Small Grants: Scented Noun Candles

Goal: A Nouns DAO Novelty Scented Candle

To further the proliferation of NOUNS DAO, we have come up with the idea of creating handmade scented candles impeccably crafted in the shape of the already established NOUNS logo; ‘Noggles’. We plan on releasing the candles in a variety of scents and colours in limited quantities per drop. This proposal focuses on the development of the candles. We will submit a second proposal in order to bring the finished product to the market, giving 5% of the profit to noundaos.

We have two goals;

Short term; these candles would be sold online and at pop-shops during NOUNS related events such as NOUNSfair.

Medium - Long term; the development of a home goods brand, NOUN Goods. (pillows, kitchenware, dishware, etc.)

3D mock-up

initial experimentation

We have already begun designing the candles and experimenting with the creation of the actual candles. In addition, we own the ENS (noungoods.eth), the domain (noungoods.com) and the twitter (@noungoods). The goal is to have these candles ready by the summer (July) of 2023; however, they would start being rolled out by winter.

If our proposal is approved by December 2022, from January 2023 until July 2023 would be dedicated to perfecting the candle design, to ensure the candles burn bright and smooth flames, no dripping, minimum wax residue, no carbon blackening, creating the best mould, optimal logistics and shipping options, getting the necessary legal paperwork done, as well as calculating the actual cost of bringing these candles to the market.

Timeline and Roadmaps to Complete the Project

This project is going to be split into two main phases (this proposal focuses on Phase 1).

Phase 1 (Research and Development)

  • Perfecting the moulds and the candle design to create the ideal candles.
  • Researching manufacturing & storage options and locations.
  • Researching logistics options.
  • Securing a line of suppliers for; Wax, Wicks, Fragrances (Essential Oils), Colouring Agents, Thermometer, Candle Base, Shipping and Packaging Supplies.

Phase 2 (Launch)

  • This phase would consist of the actual manufacturing, promotions, marketing, storage and logistics of the candles.

Industry Analysis:

Customers’ demand for scented candles, eco-friendly candle options, and candles for festivities and the holiday season is anticipated to fuel growth in the worldwide candle market. The two main markets are anticipated to be North America and Europe.

Customers give a lot of weight to candle fragrance, and it has a significant impact on how they choose which candles to buy. Many individuals believe that a candle’s soothing light and aroma can lower tension and improve mood. Smells have been linked to benefits for mood, stress reduction, better sleep, self-confidence, and cognitive and physical performance. Additionally, scents might make candle owners feel at ease, cosy, and a part of something. Due to these qualities, candle sales have increased.

A significant market driver is anticipated to be the home fragrance segment. Recently, the luxury market has seen increased consumer spending, which has benefited a number of premium businesses. These businesses featured both up-and-coming competitors and well-known brands like Nest. We intend to provide a premium candle that would cater to both the mid-tier and the luxury market.

On the e-Commerce front, as at the time of drafting this proposal, the image below is a snapshot of the last 30 day performance of businesses retailing scented candles on Amazon (UK).

Source: Helium 10 analysis conducted on 22/11/2022 on Amazon.co.uk

Budget:

  • Design ($1.5k)
  • Prototyping Cost ($5k) - this includes the cost of mould creation, other material costs; wax, fragrance oils, etc., creating and testing the sample batches.
  • The legal paperwork ($5k) - i.e. LLC creation, contracts, etc

In total, we are requesting 10 ETH through the small grants fund to help kickstart this project.

Team:

The Team is comprised of 3 key people:

Pascal: A consultant by day and artist by night. He has a background in International Tax and Finance. Pascal has accounting experience working with the big 4 accounting firms, and consulting for firms, multinationals, and SMEs. He currently works full-time as a business researcher and analyst for an e-commerce firm in York, England. When not wearing his suit and tie, he is a skilled painter largely focused on portraiture, and has been in the NFT space since Mid 2021.

Abieyuwa is a multidisciplinary artist and curator. She works with a variety of applications and media including, but not limited to, photography, digital and analog video, and 3D modelling and began minting NFTs in February of 2021. Abieyuwa recently curated the “Paradise” exhibition, an exhibition featuring 22 Black women in celebration of Women’s History month, that was featured on CNN International’s “Inside Africa”. She is a member of Cyberbaat DAO, Accelerate Art, and part of the operations team for the African NFT Community.

Anthony Boyd is a 3D artist and owner of Anthony Boyd Graphics, whose mockups have been used across the internet with clients such as FL Studio and whose website gains 500k - 1 million views a month.

eth address (multi-sig): noungoods.eth / 0x1623625A690fE4E309b94f1c989792d99103f47c

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Hey guys, cool idea, what mould did you use for the sample?

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hi, thank you!
we 3D printed the noggles, then created a silicone mould from it! :grin:

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I think without a thicker mould you would have structural issues and the noggles would crack as seen in your photo. Today’s Noun has thicker glasses, maybe it’s worth another try on that 3D printer.

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thank you for the suggestion and the picture! that’s something we were thinking about too, we’ll definitely work on that.

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