Meet Oyindamola Honey” Apanpa | CEO/Founder of Honey’s Scented Company LLC”

We had the good fortune of connecting with Oyindamola “Honey” Apanpa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Oyindamola “Honey”, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I am Oyindamola, my name means Honey mixed with Wealth, but I am popularly called Honey and that is where the Honey part of my business name came from. I have always been an entrepreneur from the young age of 19. I have successfully started and ran a few businesses in the past, ranging from fashion boutique, gift servicing, event planning to food/catering business and now to candle & scented company. I started Honey’s Scented in 2020 around the time the pandemic struck. It started as a hobby and after a long search for a job, I decided to turn my hobby into a business so I could support myself & my family. My decision to make Wickless Candle (my flagship product) instead of the common wicked candle, was because I became more conscious of my health and from my research, I found out that as humans, especially we women, what we feed our bodies with, the types of products we use could affect our health and hormones. Instead of buying largely produced products that could potentially harm me, I decided to start making my own toxins & phthalate free, safe, clean & long-lasting products for me & my family. Also, from my research, I found out that about 15% of household fires happen because of candle burning, which is about 20 household fires daily. So, I decided to create my own decorative wickless candles which helps to solve the fire and toxins problems that arise from using candles. All my customers need, to enjoy a lovely clean scent in their spaces (home/office), is a wax warmer to warm & melt the wickless candles to release 100% clean scent. This eradicates flames, smoke, soot, toxins & fire. The decision to make this safer candle option is helping me create an impact in not only my community but also in the health of people using my products. I have started making plans on working with my local fire departments, city council & hiring a PR to help create more awareness for my brand & company mission.

What should our readers know about your business?
My company & brand mission is to make & sell clean, safe & long-lasting products. My flagship product is a decorative wickless candle, which I decided to make instead of the common wick candle to help reduce household fires that start from candle burning. From my research (according to the National Fire Protection Association) about 15% of household fires start from candle burning, amounting to about $291 million damages in properties & about 90 deaths annually around the US, not forgetting the health hazards of breathing in smoke & toxins from candle flames. After becoming more conscious of my health & switching to making wickless candles, I ensure all the ingredients (which I source locally from women owned businesses to support them) I use in making my products are clean & safe. I have been making an impact in not only my community but also everywhere my products are used, as I believe I am saving their health from toxins & their homes & properties from fire. I have started looking into ways to work with my local fire departments & city council in creating more awareness, letting people know there is a safer candle option for them. By doing this, I believe I’m helping the fire department reduce their workload & making our environment a safer & cleaner place. I believe my mission is bigger than my community alone, it is all about saving our planet. I teach kids & adults in my community how to make decorative wickless candles & the joy I see in them, especially the kids, gives me so much joy to do more in my community. Last October, I created a Breast Cancer Wickless Candle Collection (which will be sold yearly), a percentage of the proceeds from the sale went to a breast cancer NGO to support their cause. I also create more awareness on my social media platforms to educate people most especially within my black community as we have about 40% higher breast cancer death rate.
What makes me proud of my business is the fact that my business solves a very tangible problem, household fires. My business offers safe, clean & long-lasting products & with my products & gift boxes, people can give lovely scented & unique gifts to their loved ones, without breaking the bank. Whenever I am amid people or at events, talking to them about my business, my products & brand mission, I love the smiles I see on their faces, especially when they tell me I am doing a great job & they support my mission. I remember talking to a police officer at a City of Dallas Texas vendor event I attended a few months ago, he asked me what my business was all about & after I took him through my products display, he mentioned he had never seen or heard of a wickless candle before. After enlightening him, he thanked me for choosing to make this type of candle (despite the challenge to create awareness), making safe & clean products to help reduce household fires & health hazards. He even gave me ideas on how to make the awareness event I plan to organize with my local fire department a success. My biggest accomplishment for myself is that I have been able to create something meaningful for myself, providing a source of income for myself & I hope that soon I can do the same for my community, provide jobs & contribute financially. My business has made it possible for me to start supporting the causes I had always wanted to support, for example, in few months, I’ll be working with a new NGO that provides listening ears & support to abused & raped women. I will be creating a product collection to sell at the fund-raising event we plan to organize to support them. Recently, I was approached by the City of Mesquite, Texas to make some Wickless Candles, Car Air Fresheners & Soaps that show the beauty of Texas, to be displayed & sold at the Visitors Bureau. This is a great milestone for me! Recently, Walmart reached out to me to have my store on their local marketplace. When I asked how they found Honey’s Scented Company, they mentioned they searched on google for Dallas local small businesses with unique products and Honey’s Scented was one of the businesses that popped up. I was also asked by CapitalOne bank to make lovely candle gift boxes for their employers and they loved how I customized the candles with CapitalOne and we have gotten more sales from CapitalOne employees who loved our initial products.

Raising capital to grow my business has been my biggest challenge as I need funds to create awareness, do marketing campaigns. To overcome this challenge, I have been applying for grants (I recently just got some grant funds), organizing fundraising campaigns and speaking with prospective angel investors. I have learnt that for an entrepreneur to succeed, you must have passion for your brand or whatever you are making or selling. It is your passion that will see you through the challenging days in your business, your passion will keep you going.

I would like the world, especially candle lovers to know that there is a safer candle option for them and they do not have to worry about fire and health hazards, toxins, soot from candles or trimming of wicks in order to use and enjoy lovely scents around their spaces.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t really go out, but whenever I get the chance to, I like to visit Bishop Arts District, which is also not far from where I live. I love checking out and supporting new local small businesses around Downtown and Uptown Dallas, especially at the Dallas Farmers Market. At Honey’s Scented Company, I organize decorative wickless candle making for kids and adults and it is really fun. It is a unique and different candle making experience, attendees choose their preferred dried flowers/herbs, fragrance oils, candle jars and learn how to make and decorate their own candles. It can also be done as a family or corporate/employee team bonding activity. Customers have the option of doing it as a private activity, where I can come to your home or your party venue or office for candle making.

So, if you are in or around the DFW area, and looking for something fun to do, please check out my website and book your next decorative wickless candle making class.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout firstly to God for His grace and mercy and secondly to my dearest and most supportive husband, whom without his help, love, support and constant encouragement, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today. Thirdly, I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my mentor from Operation Hope, Mr Terrence Sam and to Impact Venture and my current mentor, Ms. Margaret Schmitt for all the knowledge and support to see me and my business grow and succeed.

Website: https://honeysscentedco.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeysscentedcompany/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oyindamola-apanpa-honeysscentedcompany/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@honeysscentedcompany

Other: https://linktr.ee/honeysscentedcompany

Image Credits
I, Oyindamola “Honey” Apanpa (CEO/Founder of Honey’s Scented Company) took all the pictures by myself.