Big Brand VS Small Brand

Posted by Lauren Yearn on

Big Brand VS Small Brand

No mass production and one size wick ‘fits all’ here. But what is mass production and more importantly what’s the difference between the big boys & smaller artisan brands?  

The secret is out..

You’ve seen many mass produced candles in the large branded homeware shops and supermarkets, they are generally made in a factory in China or similar, with one wick size for all fragrances, cheap wax and minimal fragrance oil - which may explain why these candles don't always burn quite as they should and it’s generally pot luck if you get a whiff of scent from them!

We've all been drawn in by the cheap price and on initial 'cold' sniff it's often impressive, but these candles mostly ‘tunnel’ when you burn them (which is when there's a wide rim of wax that doesn't melt around the vessel, no matter how long you burn them for).. or they have the biggest flame known to man that could potential swipe your freshly done powder brows off at any given second! If you find the latter, do for the love of god blow it out immediately. Your vessel could overheat and literally explode! Candle safety is likely not a mass produced candle manufacturers main priority. Profit absolutely is. 

These types of candles are costing mere pennies to produce and super fast to make too, making them the ideal option for supermarkets and big brands who need to make hundreds of thousands of candles a week with high profit margins. Cheap imported wax is widely used, which cannot be traced back to origin and is very rarely sustainable and likely contains toxins. There’s also very often an unperfumed core that the one sized wick sits inside of or some are only perfumed through the top few centimetres.. remember that impressive cold sniff? Not so impressive after the 3rd burn.. 

Don't be fooled into thinking it’s only the cheaper supermarkets..

It can be big named brands too! When 'Yankee' doodle dandy 1st came to town, they made a huge name for themselves and still fly high on those coat tails now. But, have you noticed they don't smell like they used to many years ago? ...See above as for perhaps why? 

Not all big production is like this.. there are some massive (very reputable) chandlers that make for some big brands and they are wonderful candles made by experts in the industry.. but it’s not the case for most. Save yourself the trudge through uncharted territory and support the small artisan makers where you know what your getting and breathing in in your homes. 

 

Small is beautiful.. 

It is indeed.. Using a smaller artisan brand, like Lyla Belle, and of course many others, you generally get to know the processes used and the people behind the brand. We love to show you what we are all about! We proudly tell you about our natural vegetable/soy wax being sustainable and we can trace it back to the origin, so you know it’s responsibly made and not damaging to the environment. We are all now very much more aware than we have ever been about our carbon footprint. We now use biodegradable, sustainable & recyclable wherever possible. Even our packing peanuts are made from corn starch and dissolve in water! 

Each wick (or in our case 2 x single wicks - made from sappy fruit trees, placed together in the sustainer) is sized for a specific fragrance oil. No two oils are the same. We work with various combinations of wick to find the one that works for each individual oil. That’s months and months of testing to make sure your candle reaches a full melt pool and is fragranced throughout the entire candle. It's more in depth that this possibly suggests, with safety obviously the number one priority. This is a live flame in people's homes. 

Back to those wicks.. sappy fruit trees? Yep! That’s correct. The really cool part is (not just that fabulous crackle and modern horizontal flame you only get with wood wicks) the fact they are super eco friendly & charitable too!
Our wooden wick supplier uses wood sourced from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified mills and for every £75 spent with them, they plant a tree with the “Trees for the Future” - an organization working to end hunger and poverty for small farmers through revitalising degraded lands. This means that with every Lyla Belle candle purchase, you are not only helping to plant trees, but also help support the lives of farming families. Read more about this organization at trees.org

The natural wax we use for our candles can hold up to 8% fragrance oil load, so, that’s what we aim to have in our candles. We add 10% in our wax melts as this is a different type of wax and can hold a little more. Both being non-toxic and made from soybeans. It’s sustainable, renewable and environmentally friendly too. Just a few of the reasons why we love it and use it!

We always aim for a perfectly balanced candle. Some fragrances are naturally more in your face than others (both synthetic & natural) and it’s down to personal preference of which you prefer. Some people prefer a more delicate, subtle scent and others like it to smash them in the snozzle! We try to cater for all. Even our most delicate scents will fill a room, but might not instantly smack you in the face. There’s layers to fragrance too, top, middle & base notes.. and this is what all our different noses smell at different times. Which is why a scent can also smell very differently to different people. For example.. I find our French Vanilla a strong in your face fragrance, yet I know a friend who thinks it’s quite subtle and delicate. Bizarre, right?! Basically, scent is very subjective! If you don’t like one scent from a company or it’s not strong enough for your taste, there’s sure to be many more that’s more suitable for you. Just ask for recommendations. 

Small brand candles tend to be hand poured and made in small batches. They are generally of a higher quality (if made correctly) and made with heaps of love and care and tears.. oh yes, you can bet you there’s been tears! Creating a product can be very frustrating but so rewarding and that’s why we do it. We love our products and from the reviews and feedback we get, you do too! Lovingly created, heavenly fragranced and responsibly made is our ethos, and we sit very comfortably in the mid price range. There are others with a much lower quality candle selling for much higher. We like to think of our candles like little works of fragranced art, funky little characters with their quirky designs and ambient crackling wood wicks. We make affordable luxury and add great value as we always include a free gift in with your order too, as a little extra thank you from us. Our profit margins aren’t huge, but we love what we do! 

So, you decide, handmade by a small business with plenty of love and care and not forgetting the tears! ..or mass produced by machines in another country, using cheap ingredients with you don’t know what’s in it. I hope it's at least given you food for thought! 

Lauren x


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