The Asian American Food-Scented Candles That Conjure Up Home
With scents like Steamed White Rice, White Rabbit Candy, Ube and Pandan, candlemakers are pouring candles that make them feel closer to their cultures.
Photo courtesy of Mochiglow
Whenever he starts to feel homesick, candlemaker Brandon Leung will wander the aisles of his local Chinese supermarket or the Korean American grocery store H-Mart. There, he’d take in the sights, sounds and, most importantly, scents that remind him of his childhood growing up as a first-generation Chinese American.
“I would indulge in Asian snacks like haw flakes and Melona bars, while breathing in star anise and dried chrysanthemum, ingredients not typically found at your local international foods aisle,” he says. Those familiar aromas led Leung to start his soy candle company Baisun Candle.
Leung is part of a growing group of candlemakers who are leaning into their Asian American heritage. Rather than the typical lavender or cedar or balsam, these founders are pouring candles in scents like ube, yuzu and persimmon and finding that they’re hitting a nostalgic chord with consumers who are also craving a connection to their cultures.
“I think it’s really part of a much bigger movement,” says Mark Fuqua, co-owner of Emme. “Asian scents, flavors and culture have expanded into the mainstream and with exposure, people are finding out we all have a little more in common than we thought.”
The idea for an Asian-inspired candle company had been floating in Leung’s head for years and he finally took the entrepreneurial plunge in October 2020, launching Baisun Candle Co. while quarantining from his parents’ home in Delaware. The name of his company is the Chinese term for “honoring the gods” as well as one’s ancestors, and many of Baisun’s scents tie back to family memories. Ginger, for example, was a core ingredient in the Leung household. “It was a staple in almost every Asian dish my mother made, ranging from ginger syrup tong yuan to steamed ginger and chicken.” Though it was only released just this fall, steamed rice has already become a top seller. “When I say it smells like rice, opening up the lid is just like getting the first whiff after opening up a rice cooker that just finished cooking,” says Leung.
Asian sweets and snacks like White Rabbit Candy, taiyaki and dalgona coffee have captured the attention of food-lovers in recent years and Mochiglow founder Jenny Chang has turned those popular treats into candles infused with whimsy. Non-GMO soy wax, braided cotton wicks and additive-free fragrances ensure a smooth candle-burning experience so fans can safely soak in the scents of taro ice cream and mango sticky rice. Each one has an adorably illustrated label of its featured food. While the brand is all about being fun and inviting, Chang also takes the sustainability of her packaging seriously: the cornstarch packing peanuts are biodegradable, the thank you cards can be repurposed as bookmarks and the safety sheets are compostable since they’re printed in soy ink.
After moving cross country from San Francisco to New York City in 2019, Fuqua and Erica Luo found themselves missing the familiar aromas that filled their family homes. The pandemic made it hard to return to the Bay Area so they transformed their homesickness into a fledgling business. The duo started a candle-making operation, Emme, out of their tiny kitchen and documented the highs and lows of running a small business on TikTok, while working on collections that paid homage to Asian ingredients like black sesame and foods such as bingsu. “What is something new and fun that doesn’t exist yet? I think this is central to the brand, to continue pushing boundaries and being both playful and authentic with our choices,” says Fuqua. The bestselling lychee, for example, was inspired by Japanese gummy candies that they used to buy at Asian supermarkets as kids. “Scents are such a big part of the way we perceive the world and make memories, and we try to tell a story with each fragrance.” Emme has even teamed up with xiao long bao specialists Mìlà to pour a corn-scented candle inspired by a new chicken corn soup dumpling. The sweet corn candle burns for at least 20 hours to fill rooms with the warm, enticing aromas of popping kernels.
Ashley Sullera is another pandemic-era candlemaker who took her craft from part-time hobby to full-time career. She found comfort in fragrances, but found it hard to find products that represented her Filipino background. “I knew there weren't really any Asian-centric candle scents at the time and so I decided to just blend them myself,” she says. “I loved the challenge of creating something new while being inspired by my own Filipino American upbringing.” Each candle is hand-poured in Sullera’s California studio using natural soy wax, phthalate-free fragrances and crackling wooden wicks. They come in a wide range of scents, from the fruity (calamansi mint, lychee) to the sweet (leche flan, banana lumpia) to the floral (sampaguita, ylang ylang). “These candles are all based on highly nostalgic and iconic symbols of Filipino culture. I love watching people smell my candles and seeing their faces light up with memories of home, loved ones, eating a home cooked meal, or celebrating milestones with nostalgic pastries.”
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