Scots couple open up on story behind country's top candle-making enterprise
dailyrecord.co.ukA humble service station off the M4 was the unlikely incubator for an idea that spawned the beginnings of one of the UK’s most successful candle-making enterprises.Duncan and Cheryl Maclean had reached a crossroads in their careers when, in 2010, they made a leap of faith and ploughed their savings into a candle-making concept that is now a burgeoning business with a turnover nudging £15 million.Back in 1995, Duncan was serving with the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, stationed in Germany, when he met his bride-to-be Cheryl – a fellow Scot who’d grown up in an Army family.With the need to move every two years being Integral to a career in defence, beauty therapist Cheryl would build a loyal client base before the couple had to again up sticks, requiring her to start from scratch in the locale of Duncan’s latest posting.Having established a base near London during her husband’s British Army career, Cheryl ran her beauty salon by day while also working as a rep for home fragrances company, PartyLite.As Duncan spent extended periods on operational tours including Bosnia, Iraq and Northern Ireland, his wife found a passion for making scented candles from her kitchen.Duncan, originally from Dundee, explained: “I’d reached an age and stage where I was looking to leave the forces.
I was studying for an MBA. We invited a group of friends around for a barbecue, plied them with alcohol and tried to come up with a business idea for my MBA.“While her salon was doing well, Cheryl’s candle business was really catching fire, so we had to decide whether or not to press the button.
It certainly wasn’t the most glamorous of locations for launching a lifestyle brand, but that service station is where we decided to go
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