Talking business with Cyndi Hileman is always fun. She’s honest, funny and cool- pretty much what you’d expect from a co-founder and co-creator of Hyggelight I The Growing Candle - a multi-use container that goes from flame to flower. Also what you’d expect from a trusted friend who is able to support your endeavors, ask grounding questions, and sympathize with your mom woes, like when you have to leave a full shopping cart at the store to take a tantrum-fueled toddler outside.
We also met when Hyggelight I The Growing Candle was in its infant years which makes me feel like a proud aunt, observing the ways this family-run business has evolved, reminiscing about its beginnings and intently listening to plans of its future. As Hyggelight I The Growing Candle rounds the corner on five years, Cyndi opens up about intentional marketing, inspiring hygge, and forging closer ties to root their brand in the present and plant the way of the future.
Hyggelight I The Growing Candle is rooted in relationships.
One of the noble qualities in Hyggelight I The Growing Candle is their reflection on their past to pave the trajectory of where they’re going. You may have seen their product introduced by Forbes.com in their seminal year or on any one of their spots on famed series, Good Morning America. The family-owned business began in their Toledo home but quickly grew as a result of the passionate husband-wife duo, who built their success and a family from 2017 through present day (June 2022 at the time of this article).
Chris and Cyndi have always worked together having met during a job interview at a corporate business. The couple created Hyggelight I The Growing Candle after moving to Toledo, Ohio, weighed the risks, and never looked back.
“We wanted to be able to create better relationships with our customers- that’s something we feel is really important but neglected in businesses today… It can’t just be about selling products. If you’re not truly helping your customers and developing relationships with them, that’s also wasteful.”
When the production demand exceeded the time they had planned for cultivating family, Hyggelight I The Growing Candle changed by getting more intimate- aligning their mission to value the good life and create environments to inspire connection.
“We stopped doing a lot of Good Morning America(s) just because the amount of product that we would have to make for each lineup… We were just making candles for these- which was great the first couple of times. Then it was just like, We’re growing too fast,” Cyndi says.
This year, Hyggelight I The Growing Candle is scaling back and reaping the rewards of building slowly with care for their customers in a new light.
Hyggelight I The Growing Candle digs deeper with the brand.
Hyggelight I The Growing Candle wants to make your experience as special as a birthday. Each candle is packaged with care and a greeting “Time to Get Cozy You Earth-Loving Babe” and once opened, the artwork by @kailajackson doubles as a very frame-worthy how-to card! In their fifth year of business, Chris and Cyndi are moving forward with renewed energy and a healthy sense of humor. And trust me, their content is very relatable.
“We want our business to feel like a good friend; someone who’s trustworthy, dependable, who is going to be there for you. With a brand, I think that you have to make sure that you’re dependable, they know they can expect certain things from you and that you’re authentic, genuine, and fun… And (that is) what hygge is all about- creating environments to inspire conversations… Having close relationships,” Cyndi says.
Customers can certainly expect a good time and some sound advice from the Hyggelight brand. They’re doing the homework and they want you to feel good about what you do and put out into the world as well.
Hyggelight I The Growing Candle grows into the future.
Moving forward, customers can expect some new products that check the boxes of being multi-use and artfully designed as well as some exciting fragrances that can be used in new ways- like linen sprays or wax melts. Hyggelight I The Growing Candle is also rolling out their first floral fragrance- the long-anticipated French Liilac!
Cyndi shared her excitement over knowing exactly what is in these new scents. Once they’re up on their site, they have Hyggelight’s honest endorsement..
But don’t just expect these items to come in “recyclable” packaging. Hyggelight I The Growing Candle is Hygge Inspired AND Planet Obsessed! And since recycling does not guarantee a second life for many products- Cyndi says it is not the answer for what you’ll see from them in the future.
“Actually, I don’t even think recycling is good enough because there’s a lot of people who don’t even have a recycling bin. I think we need to lean into more of reusing whatever you’re using for your product, even some of the packaging,” Cyndi says. ”What we’ve already started with our brand is to make sure that it has some unique, innovative twist to it…”
If you haven’t, join up with Cyndi & Chris Hileman and connect with Hyggelight I The Growing Candle. Because…
“Everybody loves a friend who’ll surprise them once in a while.” ;)
By: Ashley Hill
$32.00
The Growing Candle $32.00 - + 100% Soy | Small Batch | Vegan | Cruelty-Free | Less-Waste Only the best ingredients. One-hundred-percent soy means The Growing Candle is free of petroleum and animal fat derivatives commonly found in “soy-blend” candles.… read moreEdith
