The Falkirk-based firm, the UK’s leading candle making and training supplier, which also has a site in The Netherlands, grew revenues from £11.9m to £13.4m in financial year 2023/24 – bucking industry trends in the UK.

Revenues from the firm’s activity in mainland Europe grew by 28% YOY, principally in The Netherlands, France, and Germany, where the market grew by 80%. UK revenues were up 6%. The company, which works with around 10,000 business customers, also broke the 100,000 order barrier this year for the first time since lockdown.

The impressive results arrive despite the 80-employee company closing its contract manufacturing operation earlier this year. The division – worth around £800,000 per year – manufactured candles for major brands including Fornasetti and Paul Smith. However, Candle Shack has made a strategic shift to focus all energy on growth areas in supporting candle manufacturers and ‘side hustlers’. The move has also opened the door to new business in product development and training from candle manufacturing businesses, previously off limits due to being in competition.

Candle Shack bosses said the firm is now seeing the benefits of significant investment in its lab, product development and training academy, with several major brands now looking to bring manufacturing in-house, working with Candle Shack to develop and test new products, and provide training to their staff.

Candle Shack appointed global supply chain expert Lynne McNulty as Chief Operating Officer earlier this year with a view to further international growth, and has now invested in a Chief Marketing Officer based in Amsterdam to provide additional support.

CEO Duncan Maclean, who co-founded Candle Shack with wife Cheryl in 2010, hailed ‘an exciting time’ for the business, and said he was particularly pleased to maintain momentum at a time when the UK candle market is ‘normalising’.

He said: “These results are exciting for Candle Shack and our customers as we step up our growth plans across the UK and European markets. We have invested significantly in key areas including our lab and academy, and in operations and marketing, and this will set us up for the next stage in the company’s growth, particularly on the continent.

“The UK market is in a state of ‘normalisation’ at present, where the massive growth experienced during lockdown is tailing off to reveal the true size of it. However, we feel we are very well positioned within it, particularly to support growing businesses, and these results reflect that.

“Moving away from contract manufacturing has created additional capacity and scope to double down on our growth areas in supplies, training, and product development for customers at all levels, and we have been massively encouraged by the interest in our services that freedom has provided. We are no longer a competitor to candle manufacturers, so can be a partner, and we see that as a significant growth area.

“As we enter peak season we are in a strong stock position and are already experiencing growth in demand that should set us up well for an even more successful 2024/25. It’s a very exciting time to be at Candle Shack.”

The company has seen a significant rise in people turning to candle making as secondary and primary sources of income, further evidenced by recent survey commissioned by Candle Shack and conducted by Opinion Matters which found 37% of people in the UK have considered taking a second job in past year to supplement income.