how to start a luxury candle company 2.
Spoiler alert, I am not going to teach you anything about candle making. I am not a candle maker. I design candle lines and work closely with makers/owners, so yes, I have learned a lot about candles and I love candles, but I am by no means a candle making expert (glad that's out of the way!)
What I am going to do is help you start the right way, (or get you on the right track if you need a reset) by getting you thinking about and deciding on the most important foundations for your new business before you even get started. Furthermore, if you choose to work with a designer, you are going to have a better idea of what you’ll need and why you’ll need it, which will help you decide who you might want to work with.
Let’s start at the part where you have been pouring candles for friends, your sister’s baby shower or your local flea market and you think - I need to quit my job and do this full time. I love your enthusiasm! You will probably start some Pinterest boards for inspo (do this!) you’ll go out to all the retailers near you and sniff candles and fragrances for hours to see what you love and what you don’t love (do this!). You will probably start researching supplies, you’ll see the stuff to order from China and then you might settle on domestic suppliers to start with (or not), because you might need to stay on budget and because you can get supplies overnighted to you, who wants to wait right?
So, you found some cute vessels or tins, you have ordered wax and wicks and started to mess around with some essential oils or whatever fragrances you can get your hands on that don’t smell like bathroom air fresheners. You are on your way.
Here’s the part where I start to hear the brakes screeching in my mind, you get a new printer and find some diecut labels or some label sheets and then you download a logo off the internet, or create it on Canva, you think of some catchy fragrance names and you are good to go, right? Listen, you have come a long way, probably even further than many people with a dream of owning a candle business. If this is where you are and you are loving it, then keep trucking. But, if you are thinking - I wonder what separates what I am doing from those really exclusive candle brands? then let’s look at that.
I think we can agree that looks are VERY important when it comes to selling a product.
No matter how great your candle smells, if it doesn't look great, you are not going to be a bestselling brand. When you are scrolling on your phone, or walking through a retail store or even walking by a store, what draws you in? makes you stop? makes you take a closer look? Definitely the way something looks. When it comes to home fragrance, if the packaging is just meh, you are definitely going to need some help.
Because let's be honest, no one needs a $65 candle, we just want one!
When it comes to home fragrance, we are talking about products that make our lives more luxurious, more special, more extra, products that can elevate a moment, bring back memories, even give us a sense of wellbeing, but home fragrance is a real luxury for many and not a necessity, so, your products better look damn good!
And, looking good doesn’t just mean pretty labels. Your line needs to look good AND make sense.
Your line needs cohesion, each batch needs to look like it came from the same brand, not shabby chic one day and ultra minimalist the next. But how do you actually do this? As creatives, we get bored, we want change, we want a new look right? Like getting dressed, sometimes we want comfy jeans and sometimes we want a beautiful dress. Here's the secret, ready for it?… Create a brand story.
My most successful clients all have something in common, they have a clear brand story, and, that story has driven their brands. Harlem Candle Co. is inspired by the Harlem Renaissance (the short pitch), that is a great short description, it gets right to the point. Eleven Point Fragrance Merchants make home fragrance that is inspired by nature, the river, a place of peace. Your brand story can be based on your own personal story, or not at all. It can be a story you have created, it can be based on something you are passionate about, whatever it is, it needs to inspire you and give you enough material that you can imagine developing an entire line based on that story. Sometimes a great story starts with a catchy brand name, like, Boy Smells, whether you know what their story is or not, the name alone gets your attention. What about Le Labo? Famous for their laboratory, raw, industrial style. Some stories in the candle/home fragrance industry say it all in their brand names, some in their distinctive and recognizable packaging, some in their famous fragrances (like bestselling personal fragrance lines that have expanded into home fragrance) and sometimes it’s a combination of these things, but they ALL have a story, and that story drives their design choices. Trust me, you need this too. Without a story, your brand has no soul, your a brand without a vision for the future or any history behind it (even for a new brand) and what that story also does is that it starts what is known as a creative brief. Something designers must have to get you great results. As a designer, I can tell you that we don’t want to give you what everyone else is doing, we love being challenged and pushed to innovate and create.
Do you have a brand story? The inspiration for your line? Is it based on a true story? an era? a poem? a place? Does your brand have a point of view?
I can't stress how important this foundation is for your new business and for your future graphic and packaging designer. If you can’t give a designer (or yourself) a creative brief, how can they deliver beautiful, meaningful, personalized work for your brand? And, how can you create a product line that makes sense with a clear path to follow for the future? Don’t do it, don’t waste your time or your money, go spend that money on getting inspired and then come back with your story. You got this! :)
