Finding your niche

[lovelyscents]

How did you find your niche since the wax and bath market is so saturated?  Especially since there are only so many ways each can be created/packaged.  Melts are especially harder due to scent being sucked out of certain materials plus the costs of supplies to present it vs profit seems a very fine line with wax as the wax world does not like to spend over a certain amount per ounce.  The number one answer to top vendors regarding advice to new small business owners are to find your niche.  For some, that doesn't seem to come as easy.  They recommend you list things that you love or enjoy (aside from your craft haha) and go from there.  What happens when all of your ideas are already out there with thousands maybe millions of others once you look it up?  Melts for example: everyone has clams, shapes, chunks, portion cups, brittle etc. and they all have to be packaged in clamshells, portion cups, polypro bags such as zip sample bags, bag with tie and some use bakery bags.  I know mostly scent blends set you apart but in the wax world, all of those blends are becoming not so original any longer.  Is it the labels being a theme of your niche?  Colors?  All?  There are a lot of top vendors selling the same type of niche but putting a different name/label on it, is this enough to stand out?!

[TallTayl]

It took me several rebrandings to hit my stride. Unique blends that relate to the place I sell drove it home. I serve the fantasy crowd... We create scent memories together, which gives the products a cult-like following.

 

Not many people would succeed with the scents my people choose. They could not care less about The bath and body works or Yankee types. The more strange, unique and alternative the scent the more they love it. 

[TallTayl]

As I watched my people over opening weekend I noticed they chose, by a wide margin of at least 10-1, scents i blended myself. I took special notice of the behavior after reading the OP. 

 

We have, literally, unlimited scent blends at our fingertips. I play with combinations on paper towels all the time. 

 

Every year i work with patrons to come up with a scent of the year. We talk about it on social media in the months leading up to opening. We tweak its progress during the season. When it is released on the themed weekend we aim for it sells out, and continues to sell out for years to come. All scents have a story. People love a great story, and want to be a part of it. 

[Trappeur]

Wow Tall Tayle I would love to see a picture or pictures(s) of your designs.  And could you tell us a story on one of them please?   Sounds so intriguing!

 

Trappeur

[TallTayl]

38 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

Wow Tall Tayle I would love to see a picture or pictures(s) of your designs.  And could you tell us a story on one of them please?   Sounds so intriguing!

 

Trappeur

The very first for this Faire was Witches Brew. A patron walked up with a nub of an ancient black candle in a zip loc baggie and asked if I could replicate the scent. In all honesty I told her I could not even smell it, but if she described what she remembered we could work on it. I put together a couple of sniffie blotters and mailed them to her. She made a couple of suggestions - ending up combining several I sent and we nailed it. Witches Brew is still a number one selling scent in soap, wax melts, soy candles, and cast iron cauldrons.

 

 Next year my daughter and I expressed our love of the Faire's homage to the Renaissance  danse macabre by creating a scent blend described in the prior year's newsletter. We read that when the dansers progress through a village people feel a chill in the air, a waft of smoke and hint of pipe tobacco. We debuted the scent in soap early in season 2 to instant embracing by the troupe that performs at our Faire. It is now their signature scent. A bar of that first batch sold at a benefit auction for performers for over $100!  It is a top 3 requested scent by patrons every year in every single product. 

 

Last year was Sleepy Hollow. What would it smell like to be IN the story book Sleepy Hollow? Burning leaves. Grass in your rake. Graveyard dirt. Bonfire of woods. Voila. Sold out of it in several product over the weekend. 

 

Each week at Faire has a theme. Steampunk week is the only time Absinthe is served. I smelled the drink, then translated that into a soap/candle, etc. ditto with honey mead. 

 

This is our look opening weekend yesterday and the day before. 

 

I will look for/take pics of the Brew and macabre to add. 

[GoldieMN]

OMG, love, love, love your tent and entire display!  You are inspiring us to try something new of our own. 

Goldie

[Clear Black]

Wow TT! You nailed that tent for sure! Such a great booth setup at that type of faire. 

 

I am really wanting to see you jars/tins up close though. They look hella awesome and well packaged. You should be proud to show those off TT, well done lass

[TallTayl]

I'll find some, CB. Or take new ones. 

There is a pic in the thread linked below of how they looked a year or so ago. I have since taken them all into photoshop and made all images PNG to eliminate the jarring background.

 

[TallTayl]

I should mention that this candle set up is my summer face. It happened by chance through a connection made through a friend at a garden fair.

 

The rest of the year I rely on my etsy shop where I don't sell many candles at all, aside from bayberry tapers. My offerings there destink people one pit at a time. ?

