We’ve seen some innovative people do wondrous things with candles. From hyperrealistic ones imitating food like nasi lemak and fried chicken to ones carrying scents of tom yum and Tiger Balm, there’s a lot of room for creativity with candles.
One candle business that might appear unassuming at first is Lemondrop Farm. Indeed, it seems to offer your run-of-the-mill candles, but there’s a layer of thoughtfulness behind this homegrown candle brand that makes it stand out.
To me, it all comes down to storytelling. Lemondrop Farm does a good job of painting a narrative for each of its scents, such as its Tea series which is inspired by Chagee’s famous White Peach Oolong Tea.
Even the packaging contains some easter eggs that helps to solidify the brand’s voice.
As such, it comes as no surprise that the business was founded by someone with experience in the marketing world.
A jack of all trades
The woman behind Lemondrop Farm is Chem Li San.
Born and bred in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Li San has lived multiple lives, starting off her career in finance before moving to marketing.
An entrepreneurial-spirited woman, she also did a patisserie course with Le Cordon Bleu and ran her own cake business for two and a half years.
However, she ended up shutting it down due to developing an egg allergy. With that unfortunate incident, she went back into the corporate world.
In the post-pandemic days of 2022, though, she decided to brave the entrepreneurial world again.
“I needed an outlet for my interest in pairing flavours and scents together,” Li San explained. “I started making candles for fun on my own, and to justify the cost, I started selling at markets.”
With sales looking encouraging from markets, she decided to take the scary leap to do it full time in August 2024.
A can-do attitude
Starting out with Lemondrop Farm, the idea was to branch out into other products that create joy and laughter for people. After all, the name is inspired by the saying “when life gives you lemons…”
“But instead of making lemonade, here we make Lemondrop sweets,” Li San shared. “I wanted to create a brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously while still delivering high quality products at an accessible price. Hence our tongue-in-cheek candle names and labels.”
Creating her candles, Li San starts by thinking of a feeling she wants to evoke, from cosiness and warmth to powerful and seductive.
From there, she identifies what olfactory notes are heavily linked to those feelings, and then stacks on the appropriate scents.
“I tend to try to add many notes in order to create a more complex scent, but sometimes, just two scents can make up something I’m happy with and that people are happy with,” she mused. “If that’s the case, I leave it at that and try not to overcomplicate things.”
If Li San’s lucky, she can create the scent she envisions in just two to three tries. If not, it can take up to 20 tries to get the right balance of scents.
Fanning the flame
But despite her hard work, there’s no doubt that the candle market is very, very competitive. The barriers to entry are very low and people can dive in (and drop out) quickly.
“To me it’s about trying to have a unique angle and to connect with people on a deeper level,” Li san shared. “My interest is in reaching people who appreciate the humour and aesthetic I appreciate.”
“As long as Lemondrop Farm stays relevant to the customer persona it’s made for, I feel it will have a competitive edge.”
To remain relevant, the founder aims to expand her product range to include room sprays and diffusers, as well as grow the wholesale part of the business. She also hopes to engage the community through candle classes.
In the long run, the founder hopes to open a retail space so that people can come and experience the brand in the flesh.
“I’m manifesting a Lemondrop Farm shop in Taman Rasa Sayang or Taman Paramount in 2027,” she shared.
Quitting corporate for entrepreneurship
Although it sounds like an easy decision to start a business, things aren’t always so clear cut. She had been working for reputable banks, so giving up that stable income must have involved a lot of thought.
“I wouldn’t say that I am always confident—there are good days and bad days still, and there were good days and bad days even before I quit, doubting whether it was the right decision,” she said.
“But ultimately, I felt like it was now or never, I got promoted at work to a level that I felt if I gave the business a shot and it failed, I would be comfortable coming back to the corporate world if need be.”
Every day can be a challenge, though. Even if you’ve prepared for it, looking at a depleting runway is always scary. However, Li San understands that you have to serve the time, keep your head down, and trust the process.
“It’s a lot of juggling between logic and emotions, and it’s a different winner every day, or every hour even,” she said.
For others who might be aspiring to quit their jobs and try out entrepreneurship, just be prepared to fail, and fail again.
“Have a good support group around you,” Li San advised. “Make friends with people doing the same thing as you, the pie is big enough for everyone and these are the people who will understand your struggles the most.”
- Learn more about Lemondrop Farm here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Lemondrop Farm