A MA NDA-JAYNE CANDLES
Amanda Cumming
START-UP COSTS: ‘My family invested in the business to help me get it off the ground. It cost about R80 000 to start Amanda-Jayne Candles.’
TURNOVER: ‘At the end of 2020, we closed the year on R1.7 million turnover, and we’re aiming for close to R3 million this year. I also have three full-time employees now, after starting out solo.’
What started as a garage project has evolved into a wildly successful business venture for Amanda Cumming. Inspired by her love of heavenly aromas, Amanda started selling small-batch handmade candles at boutiques in Cape Town. These days, her candles are stocked by more than 100 shops worldwide.
When did you decide to ditch the nine-to-five?
I was working in the advertising industry when I fell pregnant with my first child. I didn’t want to continue in that full-time job with a new baby, so I left advertising and focused on my son for a year. My plan was to have something to do from home so I could be with my kids. I’ve always loved beautiful scents, perfumes and home fragrances, as well as candles, so I started doing some research on candle making.
How did you approach the business?
Very slowly! I spent about two years just developing scents and perfecting the art of candle making. I launched the business in 2016 with my glass collection candle range and it just took off organically from there.
Describe your creative process
I put a lot of thought into every product.
I recently launched my fragrance reed diffusers, which I started working on about a year-and-ahalf ago, trying to find the perfect packaging and the right fragrance balance and base liquid to achieve a perfect scent diffusion.
The best part of what I do is coming up with new scents. I’ll sit at my desk for hours with all my oils around me and build fragrances using base, middle and top notes, balancing them out to find that perfect combination. I try to develop a new fragrance for each season and refine the range depending on what my customers love most. This summer I’ll be launching three new scents with beautiful bright boxes, something new and existing for us.
Why is marketing important?
When I started this business, I did everything, from running the social media to designing my own website – none of which was my forte. Right before lockdown, we had a surge of interest from bigger retailers like Poetry, so I felt that it was time to invest in good marketing. I was approached by a lovely company called The Glow-Up Marketing, and they have helped me transform my online presence. I used to have a following of about 900; now I have about 14 500 followers, and all these people are so supportive of the brand. Glow-Up also redesigned my website. And we invested in having some beautiful photographs taken of our full product range.
How did the pandemic impact your business?
At first we were obviously unable to distribute products for while, but as soon as the market opened up again, public interest doubled. I think many people started to spend more money on themselves and on creating a beautiful home environment, since we were all spending so much more time at home.
Anything in the pipeline?
We’re about to launch a body oil that’s been in the works for a while now. It’s called Eden, and I’m really excited about it. I believe in creating products that I love and enjoy. Hopefully everyone else will find joy in using them as well, so I plan to keep growing this brand and see where it takes us.
Website: amandajaynecandles.com Instagram: @amandajaynecandles