Candle start-up fires up for growth

A FORMER Manchester beauty salon owner is taking her newest start-up venture online, selling handmade candles to the public as well as upmarket retailers.

Anne Connaughton set up Essential Aromatics three years ago, making candles out of soy wax and natural essential oils on her kitchen stove.

Now, after receiving support and advice from Wigan Council and the Greater Manchester Business Growth Service, she has moved into a new manufacturing facility in Atherton and plans to have a new e-commerce website live in the coming months.

Connaughton said: “At the moment sales are split about 80/20 in favour of the wholesale side of things. But I think that this will all change when the new website launches.

“I’m already making thousands of candles a week but I hope that online sales will eclipse business sales when the e-commerce site goes live.”

Essential Aromatics sells to a number of wholesale clients including craft shops, interior designers, luxury spas and beauty salons. Some wholesale customers purchase candles and other products that are white-labelled to be repackaged and sold on.

Even though she has moved to a new manufacturing facility, all the candles are still made by hand, because this is an important part of the company’s identity.
Connaughton said: “All of our candles are handmade and top quality. They’re made from soy wax instead of paraffin blends and this means that the fragrance and essential oils go all the way through to create a nice long lasting scent.

“The other thing that differentiates us from the bigger manufacturers is that all of our products are made in the UK, and I only deal with businesses that I can physically sit down with and have a conversation.”

The candle company has been something of a trend setter in the industry. Essential Aromatics was one of the first candle manufacturers to experiment with using oud as a fragrance, a scent that has since become very popular with some of the more exclusive brands.

Essential Aromatics is also developing a new range of products, including body washes and other bespoke aroma products. Connaughton likes developing new and unusual fragrances in conjunction with her customers, local chemists and The British Candlemakers Federation.