spirit of traditional Chinese medicine into something modern people can feel in their everyday lives. And it’s about creating permission, in a world that celebrates constant productivity, to pause, restore balance, and return to yourself for just a few minutes.
We’re still very much at the beginning of our journey. Every new customer, every conversation, and every challenge teaches us something new. But if there’s one thing this experience has reinforced, it’s that sometimes the most meaningful businesses aren’t built around inventing something entirely new. They’re built around rediscovering something timeless and sharing it with a new generation.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. In many ways, our biggest challenge wasn’t manufacturing or logistics. It was perception.
Incense is one of those products that almost everyone thinks they already understand. Depending on where you grew up, it might remind you of a temple, a gift shop, a yoga studio, or even something with an overpowering scent that fills an entire room. Those associations are deeply ingrained, and we realized early on that we weren’t just introducing a new brand. We were inviting people to rethink what incense could be.
That meant we couldn’t simply talk about fragrance notes or beautiful packaging. We first had to answer much more fundamental questions: Why incense? Why now? What makes natural incense different? Why does craftsmanship matter? How is this connected to everyday life rather than a special occasion?
Those questions pushed us to think much more deeply about our purpose. We realized we weren’t really in the business of selling incense. We were introducing a slower rhythm of living that has existed in Chinese culture for centuries but feels surprisingly relevant today. Instead of positioning incense as something mystical or ceremonial, we wanted to show that it could be as natural as making a cup of tea before work, reading a book in the evening, or taking ten quiet minutes to reset after a busy day.
Finding that balance wasn’t easy. On one hand, we wanted to honor the cultural roots of incense and the philosophy behind it. On the other, we didn’t want people to feel they needed to understand thousands of years of history before lighting their first stick. We learned that cultural storytelling works best when you begin with shared human experiences. Everyone understands stress. Everyone knows what it feels like to crave a moment of calm. Once people connect with that feeling, they’re naturally curious about where the tradition comes from.
That shift changed almost everything we did, from our website and photography to the language we use and the products we develop. Rather than asking customers to fit into an existing idea of incense, we tried to show how incense could fit naturally into the lives they already live.
I think that’s still an ongoing journey. We’re constantly learning how to bridge cultures in a way that feels authentic, respectful, and accessible. It’s incredibly rewarding when someone tells us, “I never thought incense was for me, but now it’s become part of my daily routine.” Those are the moments that remind us we’re not just building a brand. We’re helping people discover a tradition through their own experience.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At INCENZO, we create natural, handcrafted incense inspired by the wisdom of traditional Chinese Taoist culture and designed for modern everyday rituals.
What we specialize in is bringing together two worlds that are often seen as separate: ancient craftsmanship and contemporary lifestyles. Traditional incense has a history spanning thousands of years in China, where it has long been connected with meditation, tea culture, art, and the pursuit of balance. However, we noticed that many people outside Asia either saw incense as something purely ceremonial or had never experienced the depth behind it. Our goal is to make this tradition more approachable while staying true to its roots.
Every INCENZO product begins with natural ingredients and traditional techniques. We work closely with artisans who carefully prepare botanical materials, from grinding and blending ingredients to shaping and naturally drying each incense stick. The process is intentionally slow. In a world where many things are optimized for speed, we believe some things become more meaningful when they are made with patience.
What we are most proud of is not just the incense itself, but the connection people build with it. We love hearing from customers who tell us that lighting INCENZO has become part of their morning routine, meditation practice, reading time, or evening wind-down. Those moments remind us that we are not simply creating a fragrance product. We are helping people create small rituals that bring more mindfulness and balance into their daily lives.
What sets us apart is the intention behind every detail. We don’t want incense to feel distant, mysterious, or reserved for special occasions. We want it to feel natural and relevant, whether someone is a longtime incense enthusiast or someone lighting incense for the first time.
Another thing that makes INCENZO unique is our approach to cultural storytelling. We are not trying to simply export a traditional product from one culture to another. We are trying to share the philosophy behind it: the idea that slowing down, reconnecting with nature, and creating moments of stillness are universal human needs.
Building INCENZO has taught us that the most powerful products are often not the ones that demand attention, but the ones that create space for people to reconnect with themselves. That is the purpose we continue to work toward every day.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
If I had to choose the two qualities that have been most important to my journey, they would be humbleness and enthusiasm.
When I started INCENZO, I had a strong connection to the tradition behind incense, but I quickly learned that passion alone is not enough to build a meaningful business. I had to stay humble enough to admit what I did not know, and enthusiastic enough to keep learning through every challenge. That meant being open to what customers truly needed, how people from different cultures experienced incense, how traditional craftsmanship could fit into modern lifestyles, and where our assumptions might be wrong.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that you cannot build a brand based only on what you believe people should want. You have to listen carefully and be willing to change. Early on, we thought customers would primarily care about fragrance and aesthetics. But through conversations and feedback, we discovered that they cared more about authenticity, ingredients, safety, and understanding the story behind the product. That insight changed how we communicate and how we think about our role as a brand.
Humbleness has also helped me embrace the uncertainty that comes with entrepreneurship. Building INCENZO meant constantly stepping into unfamiliar areas, whether it was learning about global markets, developing products, creating content, managing operations, or understanding customer behavior. There were many moments when I didn’t have all the answers, but staying humble enough to learn and enthusiastic enough to keep going helped us move forward.
I also think humbleness is closely connected to growth. A founder has to be comfortable admitting, “I don’t know yet,” and then going out to find the answer. Every customer conversation, every challenge, and every unexpected obstacle has been an opportunity to learn something new.
At the same time, enthusiasm has been just as important. Building INCENZO is not always easy, but I genuinely believe in what we are creating. That excitement gives me energy, especially when we are trying to introduce something traditional to a modern audience. It reminds me why this work matters and why small rituals can have such a meaningful impact on daily life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://incenzo.co/
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/incenzolife
