Luis and Jazmín García create a business that brings the fragrances of marzipan, pot coffee and even Fabulous to their clients' home

A year ago, Luis García and his sister Jazmín started a business that changed their lives and has turned them into two successful young entrepreneurs.

What started out as a fun idea at a Christmas inn has grown into a promising family candle business, but not just any candle, ones with traditional Latin smells and fun packaging that enhance their Mexican and Guatemalan roots.

"We were in an inn with my sister and they gave her a candle and it smelled generic, like flowers, chemical smells and then we started joking: 'Hey, what if there were candles with the smell of sweet bread or coffee pot …'" And there the idea was born ”, remembers Luis in an interview with La Opinion.

A month later, the young people had already ordered a small kit to materialize their idea and were carefully studying tutorials on YouTube to learn how to make the candles.

His first creation was Olla's coffee aroma. They say that when they gave them to their relatives, they themselves recommended that they sell them and thus was born: LA Vela Creations, which this month celebrated its first year of existence.

"That was the first and it is the most authentic, because it smells just like pot coffee," explains Luis.

His business has a wide variety of scents, some regular like lavender or roses and others not so much like horchata, steam or the Fabulous cleaner.

All fragrances are handmade in the garage of your home.

"They are unique candles, the smells bring people to their memories because, for example, we have one that smells like Ariel soap and then they say it reminds them of the grandparents' house in Mexico," says the 22-year-old.

"We want to create memories and nostalgia, we have a line that we present in clay pots and casseroles that are hand painted and come from Tonalá (Jalisco). They are for Latin smells like marzipan, sweet bread, coffee with a pot, strawberries and cream , flan, champurrado or corn tamale, are smells that we all grew up with and we all know, "he adds excitedly.

LA Vela Creations attends monthly events to sell its products such as Molcajete Dominguero (the third Sunday of each month) in Los Angeles, or the Downey Market (the second Sunday of each month), and they can also be purchased through its website lavelacreations .com or on etsy.com.

The candles are presented in glass containers or in clay pots and saucepans that are hand painted.

Chemical free

Luis explains that his business is unique not only because of the originality of his creations, but also because the materials they use are of the best quality.

"The candles are soy, natural and chemical-free, they burn clean and burn slower, they have no metal, everything is cotton."

Among the best-selling products are the Café de Olla, Fabulous and Vaporú candle, but the smell is not the only thing that this family sells, they also sell fun, which are reflected in the fun fragrance labels.

"On our labels we put funny phrases, there is one that says: 'get up loose' and it smells like coffee; another of lavender says: ‘you calm down or I calm you down’, so we offer not only the candle, but also the label ”, Luis explains with a laugh. "The Fabulous candle, in lavender purple, people love and our slogan is: 'If you don't want to clean, this garment comes, the mother-in-law comes, this garment' because it smells clean."

The García brothers say that the idea for their business came up while they were at a Christmas inn.

Motivation and culture

For Luis and Jazmín, the support and motivation of their parents was essential when they took the step of becoming entrepreneurs, but now they send an inspiring message for young people who like them have a dream.

"It has been difficult, because as we are young Latinos, we already have something against us, that people say it will not work … That has served as a motivation to create something and we know that it is unique and different. Thank God it has gone very well for us, ”says Luis, who is a student at Fullerton University.

That is why the logo of his business is a mask of Mexican wrestling, a clear message for his Latino clients.

"Our logo is a wrestling mask, because we must fight for what we want and we must fight for our parents and grandparents who came and crossed the border, because they fought for us, now it is our turn."

Luis also explains that his business has been a cultural window for him and his sister and that it is also a great opportunity for new generations to learn about their roots.

"My dad helps us with some ideas, but the culture that we are learning from our parents and grandparents, the truth is that if we had not done this we would not have learned it, it is magnificent … To make the candles we studied the culture of how the things before, we learn and pass that on to the younger generation. ”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here