Published 1st September 2022

KimmyB is a Horsham-based business specialising in hand-crafted candles and diffusers. Founder Kim Billings hopes her signature scents and stylish packaging will help the company make a leap forward. Here, Kim describes her journey so far…  

TUNNEL VISION

In 2016, I moved into my own flat and was given some pretty candles as moving-in gifts. I was surprised to find that some burned unevenly and left a lot of waste. Some “tunnelled” down as they burned, leaving a hole in the middle of hard wax, which reduced the burn time. Also, smoky wicks left black soot marks on the glass and even the ceiling above, as the wax was made of paraffin, a by-product of oil. So, I decided to make my own eco-friendly candles. I experimented with coconut wax, beeswax and soy wax, which I found gave me the cleanest burn, and used cotton wicks too.

KIMMY CONUNDRUM

Naturally, I made mistakes! It took time to judge temperatures while making the wax, to perfect a consistent burn, and also to find the right scents. Friends and family gave me great feedback and I was in a position to launch my business in 2017. At a previous workplace, someone called me Kimmy B, although I wasn't sure I liked it! I had thought about putting my own name to the brand, like make-up artist Jo Malone, but wasn’t confident enough to do it. So, I went with KimmyB and registered it as a trademark. I still wonder if it was the right decision, but ultimately it’s the product’s quality that’s more important. 

QUALITY IS ESSENTIAL 

From the outset, I wanted a small range of signature scents, each made with essential oils and carefully selected fragrance oils. There are leading brands that create hundreds of scents using paraffin wax, which maintains a lot of colour and fragrance. However, they often don’t contain any essential oils. They may seem like luxury products, but they’re mass produced. When you’re a small batch producer using 100% eco-soy wax and natural ingredients, you can’t compete with these brands on price and you need to rely on customers loving your product instead.

SENSE & SENSITIVITY

There are five signature scents in the KimmyB range. Turning Tide was one of my first, made with citrus, seaweed, kelp and sea salt. L’amour has top notes of hyacinth with Bergamot and rose hip too. Lavender and Clary Sage does as it says on the tin. People either love lavender or hate it, but I find it has a soothing effect. Wild Damson contains dark fruits and Patchouli, and is particularly popular with men. The fifth is Shea Bliss, which contains jasmine, Bergamot and natural shea extract. I make two more at Christmas: Festive Spice (cinnamon, nutmeg and orange) is like Christmas in a tin, while Winter Gem has notes of eucalyptus and spruce. They’re both popular seasonal gifts and it’s nice to offer regular customers something different. Very occasionally, I introduce a limited edition scent, a recent example being Just Citronella.

DIFFUSER SITUATION

Initially, I started out selling my products online and at local fairs, but I had a lucky break when I met Sarah from New House Farm. She liked my product and agreed to stock the range at the farm shop, which was a huge boost for my fledgling company, as New House Farm attracts high footfall. I also supply Room on the Row in Forest Row, Berwick’s in Horsham and more recently, Hugo & Green in Swan Walk.

The candles are sold in small tins or bigger glass cups, and I also have a range of fragranced flower diffusers. Usually, reeds are used to soak up the scented diffuser oil and emit an aroma. However, I use a flower diffuser made from sola, a sustainable plant wood. As well as being visually appealing, they omit a scent up to a radius of 4m. I have put a lot of time, effort and money into marketing and packaging the diffusers. I find people initially look at my candles but buy a diffuser; they’re fast becoming my best seller!

ECO DRIVE

Next year, I’m attending my first major trade show at the NEC with the newly-packaged diffusers. I would like to work with more independent gift shops, farm shops and garden centres to grow the business. My focus is on sustainability and I work with Ecologi to contribute to carbon reduction projects globally and plant trees with every sale. I also recently linked up with Planet, via Shopify, a carbon offsetting initiative. I’m passionate about making products that can be re-used and sell replacement diffuser bottles. The KimmyB tea cups are becoming popular as they can be refilled or used again as a trinket or cup. I hope to create a bespoke tea cup to replace the current range of glass candles, as they’re an unusual product that grab people’s attention. 

HAPPY PLACE

One day, I’d like to focus solely on KimmyB, but at the moment I run it around a full-time job as a Senior Program Manager. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and as a child would pick edible mushrooms with my grandad and sell them to a local pub. I remember the satisfaction I got from earning my own money and I have the same buzz now. I firmly believe that you have to put everything into your product to succeed in business. Perhaps at some point, I’ll have to accept that I can’t make the next step forward with KimmyB and it’ll just be an enjoyable hobby, but right now I’m investing all I can into the brand. I could have gone on some nice holidays instead, although I must say that from a mental health perspective, nothing makes me feel happier than when I’m making candles.

Further information: www.kimmy-b.com