Q: What process did you follow to determine your product’s marketability?
A: When we started the company, I selected a range of different giftable products such as silk flowers and candles that we imported from China. I selected items that I personally liked and that I thought had a chance in the market place. It quickly turned out that candles outperformed all other categories. It was a natural decision to focus on candles as we were looking to grow the business.
Q: What process did you follow to develop your products? Did you initially create your own candles? A: Our network of friends and family in the U.S. and in China has always been extremely important to us. They have offered invaluable advice and help. In the beginning, our friends in China helped us build relationships with candle manufacturers. Valuing the close partnerships we were able to establish with these vendors, I also realized the limitations. With a strong sense for fashion and stylish design, I was looking to be actively involved in the product development and design process. However, because of our comparatively small order quantities, we were not able to have our designs custom-made.
By the spring of 1995 we had done extensive research on creating and producing scented candles. My vision was a line of candles in new fashionable colors with unique fragrances. I believed there was real potential in the American market for home products in a more contemporary style. One day while passionately chatting about my vision, a client mentioned Peter French, the founder of a prominent fragrance and color company specializing in candles. After contacting Peter French, we were invited to his office, where we received a crash course on wicks, wax, color, fragrances, and how they all interact in the candle making process.
Q: Did you eventually work with a formulator? How did that process work?
A: Full of enthusiasm and inspiration from our meeting with Peter French, we returned home and immediately started turning the basement of our Annapolis home into a candle workshop. We were so excited and full of ideas we could not wait for our candle molds to arrive and instead started using Campbell soup cans to experiment with wax colors and fragrances.