[moonshine]

Mi lady.... that is fantabulous!!

everything looks perfect-  I seriously think you need to come work the renn faire here when yours is done and help me capture the Scent that eludes the place when the belly dancers are out ?  Been trying for years to get this one nailed 

Edited July 11, 2017 by moonshine

[TallTayl]

I would love to visit there and get YOU set up with a shop! 

Bellydancers... sounds like a blend of incense.

[moonshine]

It is with a smokey background and something I can't put my finger on along with patchouli and fried turkey legs ?

[GoldieMN]

6 hours ago, moonshine said:

It is with a smokey background and something I can't put my finger on along with patchouli and fried turkey legs ?

Goldie

[Shari]

What a great tent and display!  You most certainly nailed it. 

[Trappeur]

Wow wow wow!That tent blows me away!  Your setup/presentation is so striking.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  That setup would make me stop in my tracks and run over there to buy.  That is what beckons me to get my attention.  I've always believed a well presented presentation, striking merchandise must surely mean a striking product and that is what gets me to buy.  If someone goes to all ends to make an impression, then surely their product has to be awesome....Beautiful TT!

 

Trappeur

[Jcandleattic]

21 hours ago, TallTayl said:

We have, literally, unlimited scent blends at our fingertips. I play with combinations on paper towels all the time. 

I LOVE scent blending, and would love to have a similar set up at our Renaissance Faire, but they want like $500 a weekend to have a permanent display, and I think $1500 a weekend if it's a one off. Too expensive for my blood.  Especially since it runs 13 weekends in the summer. 

[moonshine]

So how is it our faire only runs 5 weekends??? 

Must not be a huge following of medieval days here in Michigan 

[Jcandleattic]

1 minute ago, moonshine said:

So how is it our faire only runs 5 weekends??? 

Must not be a huge following of medieval days here in Michigan 

Ours has been running for over 35 years here in CO, (41st anniversary this year, I just looked it up) and when it first started it was only 3 weekends, and has grown substantially. Ours also has themed weekends too. 

There used to be a vaudeville act for about 30 of those 41 years here called Puke & Snot. It was the main reason most people went, but about 7 years ago, one of them (the one that played Snot) passed away, and the other guy (Puke) carried on with the understudy for about 2 years, but decided he just didn't want to do it anymore. I think he just didn't want to do it without his original partner. 

 

Sorry this got so off topic. I love the RenFest. The jousting, the revelry, the medievalness of it, it's just so much fun. This year is the first year I'll have missed it in well over 25 years...    

[moonshine]

I love it too 

I go about every other year sometimes every 2 depending on what's going on but years ago my friends brother held the contract for the jousters and I did all the photography- it was so cool to be behind the scenes as well and just be there back in time all weekend every weekend for a month .....sigh I miss it will be going this year for sure 

[moonshine]

Ours started in 79 I just looked it up - they own the 17 acres that stays set up but they extended it 7 weekends!  starting August 19 through October 1...yaaay

we have themed weekends and I see they are having wiener dog races ?

I need to enter my 3  

[Jcandleattic]

6 minutes ago, moonshine said:

I love it too 

I go about every other year sometimes every 2 depending on what's going on but years ago my friends brother held the contract for the jousters and I did all the photography- it was so cool to be behind the scenes as well and just be there back in time all weekend every weekend for a month .....sigh I miss it will be going this year for sure 

I wanted to go, but the last weekend they have it, I'll barely be back in the country for a week, not enough downtime to make it to the festival. 

Ours runs from the first weekend of June, until the last weekend of August. 

[Faerywren]

Blending and formulating scents is my favorite thing. Like TT, most of my scents are blends. Even my vanilla fragrance is a blend of 3 different vanillas. I'm inspired by fantasy, music, poetry, literature, tv shows, you name it. Some of my favorites and most popular scents are Opheliac, Baker Street, Guinevere's Wine, Red Witch, Airship Captain, and Northman. Offering something that others don't is key. I can't leave anything alone. When I smell an FO, it's guaranteed that I will come up with notes I want to add.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Faerywren

[TallTayl]

I want to embroider OOB Is Boring on a pillow. Nobody will know what it means, but I will have had my say ?

[Faerywren]

38 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

I want to embroider OOB Is Boring on a pillow. Nobody will know what it means, but I will have had my say ?

I need this on a plaque in my craft room.

[Jcandleattic]

11 hours ago, Faerywren said:

Blending and formulating scents is my favorite thing. Like TT, most of my scents are blends. Even my vanilla fragrance is a blend of 3 different vanillas. I'm inspired by fantasy, music, poetry, literature, tv shows, you name it. Some of my favorites and most popular scents are Opheliac, Baker Street, Guinevere's Wine, Red Witch, Airship Captain, and Northman. Offering something that others don't is key. I can't leave anything alone. When I smell an FO, it's guaranteed that I will come up with notes I want to add.

Ding ding ding - this is so me too!!