Fun hobby grows into booming business in just a year for two young Milton Keynes women

Two young women are enjoying the sweet smell of success and launched a booming business out of an activity that started as a fun hobby.

Kirsten Wilson and Danielle Neville decided to try their hand at making scented wax melts one evening last year.

Soon they became so adept that people wanted to buy their products.

As the demand grew, the women outgrew the kitchen and branched out into an outhouse. But as their order book continued to expand, that too rapidly became too small. At the same time their social media rocketed to an amazing 110,000 followers.

Now they have become fully-fledged businesswomen by opening their very own manufacturing unit, complete with a store attached, which they have called The Melting Shack.

Kirsten and Danielle’s mum Debs have given up their jobs to work at the business full-time.

Based in Hayley Court in Linford Wood, the shop sells hundreds of home-made wax melts with more than 150 different aromas.

It also sells burners and diffusers, together with scented fresheners and sprays for the home - including everything from carpet freshener to fabric conditioner.

There is also a range of body care products, with face masks, body scrubs, bubble blocks and bath bombs.

After asking customers what they wanted, the women even introduced a special ‘sweet tooth’ section, offering a vast array of pick and mix sweets – all with the ingredients carefully listed.

They have a monthly sub box deal for special occasions such as Halloween, and this month they’ve introduced special Christmas products, including a special wax melts advent calendar, and these are already selling well.

Kirsten, who is 26, and Danielle, 28, attribute much of their success to the social media platform TikTok, where they have posted regular videos of their progress and new products.

They initially promoted their business via Facebook and Instagram and then decided to venture into the world of Tiktok.

"This was a slow climb to 10,000 followers at the beginning. However, with persistence we have managed to successfully grow… The TikTok platform has helped us expand as a small business and with so many benefits it has given us great pleasure to work alongside them,” they said.

“Tiktok have been very helpful in helping with our business as well introducing the TikTok shop to us. This in turn is a way to help smaller businesses grow by offering our customers free shipping on all orders placed through the Tiktok shop.”

"Before we knew it, our small side hustle has become our full time job.”

The businesswomen are determined to keep growing their ranges and introducing new products.

“Growing a business takes a lot of hard work and determination however with the correct team behind you anything is achievable and we will forever be grateful to our team, friends and loyal customers for making this possible and believing in us,” they said.

You can follow The Melting Shack on TikTok here, Instagram or Facebook.