We set Wallace & Co up in 2016 with the sole focus of becoming The UAE’s first ‘wellness’ home fragrance retail brand but what would define our brand to authentically become a bonafide wellness brand anyway? We specialized in candles for the first 2 years of the business so essentially we were only a candle company so how could we stick to our ‘wellness’ ambitions? Lets start with the ingredients, we said, SOY WAX, yes that’s it, we will use soy wax – (for context nobody had really heard of soy wax and so it was a genuine point of difference, but was that it?) No, essential oils, we would only use essential oil and we will be Forbes listed aromatherapists before we knew it. We proceeded to buy 10 litres of jasmine, peppermint, tea tree and lavender oil from India and we were off, we had our wellness brand! Or did we? We quickly discovered essential oils don't blend well with soy wax and that soy wax really didn’t throw off a great scent so we had to go back to, lets say more synthetic oils, nobody wants to pay 50 USD for a weak smelling sort of, lavender candle so we had to concede. The clandestine world of fine fragrance oils was foreign to us at that point and so we believed the high street brands had the secret formula so we kept our R & D hat on and tried and tried working with those oils. A lot of our first customers also bluntly stated, ‘’I want oud, good oud, an oud candle, can you make an oud candle?’’ and so with a resigned look we started making oud candles that are NOT essential oil based, so our version of wellness candles seemed to disappear just like that.
Now to the promise of wellness via a candle, its very fashionable and perhaps on trend for both consumers to want an immediate fix of zen and with the elaborate promises of the soy wax brigades ( the only thing small brands can differentiate on is this one point). One would think that lighting a candle would immediately transcend oneself into the Himalayas and back again before you can say Tuberose. We think differently, and from personal experience it takes a lot more than a half inch flame and some jasmine aroma to bring peace and zen to ones life. ‘’I want to be zen but I spend 6 hours a day on my phone, 2 hours watching Netflix, have 5 coffees before lunch, 6 slices of bread, have no control over my finances, Im hungover most Fridays and and the only Gym I know is called the same who works in the pub BUT there was this candle seller that promised me if I lit this bloody candle I would morph into a yoga pant wearing hippie chanting OM and preaching about my vegan life and how good my downward dog is, but NO, that didn’t happen and Im still over caffeinated, skint, overweight, tired and spending too much time with Gym, I mean Jim’’
So we can see, as much as its ‘cool’ to spout off plagiarized statements about vegan wellness candles its slightly disingenuous to harp on and on about the wellness benefits of a solitary flame and the distant whiff of lemongrass.
Now, if our friend can change his diet habits, hydrate more, stop the booze and manage his mind with a little more discipline and dare I say it put the yoga pants on then at the end of his more lets say, 'living my best life' days, a candle may well be the aromatic cherry on the cake of his new spiritual 'living with purpose’ life. But until then, lets not keep going on and on and on about exclusive wellness candles.
This is being said in the full knowledge that we ourselves have played this card but we soon learnt it was an empty hall to shout in so instead, we include stickers in our products that talk about sleep, hydration, breath and are designed just to bring ones attention back to those small things that can help. We still use soy wax and where we can, essential oils, but we just don’t keep talking about it as we believe there are other things to chat about, like Jim and his yoga pants.
Dennie
JBR – Dubai
May 2021
]]>
We are all trying to regain a semblance of order in what has been the most challenging 12 months on record. Reverence, the name of our new range or collection, as some like to call it.
Indulgent metallic golds, shiny platinum and deep rich bronzes make up the exterior aesthetic, electroplated luxury to the end but is the type of product people are looking for after such a tumultuous year? This is a question we asked ourselves and we knew we had to bring attention back to a more spiritual, mindful frequency.
With Ramadan & Eid approaching, a highly gift rich period, we knew we needed to blend humility with luxury so Reverence was born. 3 fragrances, 3 colours, 3 names; Divinity, Devotion and Reflection. Each distinct yet similar, the aim being to create a more thoughtful purchase, a gift with meaning other than just luxury for luxuries sake.
The vessels have no branding, are minimal and plain but ooze style, the packaging integrating a playful Islamic theme but not a typical Ramadan product.
The theme will stick, I like the concept of thoughtful luxury and as we all strive for a more sustainable, less indulgent life, the fusion of mindful exuberant gifts will continue to grow.
In other news, Valentines & mothers day have passed and with the recent addition of Flowers.ae to our retail stockists were very successful, lucury candles being the perfect accompaniment to a select bunch of flowers.
