Marvel Wicks: Kindling passion through handcrafted candles & more

Candle making is an art, which everyone aims to make with regular wax and other chemical products. But Ridhima, the founder of Marvel Wicks ensures that she makes candles and home décor products using eco-friendly products such as soy wax and other natural ingredients. She has completed her Master in Business Administration and Human Resource Management and also worked as a trainee manager at the Radisson Blue group.

Ridhima started her entrepreneurial journey during the peak lockdown time when she started making candles of different types. When she showed them it to her near and dear ones, they appreciated her craft and enthused by that she decide to plunge into a profession where she prepares candles only with her hand and does not use any kind of chemical, like paraffin and others. "After the lockdown started, I used to make nature-friendly candles, which captured everyone's attention. My husband and family have been my pillar of support in this company to a shape, a make it a major success," Ridhima, Founder of Marvel Wicks tells Bizz Buzz.

She handcrafts only scented and designer candles using natural ingredients and also prepares home décor products like trinket trees, holders for dry fruits and other showpieces, which can be used for decorative purposes in homes. "My products have been the centre of attraction for many people and they have been used in various photo-shoots and other kind of events which have drawn many people's attention to purchase these marvellous products," says Ridhima.

A pastel colour lover, she incorporates pastel colours like lavender, sea blue, light pink and other bright colours in her products. The store Marvel Wicks was started in July 2021.

She handpicks rare designs for her candles and décor like food-based candles such as waffle with ice-cream candle, ice-cream candle, cupcake candle to name a few, flower-type candles, Christmas candles, Santa Claus candles, frosty jars, premium luxury jars, concrete tables, food trays and many more. "I make the candles and the home décor items with my hand which are completely eco-friendly, which are completely safe for the environment and also give beauty to the surroundings when they placed in either showcases or in special occasions," said Ridhima.

Ridhima started her candle-making journey by purchasing the raw materials through Amazon. She also reached out to other stores, like itsy bitsy for buying the eco-friendly materials. "At Amazon, though the products were sold at reasonable prices, it was a bit difficult for me as the home delivery wasn't quick," said Ridhima. Apart from that, reaching out to suppliers was a challenging job for her as she had a few financial issues in terms of paying them and in getting the required amount of raw material.

The founder didn't apply for any bank loan, wherein she arranged an amount of Rs 2.5 lakhs from her savings to begin her business. "Doing rotation of money for improving the business has been very difficult as I should master that art," said Ridhima. Getting the startup into proper shape has also been very challenging, where Ridhima submitted all her documents for getting trademark registration, which was started by the Government of India. For scaling up her business, she worked with an experienced artist to achieve the desired logo to get the best look for the website.

She also makes cloth candles wherein she puts the candles in organza or jute cotton, which are environment-friendly. In order to get the organza netted material, she had approached many people, wherein getting the fabric was very difficult. She got in touch with a tailor who could stitch the cloth according to her wish and will. "When I was looking for a person to stitch the material, I found a Gujarati artisan who helped me in making the pouches as well as made them circulate among different circles to popularise the products," says Ridhima.

In the beginning, Ridhima used to source her raw material from the United States, which later caused her slight problems as it used to take a lot of time to ship the raw material from such a long distance. "I started sourcing raw materials from both north and south India, wherein suppliers from Bangalore have been very cooperative in providing me with the raw materials. I also pluck flowers from my garden for decorating the candles," says Ridhima.

When she started an Instagram page to promote her company, it started with a few people following her company, which gradually increased to more followers. "To popularise my company, I asked many people to like my page and the most interesting part is that my clientele are my followers who are very impressed with my handmade collection," says Ridhima.

In order to begin a startup, Ridhima feels that, one should kick-start his/her dream to begin a business. "With an idea to start a business, the person should reach out to all the people who can help in supplying the raw materials and be ready to face any challenge in the way," says Ridhima. Popularising the product is the main goal when the entrepreneur begins their business to flourish it in this competitive market, opines Ridhima.