How this M’sian ex-aircraft engineer grew her candle biz into a successful 10 Y/O brand

Graduating as an aircraft engineer, Julia Jules Wan was one of the four pioneer women in Malaysia to be in the male-dominated field. 

She worked on planes like the B737, B777, and propeller planes at the Malaysia Airlines Engineering division for over 11 years before moving abroad with her husband for his job together with their then 9-month-old baby. 

Today, the 45-year-old is the founder and the Scent Director of Candle Pit Stop (CPS). 

“Fine, I’ll do it myself” 

Although she’s always been curious about scents and the emotions they evoke, Jules has never been a huge candle lover. Yet, she would be gifted them by relatives who traveled. 

“I used them and hated using them,” she admitted. “They never burnt well. The scent always disappointed me, and I never found any therapeutic value in them.” 

It was during her time in Bali that her mind changed. She witnessed how the aroma of incense and the flicker of candles could bring relaxation to a space. She realised how relaxing it was to have the correct scent and light. 

“Also, my engineering inquisitiveness found candles and its technicality of creating that perfect burn and scent throw interesting,” she added. “It was an engineering playground for me.”

She added that her exposure to the various metal and chemical scents might’ve spurred her to create scents that please the nose, uplift the mood, and provide a warm inviting atmosphere. 

Starting out in 2014, Jules had noticed a gap for natural candles in Malaysia. Thus, she made a decision to create and formulate her own scent blends unique to Candle Pit Stop while using only sustainable ingredients, like soy wax. 

“I have worked on the formulation since 2014. I did not produce candles immediately. I tested a lot. And like a scientist, I experimented and there were many failed candles,” she recalled. 

“My house will be filled with these failed candles. To the point my husband will complain we never had good working candles at home.”

At the time, the business ran from her kitchen, and she would host candle workshops for corporates, private functions, and events.

“Soon, I started getting manufacturing orders for private labels in Malaysia and later, boutique international brands,” Jules added.

Now, they’ve served big clients like Facebook, Bonia, Pandora, Lux, Shell, Dorothy Perkins, De Beers, and more.

Becoming an entrepreneur

But it was not an easy journey at all. For one, Jules pointed out that a candle business is not cheap. 

“Stock inventory is high, especially when dealing with imported oils in bulk in foreign currencies like USD and Euros,” she shared. 

She recalled that for her first kiosk, it took around RM70,000 in capital, including an expensive rental. At that point, she did not personally produce enough candles yet, so she imported some natural dry wax candles.

“I did not have a clue on running a retail business and my horns were too green at that time. It did not go well, and very soon [I] lost all funds,” she said. “It was a painful experience as that was also my hard earnings as an aircraft engineer.”

Thankfully, their candle workshops picked up traction, and some very important decisions to pivot the business came along too.

Jules would pour their revenue back into the business, adamant not to get external investment. Her motto from then till now is: “A business’ health can only thrive if it has its own heartbeat.” 

“It took me seven years of bootstrapping and a lot of hard work and learning the ropes of cost control and projections,” she said. “Eventually the business thrived and became cash positive on its own. It was my proudest moment as a business owner.”

Developing the in-house brand

After her first kiosk in IPC, Jules moved to Atria to try a full retail lot. By then, CPS’ manufacturing line was bigger than their retail business and thus needed more space than Jules’ dining room.

Yet, they eventually moved from the retail mall location as they were not optimising the retail space well. 

“I made the decision to shut the retail store to concentrate on manufacturing. But not long after, COVID hit,” she said. “I am very grateful to have made the difficult decision to move out of retail then to focus on one thing I thought was the way [forward for] Candle Pit Stop—manufacture.”

The pandemic meant many clients slowed down their orders, but it was fortunate that Jules had no capex to pay.

She used the free time to expand her formulation of both wax and scents for a dream she’s held onto for a long time—her own home brand of candles under Candle Pit Stop. 

Despite it being the pandemic, Jules took the leap of faith and marketed her products online. It was the right choice, as online sales grew almost immediately. 

Post-pandemic, Jules began looking for a premise that could cater to their boutique manufacturing needs, office, and showroom. This meant it needed plenty of space for loading and unloading stock. 

Eventually, she found the perfect location in Bangsar, which has now become CPS’ flagship retail store for all their walk-in customers. 

Keeping the fire alive

Since 2014, many homegrown candle brands have popped up. But Jules believes that with over a decade in manufacturing and wax formulations, CPS’ customer base knows they are in it for the long run. 

Plus, since CPS blends its own fragrances, each scent blend has its own levels that can cater to every nose sensitivity as well. 

“Our scents have three levels,” Jules elaborated. “Level 3 being for people who are sensitive to fragrances and can get headaches, sneezing, and allergies. Level 4 scents are generally for everyone. And level 5 scents are for those who prefer heavier fragrance, have pets at home, or require fragrance that work well as an odour eliminator.” 

Jules shared that she usually sets goals and milestones every year for her business. Although she doesn’t stress over it, she is definitely excited about the prospects. 

“Some product formulations have proved to be successful after months of testing, hence it means we are now able to expand even more of our product categories,” she said. 

Catering to both B2C and B2B, she hopes to take CPS international too, believing her business has a strong foundation for steady growth in the years to come. 

“A candle business can sound so simple,” the former aircraft engineer said. “But like all businesses, you truly need perseverance, focus, belief, determination, and grit if you take it seriously. It can light your path, or truly burn you in the process.”

Featured Image Credit: Candle Pit Stop