By MEI MAGSINO
PHILIPPINE-made decorative candles were a big hit at one of the biggest products exhibitions in the world held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibit Center last month.
All the candles put on exhibit at the trade fair by Morten and Marichu Carstensen were sold out. It was quite a feat for the couple whose candle making business was almost ruined by a fire that gutted their factory a year ago.
“That fire and everything that happened after was our defining moment,” said Morten who is from Denmark and married to Marichu, a Filipina medical doctor. “The Hong Kong Convention not only proved that we’re back on our feet; we’re still the biggest decorative candles company in the Philippines, and we can compete with the world’s best.”
The Carstensens are the owners of Doc’s Candles, the first candle chain in the country and now the biggest in the decorative candles industry. Last year they entered into a partnership with the French-owned candle company Deco Candles Inc.
Marichu and Morten were ecstatic at the big potentials of their new partnership with Deco and had every reason to celebrate at that time. The last shipment of decorative candles for their American client Crate and Barrel was out. The manpower transfer from Doc’s in Lipa City to Deco at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) compound in Rosario, Cavite was completed. Thousands of Russian doll-inspired candles were in the packing stage at the factory.
While celebrating inside the townhouse of one of the production managers in Cavite on the night of August 20, 2010, faulty electrical wires at Deco factory started a fire that spread throughout the building.
The Carstensens were halfway home when the production manager informed them about the fire.
Marichu recalled: “It was like a scene from a bad dream. On our way to the factory, it rained so hard and the narrow road where we were stranded was blocked by a big crane. We were stuck and then the flood water entered our sedan!”
When the couple reached the site, the factory and Marichu’s newly renovated office were still on fire.
The idea of closing the business was unthinkable but thinking of how to start again from the ashes was even more intimidating. It was their life’s work.
Deco Candles Inc.’s factory provided jobs for 160 regular employees, including those from Doc’s Candles which was located in Lipa City and was now producing only for the local market.
Marichu’s love affair with candles started in 1995 when she was attracted to the cover of a book on the art of candle making. She then started making decorative candles as a hobby, gave them out as gifts, and later as a project for the poor kids in Lipa who she taught how to paint.
Morten, who was her boyfriend at that time and was working for a brokerage firm in Makati, saw the potentials of the decorative candle business and encouraged her to sell the candles at the Danish Coffee Morning, a cafe in Makati frequented by expats. The candles were all sold out.
In 1997, they registered the business as Doc’s Candles. The couple’s kitchen-cum-factory in their house in Inosluban, Lipa City only had two helpers then to help them make the candles.
In 1998, they joined the bazaar for the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) on Roxas Boulevard. Though their booth was near the bathroom, they sold all their candles and orders from the United States started coming in. They also had bulk orders form Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and other European countries.
In 1999, Doc’s candles joined a trade fair in Denmark, which is known for the best candles in the world. From there, they got orders from Sweden, Norway, Kuwait and Japan.
Aside from the export business, the couple also started a retail and franchising business, putting up Doc’s Candles kiosks in malls. Their kitchen factory grew to a production company with 60 regular employees, two full-time sales officers in Manila and two sales managers in Quezon City. They decided to quit their jobs and concentrate on Doc’s Candles.
The first candle chain in the country, Doc’s Candles also opened outlets in Kuala Lumpur and other Asian countries.
From there, the firm grew by leaps and bounds until they decided to partner with Deco in 2010.
Then the fire in the Deco Cavite factory.
Starting anew, the Carstensens searched all of the industrial parks in Cavite for Deco but couldn’t find the most suitable place to transfer their factory.
They found a suitable place for the Deco Candles factory in Lipa, about 10 kilometers away from Doc’s Candles. The price was good, and the cool weather in Lipa soothed their tired senses.
“We can now sigh with relief. We are almost debt-free. And we are now looking into the future,” Marichu said.
Morten said as a result of that fire, they were able to retain the best people from Deco and combine them with their best manpower from Doc’s. “We’re good to go,”he said.
Recently, Point a La Ligne of Paris, the biggest candle supplier in France, was added to their growing list of clients.
To be able to focus more on the international market, Deco has decreased its local sales, but still retained Doc’s candles in the retail sales.
Morten said the lesson he has learned in overcoming adversities is that,”Business and money don’t enrich a man. The best profit, in the long run, comes from the best people who make the best product.”