When Ms Nicole Su and Ms Chelsea Low started Hush Candle as a side hustle making artisanal candles in 2015, they only had $500 in start-up capital and no retail experience. 

During the first four years of Hush Candle’s journey, the two spent most of their time before work processing orders and after work hand-pouring candles on Ms Low’s dining table. In good months, they sold an average of 80 candles.

Today, Hush Candle’s sales have soared to about 2,000 candles a month, with the business counting leading retailers like Watson’s and Sephora in its stockists.

The two former colleagues have come a long way since 2015, when they bought raw materials and supplies, produced the candles, and handled logo design and product photography all on their own.

According to Ms Su, the duo did not even have a proper website when they first started the business, selling their candles on Etsy or at craft markets. “We had no overheads as we initially worked out of Chelsea’s home. I’m incredibly grateful to her family for being so supportive. They never once complained about the wax flakes, residue, or fragrances,” says Ms Su, recalling the early days with Ms Low.

Starting out as two friends working late nights to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, they are now successful full-time business partners. Hush Candle is a remarkable success story for a homegrown brand.

The Covid-19 pandemic gave them an advantage

The idea for Hush Candle started when the long-time friends were holidaying in Australia and were inspired by the local artisanal candle brands. They chose the name Hush to "evoke a sense of calmness".

While their candles and home scents help customers relax at home, juggling work and business responsibilities began to strain the two friends’ relationship. 

“It started taking a toll on us. If we wanted to bring our business to the next level, we had to give it our all,” says Ms Low, who handles product photography, store visual merchandising, and digital marketing for Hush Candle.

In early 2019, the friends resigned from their full time public relations jobs to commit fully to growing Hush Candle, but the timing could not have been worse. The Covid-19 pandemic struck, and Hush Candle wasn’t able to maintain revenue coming in from corporate door gift orders and workshop sessions. This was an anxious period for Ms Su, who had just bought a new home.

Undeterred, they pivoted to e-commerce and digital marketing. Surprisingly, the pandemic brought about more opportunities for the business. People were spending more time at home during circuit breaker and the ensuing periods of heightened restrictions and bought candles and home scents to make their homes more cosy. Both Ms Su and Ms Low were also savvy enough to quickly and agilely launch pandemic-relevant products like hand sanitisers in response to changing customer trends and needs.

During this time, Sephora Singapore, looking to expand its home fragrance category, approached Hush Candle. Ms Su says: “We had established a decent level of brand presence in the Singapore market by then and it was a matter of good luck and good timing. Everything progressed organically from there.”

The friends also scored a coup with Watsons when the beauty and wellness chain expanded its wellness range at its flagship store at Ngee Ann City.

This hybrid retail arrangement worked perfectly for Hush Candle, as the physical stockists enabled shoppers to smell its products – a sensorial experience not possible online for first-time customers.

Running a business more easily with technology

After the pandemic, the two women continued to face a steep learning curve as they strove to expand their business without any formal training.

One thing they discovered is that customers constantly seek new experiences. To keep them interested and engaged, Ms Su and Ms Low are always looking for customer feedback. Learning from customer reviews for example, they launched reed diffusers for those who prefer “a more subtle but constant background scent”.

“But product diversification must not dilute the brand DNA,” says Ms Su. “We ensure that any new product we create will fit our criteria of elevating one’s self-care journey easily.”

Another challenge faced by Ms Su, who oversees sales, business development, and growth, was managing the company’s accounts.

“I'm old-school and not tech savvy,” she admits. Ms Su would spend hours sifting through sales reports, manually inputting figures into Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint.

“We spent huge amounts of time ensuring everything tallied and was error-free. It was tedious, extremely frustrating, and made us dread doing the accounts at the end of the month.”

The two decided to hire a freelance accountant, who recommended two cloud accounting software options. Ms Su chose Xero for its versatility and user-friendly interface that allow her to check her store’s inventory and revenue in real-time using only a web browser. It made core business tasks, from managing sales to invoicing, so much quicker and simpler.

She says: “Xero provides a bird’s eye view of our sales performances at our retailers, so I know which products I should stock-up with at each store.”

For a small business, closely monitoring overheads and maintaining healthy cash flow is crucial. Xero’s dashboards provide Ms Su with a clear view of outstanding payments owed to Hush Candle.

The solution’s intuitive design also means her staff can seamlessly take over during her absence. “I simply create a new account for them, and they can navigate Xero independently.”

Anticipating the future amid uncertainties

With Xero's solutions freeing up time by accelerating tedious accounting tasks, Ms Su and Ms Low can now channel their energies into growing their business. This includes planning career progression for their tight-knit team of five, and expanding the business into South-east Asia, beginning with Malaysia in January 2024.

There is also the ongoing task of evolving the business in line with wider market trends, including sustainability. When the more environmentally conscious customers started suggesting recycling candle jars, Hush Candle launched the “Refill and Recycle” programme that allows them to bring in candle jars of any brand for recycling.

“When we started, we didn’t have any grand plans or strategies. For us, making candles was simply a cool and spontaneous idea. Hush Candle’s growth is driven by genuine interest from our customers,” Ms Su says.

The duo’s personal relationship also makes running a business even more fun. Calling her friendship with Ms Low unique, Ms Su says that they value their friendship so much that “everything else is secondary”. They have often been asked if it's challenging to run a business with a close friend. However, Ms Su shares that they maintain their bond by keeping work discussions exclusive to office hours.

In fact, the duo has introduced a “penalty” system. Ms Su shares: “After work, any mention of the business results in a $50 fine for the offender!”

For more information on how Xero can help your business, click here.

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