Today the luxury candle market is booming, and while it’s still dominated by giants like Yankee Candle, which takes up 46% of the market, a number of smaller firms are lighting up the sector too - especially in the festive season.

East Anglian Daily Times: Arya Candles. Picture: caroline horne suffolk photographyArya Candles. Picture: caroline horne suffolk photography (Image: Archant)

In Suffolk, Arya Candles has grown ten-fold in the last four and a half years, with orders coming in from across the globe.

The business is run by the mother and daughter team Lina and Jenny Hogg from their home near Otley.

Lina puts the growing popularity of luxury candles down to the shift towards “cleaner living, greater self-care, better mental health, and making time for oneself.”

“Resting and recharging is slowly becoming more acceptable compared with the previous UK workplace ethic of working till you drop,” she says. “Our essential oil blends, which we have created ourselves, help to create balance and calm after a stressful day.”

East Anglian Daily Times: Arya Candles Picture: caroline horne suffolk photographyArya Candles Picture: caroline horne suffolk photography (Image: caroline horne suffolk photography)

To make the candles, sustainable rapeseed wax from Europe is used rather than soy or paraffin, and the most important ingredient is essential oils, made from plants, which Jenny claims have therapeutic properties. “I’d rather breath in pure plant oils than synthetic ones,” she says.

At this time of year, Arya Candles most popular scents are cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange blend, which Jenny claims is perfect for “winter evenings lounging by a roaring log fire, with candles lit and mulled wine in hand!”

Lina balances the needs of the business with running her own HR company, Picasso HR, but leading up to Christmas, she says Arya Candles takes priority. “It is a fine balance juggling everything, and good time management is critical. It can be tricky not to get distracted, but we have adapted well to focusing on the needs of the business.”

This year Arya Candles has had a number of corporate orders, including one for 1000 candles. “We also have hundreds of online and craft fayre sales to deliver,” says Lina.

East Anglian Daily Times: Arya Candles picture: caroline horne suffolk photographyArya Candles picture: caroline horne suffolk photography (Image: Archant)