Ambrose Wee had at all times cherished having his household house odor like a lodge, so he typically stuffed it with the calming aromas of scented candles.

However that sense of calm rapidly became concern when his mom’s childhood bronchial asthma flared up unexpectedly because of the business paraffin candles he had been burning.

Decided to discover a safer different, Ambrose dove into months of analysis and experimentation. The end result was a clean-burning palm-coco crème wax mix—free from the cruel chemical substances of economic candles, but nonetheless providing the identical expertise.

What started as a private answer quickly turned a ardour—he started handcrafting candles as items for his household and pals.

His candles turned so widespread that recipients began “feeling paiseh” to maintain asking for refills, in order that they insisted on paying for them as a substitute.

This marked the start of Lynk Fragrances in 2019, an all-natural scents model that Ambrose now runs collectively along with his household.

The early days

Ambrose and his household launched Lynk Fragrances with simply S$10,000, hand-pouring their first batches of candles from their kitchen.

The model was initially named Lynk Artisan however underwent a rebrand after a few years (extra on that later).

Within the early days, orders trickled in slowly—one or two every week—which have been personally hand-delivered. It was a small operation, with Ambrose’s sister Datina Wee serving to out in manufacturing and social media advertising and marketing every time she may, as she nonetheless held a full-time job at an MNC funds firm.

Then the pandemic hit—and unexpectedly, so did demand.

As orders continued to develop, Ambrose’s total household quickly received concerned, serving to with totally different elements of the enterprise.

When the enterprise began gaining “regular month-to-month income,” Datina made the leap to stop her job and be a part of the enterprise full-time in mid-2020.

The crew was clocking 14-hour days, and shortly discovered themselves fulfilling bulk orders for weddings, company purchasers, and customized occasions.

Trying again, Datina believes that the enterprise’s momentum got here from filling a transparent hole available in the market. “Again then, most candles accessible in Singapore have been mass-produced abroad or comprised of poisonous paraffin wax. There wasn’t an area model providing luxurious, clean-burning, [and] plant-based choices.”

A household enterprise

By 2021, Lynk Fragrances had already outgrown its house setup and moved right into a devoted studio area. That very same 12 months, the enterprise additionally crossed the S$1 million income mark.

However the development didn’t cease there. In early 2023, it secured a warehouse area to assist growing demand, and by the tip of the 12 months, it opened the doorways to its very first retail retailer at Changi Airport Terminal 2.

Scent is a sensory expertise, and it’s laborious to translate that on-line. Opening a bodily retailer allowed us to create an immersive area the place folks may odor, really feel, and join with the model on a deeper degree.

Datina Wee

All through the years, Ambrose and Datina’s household had remained very a lot concerned within the enterprise, working behind the scenes in manufacturing, logistics, and day-to-day operations.

“My father leads our fulfilment crew… [and] my mom helps enterprise growth,” mentioned Datina. “My second brother, Arnold, heads manufacturing and ambient scenting—he’s additionally our in-house IT man, with a deep understanding of machines and techniques.”

In the meantime, the duo have just about stayed near their unique roles—solely now with larger duty.

Datina leads content material creation, advertising and marketing, and collaborations for the model, whereas Ambrose is Lynk Fragrances’ “product visionary.” “He’s extremely resourceful—he sources uncommon, high-quality substances from everywhere in the world, from farmers and suppliers in lots of elements of Asia, France, Italy, the USA, and past,” added Datina.

Scaling and rebranding

Immediately, Lynk Fragrances has grown far past candles.

“We realised our prospects wished extra methods to expertise scents all through their day—not simply by candles,” mentioned Datina.

In response, the model expanded its product line to incorporate room sprays, pillow mists, bathe steamers, hair perfumes, shampoos, conditioners, and even a variety of bathroom sprays. This diversification was what finally prompted the rebrand from their unique identify.

We outgrew our unique id. As we expanded into private care and ambient scenting, Lynk Fragrances higher captured our evolution into a contemporary scents home.

Datina Wee

Trying again on the enterprise’s journey, Datina admitted that scaling was “robust.” “We insisted on doing the whole lot in-house and by hand, which meant many late nights and studying curves,” she added.

Whereas this strategy allowed for “full high quality management,” it additionally pressured the crew to construct sturdy operations from the bottom up—together with fulfilment techniques, SOPs, and coaching packages.

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All through the years, Lynk Fragrances has made massive strides, securing collaborations with world names like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and even SBS Transit—the place they co-created signature scents for Singapore’s MRT stations. They’ve additionally developed unique perfume strains for motels each regionally and abroad.

And so they haven’t any intention of slowing down.

“Within the brief time period, we’re engaged on introducing scent purification applied sciences, launching much more stunning fragrances, and increasing our retail footprint,” mentioned Datina.

Subsequent on the horizon is regional growth, beginning with Kuala Lumpur. “We hope to change into Asia’s main scent home.”

• Discover out extra about Lynk Fragrances right here.
• Learn different articles we’ve written on Singaporean startups right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: Lynk Fragrances