Dennie Wallace
Sofitel The Palm Resort – Dubai
March 2021
Well what of Wallace & Co, so much was promised in 2020, podcasts, blogs, Netflix worthy videos and a catalogue of new products. our aims were so high, the noble intentions of executing our vision so it was through gritted teeth we had to accept we would only accomplish a fraction of what we planned. 2021 is here, we are now looking firmly forwards and following on from our last entry in which we discussed luxury retail we are very happy to announce we are now in another 3 independent retail locations!
As people are spending more time in their homes the need for curating their space with scent is more apparent. Homes are now like temples, candles, sprays and reed diffusers adorning every room, a different scent for each and we are happy we are able to provide fragrance goods to service this need.We have taken on 3 new partners in the months of December & January.
The Aroma Store – Mirdif 35The Flower Store in Village Mall JumierahImperial Scentury – Address Hotel Dubai Marina
In these quirky, modern, luxury stores you will find a whole host of brands, perfumes, flowers, oils, attars and proudly, a full range of Wallace & Co goods. This represents a real tangible step into the world of retail and we are looking forward to growing with our stores and partners and bringing more from our world of fragrance into The UAE.
Dennie Wallace
December 2021 – The Hilton Hotel – Dubai
]]>Being the ever ambitious owner of a home fragrance company Harrods seems like a natural place to retail Wallace & Co products. I found myself aimlessly walking around its gilded halls, observing the best of merchandisers hone their craft, consulting & selling to wealthy buyers on jewel encrusted mirrors, platinum plated phones and million-dollar handbags, I stood in awe at the sheer opulence of the offering and the poetic, elegant sales technique being masterfully unraveled in front of my eyes. A queue 20 strong to get into the Louis Vuitton pop up, wow, no recession here I thought to myself.
The mystical waft of fine fragrance oils, perfumes, colognes and attars adds to the experiential journey of being in Harrods, this feels like the epicenter of luxury retail. I returned to my senses and found the dedicated home fragrance section, 5000 sq. ft of prime retail space packed with every conceivable luxury candle, reed diffuser and room spray elegantly laid out, sparkling, shining and begging to be sprayed, sniffed and tested.
In every corner and on every shelf sat kaleidoscopic collections of, porcelain, ceramic, reed sticks, gold plated bottles, opaque polished glass and eye-catching artistic boxes. If I thought Wallace & Co had a lot to do prior was in no doubt of the challenge that laid ahead to compete with some of these genuinely world class brands, from Baobab, Jo Malone, Fornasetti and Ormond Jayne, these brands & products were truly stunning.
I took a breath and envisaged seeing a Wallace & Co kiosk right there in the centre. How would it look? How would we set up? Most importantly why would somebody buy our products over the more than luxury goods on offer. DESIGN!
This one word brings me back to what Wallace & Co does best, our intricate hand drawn illustrations, the attention to detail on our vessels, the nod to art and colourways, yes I thought, I can see our collection of imperial ( XL )porcelain vessels on display here, our oils are some of the finest in the industry, our design is up there and our brand although new has a long and interesting history, of course we can! Confidently, I left Harrods and began to think of the approach, the timeline, the stock, the pitch and then the magic moment we walk through those doors again, and see our logo, our name and products on display.
If it were as easy as calling a buyer you find in the yellow pages and on Monday we would be in there would be no romance to the chase, no, it will be one of our biggest challenges to actually work with Harrods. The brands that we see in these department stores have been on long arduous journeys and the retail presence in high end department stores is the end result of a lot of hard work and tenacity.
Brand behavior, brand positioning, the actual products, the people, systems and processes behind the scenes, the ethics and values of your company, your management team, all factors and more are key elements in the process so as much as our design is good and our fragrances leading, there is a lot of work ahead for us to be considered worthy of a spot in what is regarded as the crucible of opulent retail.
Ambition, optimism and blind faith will get you somewhere that’s for sure but details, organization and the ability to precisely execute at the highest level is what differentiates the elite from the middle pack. We at Wallace & Co will be working very hard to work at this level, to innovate and delight, so please do stay tuned, stay subscribed and watch us try as hard as we can.
Dennie Wallace
Founder & CEO
Hmm, well, if I fly to Guangzhou to meet Mr Wu, I can stop off in Hong Kong and visit the lemongrass shop and maybe fly back via Kuala Lumpur as I heard that there's a funky fragrance in the Shangri-La and I have to smell it!
Yes, this has been the tale of the tape for years now, since my gold iPhone days where the cost of sending a gold iPhone from the UK to Singapore was more than flight, so naturally, I would be the delivery boy of a phone, to Singapore via Thailand.
