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Monisha Edwards' Scent & Fire candles were featured on the Today Show Thursday morning.

published on May 7, 2020 - 1:22 PM
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A Fresno businesswoman’s hobby has turned into a lucrative means of income as America navigates its way through the COVID-19 pandemic — and now she’s taken her product onto the national stage.

Originally, Monisha Edwards started making candles a little more than a year ago, in addition to running Fresno marketing firm Truth Branding Agency. Looking for a holistic approach to treat anxiety and depression, she turned to aromatherapy, which turned into a side business — Scent & Fire Candle Co.

She was selling at a rate of about 150 candles a month, but things didn’t really take off until the quarantine, when she began to experience a loss of business with her advertising company.

Edwards created a line of quarantine-themed candles with four different scents — Therapy in Place, Shelter and Chill, Living Room Flex and Socially Distant. The candle packaging includes a code to access a playlist to set the mood for that particular scent.

Last month, she sold a little more 500 candles.

But Thursday morning, she received a national boost that doubled that total in just a few hours.

The Quarantine 2020 candles were featured on the “Today Show,” in a segment from lifestyle contributor Jill Martin called “Steals and Deals.” Scent & Fire came to Martin’s attention via social media. According to Edwards, she had already sold more than 1,000 candles by 9:30 a.m.

The surge temporarily crashed her website.

“I think this is going to go on all day,” Edwards said. “So yeah, I sold quite a few candles all by myself.”

Edwards expects this to grow even more, meaning she’ll likely have bring someone else on to assist with the ever-increasing number of orders incoming. For now, it’s a one-woman operation.

“That means I’m going to have to get some help,” she said.


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