Business Focus:
When Nikki Brown decided to turn her candle-making into more than a hobby she could not predict that she’d end up leaving her University job for a candle-making business with four divisions and stock on national retailers’ shelves.
The Bay Candle Company started in 2017 as a way for Brown to destress from her job as Acting Director of Support Services at Nelson Mandela University.
“When I started making candles as a hobby, I watched tons of videos, and tutorials and read as much as I could. I then completed an online Chandeliers Course (Candle making) – Then it was hours and hours of testing and learning,” she reminisces.
With a marketing degree and experience from her full-time position which covered finance, commerce, and operations, she realised that she had the necessary skills to start a business.
“What started as a hobby migrated into a business when I took my first candle into the office as a gift for my personal assistant,” said Brown.
Brown says that being part of essential services during the COVID lockdown and losing close colleagues as well as members of her own team to COVID, made her step back and re-evaluate her life
“At that time, personalised candles were keeping me extremely busy and the business was taking off. I could no longer cope with the demand on candles as a hobby and working full time at the pace I was accustomed to working at, so I made the very hard decision to leave my full-time position in April 2020,” she said.
The business has subsequently grown to the point that she has had to employ two staff members to assist with the four distinct divisions; Retail (hand-crafted products), Supplies (Raw materials for the DIY enthusiast or other manufacturers), Personalised Candles (Memorial, Baptism, weddings, etc), and Workshops, which include candle making for birthday parties.
When it comes to candle related products, Bay Candle Company is known for all things scented. Their best selling items are scented jars that come in a variety of traditional scents from lavender and vanilla – to more quirky ones such as fresh bread and hemp.
Brown’s dream is to grow her brand nationally and with her products already in two SuperSpar franchises, the dream is on its way to becoming a reality.
You can find them at:
- The Locally Yours Shop in Walmer
- The Happiness Shop in Mount Rd
- Symara Factory Shop in Despatch
- The SuperSpar in J.Bay
- The SuperSpar in Queenstown
- Online Store at https://baycandlecompany.co.za
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