For context Wallace & Co sources goods from all over the world, glassware from Poland, wicks from Germany, reed sticks from Thailand, brass oil burners from India, wax from England, even screen printing machines from China, so there is always a reason to visit your suppliers.
I find it very personable in a world of digital communication to sit and have tea, wine or a local delicacy with suppliers, who ultimately are everything to your business. From the first meeting dealing with orders, securing credit and locking in prices is much smoother if you have had a real face to face conversation.
We love to travel all things international at Wallace & Co, maybe too much so it's easy to see how one can spend a lot of time on the road or in the air ‘doing business’ and it's this I love about a physical product business.
Suppliers hold the keys to your success, not only do they provide you with goods and services but they know the industry, can offer insights into the market, competition, trends and they have seen it all before so forging a strong connection with your suppliers is in my opinion a key cornerstone of the business.
Too often we disregard manners and common courtesy with far off factories and tend to think suppliers will do anything and everything to win business but the reality of it is very different. Most likely they have been in business for years, have seen and heard it all before from excitable and ambitious startups and are really interviewing YOU subtly so my advice is to treat them like gold, place huge value in those connections and respect the relationship like a friendship as it will be your suppliers that dictate a large part of your success.
Alas, air travel has died down, Covid 19 has well and truly put the dampeners on the bonhomie of air travel and the carbon footprint yard sticks are finding their way to the front of our sustainability reports so we must adjust the way we tackle international business.
Zoom! How brilliant (or sad) is this tool, I can check a box design on my laptop, I can have long form conversations on a screen, I can do the majority of tasks from the comfort of my office, all majorly convenient and takes the angles out of a busy schedule but it still lacks the human element of building relationships so my template for the future is to still go and make the effort to batch meeting your people in one effective trip, face to face, put real emphasis on building long lasting connections, don’t focus too much on the details of business, ask about family, take gifts, show interest, and its that will sustain long term, leave the itty bitty nitty gritty details to emails later on.
What’s that? A Ylang Ylang farmer in Mauritius wants to meet? On zoom or in Le Morne? Hard isn’t it…..
Dennie Wallace
Founder & CEO
Self doubt creeps in, aren’t there enough blogs, Youtubers and Instagramers out there, does the world really need my voice added to it ?
These are some of the questions I ask myself but the answer always comes back to, what's the alternative? The alternative is to be left behind by the ultra high speed train of the internet of things in relative obscurity. Shouting about your product, brand or service from a soapbox on the side of the road, or handing out leaflets ( not pizza ones ) is very 90’s and so to embrace the world of technological communication and engage with what could be millions of people is where we are. So here goes.
One of my biggest challenges as a business owner is to really determine the size & scale of the brand & company that we want to build, and then defining the way to do it. With a now global audience at your fingertips the ambitious and daring side pushes your mind to thinking we can climb the industry's biggest mountains, and here's why:
Those are staggering growth numbers and for a fledgling brand like ours with a small but still global presence represents a once in a lifetime opportunity. So how big do we aim, how deep do we dive, what team do we need, what investment, how are we going to compete? These are just some of the questions I ask myself daily.
Here is my rationalization, it's not from a McKinsey report, or plagiarized business books, ( there are so many ) rather a recipe of intuition, blind optimism and 9 years in business.
Everybody wants their house to smell nice and look nice, that’s an easy one.
Most people like to consume healthy products. A Lot of people shop online. Easy huh? If it were, we would be seeing millions of companies starting up, there are thousands but not yet millions, so how to differentiate, can you even authentically differentiate with a candle or room spray?
My answer is yes, by design. Our strategy is as obvious as any but very hard to execute. Design is key, we are going over the top in details, from hand drawn flowers to foiled stories, it's all there and it’s what we live and breathe. We are always looking for inspiration in architecture, nature and the stars ( woo ) and it is this that we feel will take us to the next level and help us compete in the trillion billion dollar world of home fragrance and e-commerce. That’s it. That’s my first blog, a tiny insight into how we think we will proceed.
I will be covering a lot of interesting aspects in our blogs, from manufacturing, travelling the world meeting factory owners and attending trade shows to hiring staff, interviewing perfumers and being introduced to the scent of a cats testicle. Yes, a cats testicle.
We shall be launching a podcast, maybe dancing on TIKTOK. And for sure posting candle selfies on Instagram so do subscribe, click, follow, read and watch.
Dennie Wallace
Founder & CEO