Bolsius

Valuable growth Home Ambience with Bolsius

Bolsius boosts this growth with new candle products that increase the cozy atmosphere in the home. Gifts Today had the pleasure to question their UK National Account Manager Kam Badesha to find out more.

As a family business Bolsius have been crafting candles for more than 150 years, how have you driven the business to be the global success it is today?

The Bolsius brothers laid the foundations of the current company back in 1870 when Bolsius was founded. They processed beeswax into candles according to traditional methods. We are very proud of our heritage and the foundations laid from our origins enabling Bolsius to become a global player selling in more than 50 countries.

We have been involved in various take-overs and have been successful in the setting up of a large-scale production in Eastern Europe with the capacity of having our own storage to house heated raw materials. This is unique in our business.

Our aim has always been to make the very best candles. This aim remains unchanged, we are very proud to be able to say Bolsius is still familyowned today. With 150 years of knowledge and craftsmanship, continuously testing the best recipes and using the best raw materials we can guarantee quality in our products.

As the market leader in Europe, we also feel a responsibility to offer our consumers a more sustainable alternative. We use natural extracts for our fragrances and are in the process of transitioning our portfolio of products to use natural vegan wax, no palm oil and as little plastic as possible, along with continuous innovation and attention to quality. That is the thread that has brought Bolsius to its current global success.

As a heritage brand, you have seen many changes and developments with regards to production methods – what do you feel has been the largest change for you?

We are very proud that Bolsius invented the pressed tea light in 1927. This is a unique moment in our history and is still one of the most popular candle products used in homes today across the world.

Our small traditional family business has evolved into a multinational company, not only producing tealights on mass but a huge portfolio of candle products.

How do you operate the logistics of your business?

In Jan 2020 we announced our partnership with APAC. APAC handle all of our UK Retail distribution in the UK. Along with a dedicated sales team we now have a stock holding in the UK allowing our customers to order little and often (£300 MOQ), with smaller lead times. A perfect solution for our UK customers.

Did you experience any particular problems during the pandemic and if so, how did you manage these?

Whilst we are all having to weather the storm of the pandemic one of the key effects has been the focus on the Home. Our homes for so many have become our children’s schools, our offices as well as our living and entertaining spaces. There have been lots of insights that focus on the role of the home and therefore The Home

Ambiance category has had a huge boost this past year. The definition of the Home Ambiance category is: products that create atmosphere and make you feel good in your home by stimulating your scenses. (candles, scented candles and reed diffusers). Due to the pandemic consumers pay more attention to a cosy and warm atmosphere in their homes. We have never been at home this much. Home is our happy safe place where our wellbeing is key.

Candles contribute highly to this, whether it is creating a perfect ambience for entertaining, or focussing on mental well-being through meditation or self-care and relaxation. We also see further possibilities to convert new shoppers into the category by increasing usage moments, together with the support from our retailers. We have launched a complete new colour pallet in our Rustic Collection which follows trends in fashion and interiors to complement your Home Interiors areas. We are really proud that our Rustics contain Vegetal Wax an no Palm oil offering our consumers both Style and Substance. To compliment this collection we have added more premium lines with shimmer and silhouettes printed candles and these are a fantastic addition to our retailers home interiors areas.

Together with retailers we want to maximise the potential of the Home Ambiance category, and feel this is the perfect moment to tap into this opportunity. Logistically it has been a difficult year. However, as a result of our partnership with APAC, we have managed to ride the storm of both the pandemic and other influencing factors like Brexit. We managed to deliver all our stock before the Brexit deadline to APAC and therefore didn’t have the added customs complications impacting our deliveries early last year.

The candle industry has had a turbulent year with massive shortages in Raw materials as a result of the Pandemic. As one of the key players we have managed to secure and source raw materials and have delivered to APAC in plenty of time for Peak Season ensuring our customers are stocked up.

Are we continuing to see a growth in demand for candles and scented products? What do you feel is driving this growth?

We have conducted different researches to gain insights in the usage of our category and the behavior of the shopper. From this we learned, for example, that inspiration is very important in the buying process of rustic candles and that they are often purchased in stores who have a strong home interiors collection. We have found that our Rustic collection fits perfectly with home accessories and this is where we see the most success.

Getting consumers to use candles more often in their homes to compliment accent colours in home interiors and create the perfect ambience. The Garden Centre and Department Store is the perfect fit for us to concentrate on this.

How often do you refresh your range?

We are committed to updating our range and are influenced by both trends in home ambience and our customer’s feedback. We have rustic candle collections for both Spring/Summer and the Winter to compliment the homes of our customers always with both style and substance in mind.

How important is sustainability to the business and why?

Sustainability is a very import driver in this category and for our business. All our Rustic products are made with vegan wax and are palm oil-free. As a business we are constantly trying to improve our products and processes in a more sustainable way. Next to sustainability the mark of the high quality Bolsius candle is its long burning time and its ability to maintain its shape while burning.

What type of support do you give your retailers?

We really would like to use our developed category vision to engage long-term relationships based on insights and trends in our market. We believe in a tight cooperation and have an extensive toolkit to create impactful displays.

As an experienced partner and market leader we understand how to grow this category, convert shopper behavior and inspire our customers. We have a dedicated sales team at APAC and account managers who are trained by us on our products. We see them as an extension of the Bolsius team.

The essence of our company is built on the foundation of being a family business that in the UK is represented by Kam Badesha. Our team communicates directly with our retailers and can guide in choosing the right collection for your store, sharing all the product information you need. We can also help with POS, planograms and merchandising should it be needed.

This is the way we would like to grow the candle segment, literally and figuratively in a sustainable way!

Contact details:

Bolsius: Kam Badesha / kam.badesha@uk.bolsius.com / Phone: 07391017288 APAC : sales@apacgroup.com /Phone: 0116 2302555