Gone are the days when candles were used only as an alternate source of light during blackouts. Today, candles are a symbol of pride and luxury and are being used everywhere. Due to demand for organic candles, this start-up in the city started making eco-friendly candles.
MR Srividya, founder of Lead Training and Corporate Solutions, decided to make candles using 100 per cent natural, organic bees' wax. The candle works as an alternative medicine helping people with insomnia, Alzheimer's, stress and fatigue/ depression during pregnancy. It is also used in aromatherapy and at meditation centres to help improve the focus of a person.
Srividya, a native of Mysuru, learnt candle making from her mother during her college days. She then did a market research for about two weeks before establishing the start-up in 2014. She says, "I was not able to find good quality diyas/candles in the market at an affordable price. Thus, I decided to experiment with organic candles."
Using candles made of paraffin wax can lead to adverse effect on your health. By inhaling paraffin fumes, one can have adverse reactions including nausea, vomiting, headaches. Candles can cause indoor pollution by producing benzene, that can lead to lung cancer, she adds.
She says creativity is a challenge. "I had to continuously think of new pleasing designs, make organic colours and organic perfumes. It's not easy to procure organic colours and perfumes at an affordable cost," she says. Explaining about competition with 'Made-in-China' products, she says that you can get a candle worth `100 for `80 in a shop. The 40 per cent profit will go to the shopkeeper. This was an extremely difficult barrier for sales and this challenge still continues, she adds.
Empowering women
Srividhya has also taken an initiative to teach women from lower class to make candles, helping them earn some extra income. They have candles starting from Rs 10 up to Rs 6,500. Srividya, who has done her masters in Biotech, has plans to create a team for organic candle design, manufacturing and sales that can function independently to reach a set target. Her advice to start-up aspirants is to do a good research in their respective fields before going ahead with the start-up and to consider failures as stepping stones for success.
“Working as an employee under someone didn't give me happiness. I changed jobs few times and worked for various companies. I was not satisfied as I felt I was capable of doing more and my capacities were restricted. Thus, I decided to become an entrepreneur,” says Srividya.
