London Luxury Candle Supplies cuts costs and boosts business with Jet Tech

London Luxury Candle Supplies, a home fragrance business, has built its brand

on the premium presentation of its products while staying at the cutting edge of interiors trends. Expanding the business from Australia to London, director Alex Hunt has continued to drive growth while keeping the personal, family run feel at the core of the offering.

Alex recognised rising demand from artisan makers and indie brands for short run, custom packaging to match their glassware and vessels, But with traditional suppliers requiring high minimum order quantities, limited sizes and designs, and pricy prototyping, working with these businesses just wasn’t viable. ‘We were importing black and white boxes from China initially, trying to make them fit different size products,’ explained Alex. ‘We rapidly realised that for us to grow, we needed to be able to offer a complete service. We needed to be able to produce the packaging ourselves to a great standard in runs of 30 or 40 units.

‘Some of our customers are market traders, they are selling on Etsy, they are not always large scale companies. I felt very clear about the fact that we needed a solution that we could integrate into how a small business operates.’

That is when London Luxury Candle Supplies found Jet Tech Group. Partnering with Jet Tech, the company invested in a Fujifilm Revoria digital printer to complement the cutting and foiling equipment. This production set up allowed the company to print, cut, and finish short run boxes on demand – no more inflexible minimum order quantities, no more design limitations, and no more restrictions on which brands they can work with.

‘The investment in the machinery has given us a unique selling point in our market like no other,’ added Alex. ‘We have watched some of our customers go from buying 30 jars and 30 boxes, to now working with us on thousands. Because we have got the machinery, it allows all this to be seamless. The investment has definitely been worth it.’

Alex praises Jet Tech’s role as a true partner on this exciting new journey, saying: ‘There is no way we would be where we are today without people like Steve Andrew, managing director at Jet Tech Group. Packaging was a new arena for us. I knew nothing about it, so he has been amazing. When we explained what we were trying to do, he took us through an array of different printers, talked us through the different processes, what we were going to need and what we weren't going to need. He has advised us on paper, and even connected us with ideal suppliers to help us bring down the cost of card. He has been really good.’

The quality and luxury feel of a product’s packaging, rather than the product itself, can make all the difference when it comes to earning a place on the high end retail shelf. The investment in packaging production equipment from Jet Tech hasn’t just given London Luxury Candle Supplies customers the freedom to create exactly what they want, when they want, and how they want – it is allowing them to compete with leading brands in larger arenas. ‘It definitely starts on the shelf,’ said Alex. ‘You won’t see products on the shelves of Harrods or Selfridges in plain black boxes.’ Now, the company can help its customers with their packaging design and branding, and truly elevate their products without limitations.

For Alex, the investment has delivered something invaluable for a home fragrance entrepreneur like herself – the ability to move quickly when a great idea strikes. ‘I noticed a gap in the market for wax melt sample boxes that allow our customers to showcase their different fragrances,’ she explained. ‘Previously, I would more than likely have to bring in 20,000 to 50,000 units. The equipment allowed me to start with around 100 units and show them on Instagram, and everybody loved them. We sold out – now we cut and print them every day, and previously I potentially wouldn’t have taken the gamble. It is still evolving; we now have an autumn wax melt box with an autumn leaves design, we have a Christmas version, so that is what it has allowed us to do. In terms of profit margin, it has allowed me to introduce new products very quickly, at minimal cost, and sell them.’