MANILA, Philippines – It’s a few minutes after 2:00 A.M. on a Tuesday, Elizabeth Papa sits on the floor of her well-illuminated bedroom, surrounded by three pots of slowly heated, melted wax, empty glass jars and more than a dozen bottles of essential oils. Heavy-eyed and consumed by a full day of online classes, she fights the urge to sleep as the smell of lavender travels to her nose and she delicately pours wax into a glass jar, making sure she gets the consistency right. Sat beside her is Bailey, her one-year-old, black-spotted, female French Bulldog, gradually falling asleep.
In the beginning of the pandemic, strict lockdowns were imposed in the country’s capital, Metro Manila, brutally affecting a growing economy in Southeast Asia, crippling big and small businesses and reducing people mobility by 80 percent, Malaysian financial giant Maybank said. Ultimately, this benefitted e-commerce in the Philippines, as millions left jobless resort to online selling as a primary source of income.
What started as a fascination for scented candles paved its way to becoming a hobby and ultimately a full-fledged online business during the peak of the immobilizing pandemic. In late March 2020, because of community quarantine protocols, Elizabeth was forced to stay indoors and enjoy the comfort of her tropical two-story home in the town of Fairview. What began as a month of staying indoors eventually turned into indefinitely staying home for the rest of the year.
A 21-year-old biology major, with a chemical engineer as a mother, Elizabeth spent her spare time performing at-home candle-making trials and testing out fragrances over the span of four months. Eventually, through her newfound hobby she addressed the family’s concern over the unsettling dog odor staining every inch of the home. “My mother always lit up candles to solve the issue. We always stacked up with the famous BBW, White Barn and Yanked candle so their quality was our goal. We were wasting a lot of money, so we opted to do it ourselves,” said Elizabeth.
Launched on July 28, 2020, and named after her female French bulldog, Bailey, Bailey Studios’ is a handmade scented candle business that aims to combat the odor made by dogs, cats and other house animals without harming them. This three-month-old online business makes use of renewable and reusable materials, incorporating comforting scents and customizable Spotify links to attach memories with the purchase of every candle. “We wanted it to be an approachable brand by incorporating Spotify links which was the vibe of the candles. We wanted it to be simple and straightforward, so we easily opened on July 28,” said the young entrepreneur.
As a third-year college student, Elizabeth typically wakes up at 8:00 A.M. to attend to her dog’s needs, meditate and take a shower before spending nine hours of her day in online classes and completing schoolwork. For the rest of the night, she tends to her business, answers inquiries, makes candles and manages an inventory that occasionally requires her to stay up until 3:00 A.M. When asked about how she manages to balance being in school and leading her business, she says her dedication is on behalf of her motivation toward providing for her pets and the dog community. “We want to provide what’s best for them and all we want is to spoil them as much as we could, including the people who believe in the brand and its goals. At times, I want to stop making candles, but I realized that we have invested too much for us to stop. We are here for the long run not just since it is popular,” said Elizabeth.
Since the Philippine government enforced a six-month lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the country’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has seen a significant increase in the number of registered online businesses. During a Senate hearing in September, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the agency has seen a 4,000-percent increase in registered online businesses in the country, jumping by 73,276 from the beginning of March to the end of August. Prior to the lockdown, Lopez said there were only 1,753 registered online businesses in the first quarter of the year. “We now have a total of 75,029 online businesses registered. This is over a 4,000-percent increase,” said Lopez.
With the Philippine e-commerce rapidly escalating in number, young entrepreneurs like Elizabeth easily find themselves in a dense market of online businesses owned and run by Millennials and Gen Z’er’s. The handmade scented candle businesses have also seen a significant increase in the past months, but Elizabeth says that although this is the case, she’s not here simply for fame’s sake. “We have noticed this, but we’re not here for the fad. We’re here because we’re passionate and driven. We always try to come up with new scents and launches to discover what our customers love. If they have complaints, we address it instantly,” said Elizabeth.
Moreover, she says that although younger individuals are opening online businesses and online selling is gaining more attention, business owners like herself are frustrated by increasing transaction fees and business charges imposed by third-party e-commerce platforms like Singaporean e-commerce giant Shopee and Alibaba-owned e-commerce platform Lazada. The young entrepreneur says, “in our Shopee store, the company has been charging us more and more as time progresses. It started at 2%, 4% and now it has come to 12% transaction fees and other charges. It is frustrating, to say the least, because we want to provide premium quality products at an affordable price.”
Still, in the midst of these challenges, Bailey’s Studios’ dedication to product quality and customer satisfaction, has allowed it to sell over 500 candles, aiding in Elizabeth’s personal and business-related expenses. “I was able to buy my own iPad and further invested with essential oils of the company. Currently, we are eyeing on producing our own essential oils since we have earned enough to buy a distillation setup,” said Elizabeth.
For the future, Elizabeth says she aims to create bigger sized candles and partner with more organizations and brands in the country. Happy with having a small-scale business she says, “as much as I want the brand to grow, we’re content to making it ourselves and keeping it as a small-scale business.”
To aspiring young entrepreneurs, Elizabeth says “As long as you believe and know your product, you don’t have to worry because people buy quality. Even with just a small capital, as long as you are patient and consistent, your company would grow.”
For more information on Bailey Studios’, visit their page on Instagram