Chay’La Hart did not just want to make candles. She wanted to make candles that stop you before you ever strike a match.

In this Black Business Spotlight from the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Hart talks about building Flame Reaction Candle Co., a Twin Cities handcrafted home fragrance brand now nearly two years into its journey and still growing.

The idea started with a love of scent and a desire to make her own space feel cozy and beautiful. But Hart noticed most candle companies focused entirely on fragrance and ignored the visual side. She wanted both. Her original candle designs were intentionally decorative, meant to serve as home decor while filling a room with fragrance.

“What inspired my business is the love for scent. They look really decorative, almost double as home decor. Decorating my space, feeling nice and cozy in my home with a good smell is what inspired the whole thing.”

Nearly everything is produced in-house, from pouring candles to designing and printing product labels. Flame Reaction uses coconut soy wax, wooden wicks and reusable or recyclable vessels where possible, keeping both quality and sustainability at the center of the brand.

Today the lineup includes candles, incense, room sprays and other home fragrance products, with Hart constantly testing new ideas and experimenting with what comes next.

“I’m actually always in the testing phase. It’s constant that new products are coming in.”

Customer favorites have emerged along the way. The all-time best-selling scent is Cereal Killer. Amber and Rosewood and Lavender Haze have been growing in popularity. Every fragrance is designed to create an emotional connection and every candle is built to be both functional and a conversation piece.

Building the business has also meant learning things nobody teaches you upfront. Managing inventory, transporting heavy products to markets and creating systems that keep everything organized have become just as important as developing new scents.

“A lot of new learning experiences come from owning a business. Learning how to travel with such heavy products, creating systems and knowing what inventory to bring to different markets has really helped me build the business.”

Shop online at flamereactioncandleco.com.

Full story at msr.media.