TL;DR
I'm making one big change when Sucrerie Decants reopens. Instead of continuously taking and fulfilling orders at the same time, I'll be working in weekly fulfillment cycles.
Here's what that means:
🛒 Shop opens: Wednesday at 12:00 noon PM PST → Sunday at 12:00 noon PM PST
📦 Fulfillment & shipping days: Sunday - Tuesday. All orders will be shipped by every Wednesday
🎉 Goal: More consistent and easier to manage processing times while continuing to offer the wide selection and flexibility you've come to expect from Sucrerie Decants.
For more details, 🗓️ view the monthly calendar.
Hi friends,
I have an exciting update that I can't wait to share with you!
Beginning when the shop reopens on Wednesday, I'll be introducing weekly fulfillment cycles - a new workflow designed to help me provide more consistent processing times while continuing to grow the catalog and offer the flexibility you've come to expect.
So...why the change?
The honest answer is that I'm currently about 3 business days behind my posted processing time. If you're currently waiting on an order, thank you so much for your patience. I know you're excited to receive your samples, and I never take that excitement - or your trust - for granted. I don't like exceeding my posted processing times, and it's been something I've been thinking about a lot over the past few weeks
The reality of this situation is that Sucrerie Decants has grown, and my fulfillment process simply hasn't grown with it.
As many of you know (or have guessed), this is truly a one-person business. Every order is ordered, decanted, labeled, packed, shipped, and supported by me. I also manage inventory, update the website, answer emails, source new fragrances, and handle all of the behind-the-scenes work.
Oh...and I also have a full-time job in addition to what started as a fun passion project but has evolved into so much more (in the best way possible!).
When I was receiving just a handful of orders each day, my process worked really well. I simply fulfilled orders as they came in and could get those out within 2 or 3 business days easily.
But as the business has grown - and especially during busy periods leading up to special order windows or planned breaks - that approach has become harder to sustain. It essentially becomes a moving target, and instead of catching up, I'm constantly trying to keep up. That often means late nights, extra trips to the post office, and less time for exciting things like adding new brands to the site (yes, there are new brands coming!).
So, I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to improve this.
There are certainly ways to make things easier. I could carry fewer fragrances (but I love large catalogs!), reduce the number of sample sizes (but I love options!), or simplify my bottle options (sometimes you need drams!)...but I don't want to.
Discovering amazing indie perfume houses is the reason I started Sucrerie Decants in the first place. I want this to continue being a place where you can explore brands you may never have discovered otherwise while choosing the sample size and bottle option that works best for you. That's something I don't want to compromise on.
So instead of making the shop smaller, I decided to rethink how I fulfill orders. During my recent two week break, I met with both a small business advisor and an operations consultant to take a fresh look at how I manage orders and everything else. Together, we redesigned my workflow to better support the growth of the business (with a sprinkle of Python 🤓).
The biggest takeaway was simple:
Instead of fulfilling orders one at a time as they arrive, I'll be fulfilling them in weekly fulfillment cycles.
By reorganizing my workflow, I'll spend less time switching between tasks and more time doing what matters most - preparing your orders and getting them to you as quickly as possible.
What does a weekly fulfillment cycle look like?
The shop will be open each week from:
Wednesday at 12:00 PM Pacific
through
Sunday at 12:00 PM Pacific
Once the ordering period ends, checkout will temporarily be disabled while the website remains open for browsing, building your wishlist, and adding items to your cart. During this time, I'll focus exclusively on preparing and shipping that week's orders before the next fulfillment cycle begins.
From your perspective, not much changes. You'll still have a dedicated opportunity every week to browse new arrivals, shop your favorite fragrances, and place your orders.
Behind the scenes, though, this will completely change how I work.
Instead of constantly juggling incoming orders while trying to fulfill existing ones, I'll have dedicated production days where I can focus entirely on preparing and shipping orders. My hope is that this leads to more consistent processing times, fewer delays during busy periods, and a better experience in general. Ultimately, my goal is simple: spend less time trying to catch up and more time getting your fragrances into your hands.
Most importantly, this new workflow allows me to continue offering what I believe makes Sucrerie Decants special: a large and growing catalog of indie fragrances, multiple sample sizes, and different bottle options - all without sacrificing the quality and care that goes into every order.
This is a new process, and I'm sure there will be small adjustments as I learn what works best. I'm genuinely excited about this next chapter and hope you will be too.
My goal has never been to become the biggest decant shop.
My goal has always been to help more people discover incredible indie perfumes.
I truly believe this change helps me continue doing exactly that.
Thank you, as always, for your patience, your support, and for allowing me to do something I truly love. I can't wait to continue discovering so many new indie fragrances right alongside you.
With gratitude,
Anna