ISSUE NO: 137

It’s the sweet smell of success for Norfolk home fragrance business The Candle Brand as it expands into new manufacturing unit.

www.thecandlebrand.co.uk

Norfolk home fragrance company, The Candle Brand, has expanded into a new manufacturing base in South Norfolk. Having started almost four years ago as a kitchen-table operation, the business now employs five people, sells throughout the UK and has ambitious growth plans.

As well as manufacturing a range of scented candles, The Candle Brand produces wax melts and its award winning, signature Flower Diffusers.

The Candle Brand’s founder and managing director is 31 year old Christina Brand.  “After having my first daughter, I was looking for a business opportunity that would allow me to combine motherhood with an interesting and fulfilling career,” Mrs Brand explains.  “I started exploring the world of home fragrances and realised that I had a natural aptitude for working with scents, designing products and the wider manufacturing and marketing process.”

“When the Sandringham Estate gift shop became a stockist, it was a real milestone for The Candle Brand.  It gave us the confidence that we had got the product and brand exactly right. Now you can find our products as far away as Scotland, Jersey and Cornwall.”

Family is at the heart of The Candle Brand. Christina’s staff team is made up of family members and close friends, including her mother-in-law Kim and sister-in-law Emma. And whilst a four-day working week is currently being trialled by a range of businesses as part of a high-profile academic pilot study, The Candle Brand adopted a four day manufacturing model from day one.

It’s fair to say that the UK home fragrance market is one of the most crowded and competitive. So how is The Candle Brand special?

In 2021, The Candle Brand won three categories in the Gift of the Year Awards, run by the Giftware Association. Its Flower Diffuser was winner in the prestigious ‘My Gift of All Time’ category.  In February 2022, Christina and her team attended the Spring Fair trade event and brought in 70 new trade clients, a trade show record for the company.

“Our aim has always been to deliver products of exceptional quality which have a genuine point of difference,” continues Christina. “Our Burn & Bloom collection of candles, made with coconut and rapeseed oils and featuring a wooden wick, have a unique label with wildflower seeds embedded into the paper. Once the candle has burnt down, the glass jar can be filled with soil, the label planted and flowers will take over from the candle as a fragrant centrepiece.”

The Candle Brand’s Flower Diffuser, available in 12 fragrances, also features the seeded label. The scented wooden flower bouquet is powered by both reeds and a cotton rope, stylishly displayed in a clear glass vase. The rope absorbs the liquid until it is saturated in the fragrance and the reeds draw up the scent until it’s diffused through each sola wood petal.

“Whilst our ambitions as a brand are huge, we are a Norfolk business and are committed to growing our manufacturing and distribution base in the county. Wherever possible we work with suppliers and partners who are based locally and who share our values as a business.”

Products from The Candle Brand are available from a range of local stockists as well as direct from www.thecandlebrand.co.uk

Botanical Wax Melts 

– £5.75 per bar

The Candle Brand wax melt collections contain a 100% pure blend of coconut and rapeseed wax, with 100 hours diffusion time per bar. These 80g wax bars come with six easy to snap-off cubes. Melt in a wax burner, as many times as you wish, until all the fragrance has evaporated. Diffusion time 16-20 hours approximately per cube. Available in 14 botanical fragrances, including Patchouli with Lily, Lily
and White Rose, and
Very Vanilla.