Brief description of the organisation/initiative
MoodLight is a small business that sells handmade, personalised candles for people who appreciate having unique functional decorations in their homes. The candles are sold only online and delivered at home to the clients.
Challenge overview
Actually, the Covid-19 pandemic helped the business grow. People were stuck at home so having more time to spend on social media allowed MoodLight to reach more potential customers. There were not any specific obstacles during the pandemic, it was more of an opportunity rather than a challenge for Zorica Pecakovska.
Establishment of the organisation/initiative/enterprise
Zorica Pecakovska wanted to create an online shop, but the idea of reselling other products seemed too mainstream for her. So, she thought that making a product by herself and selling it would be much better. She searched for something creative, and that is how she came up with the idea to make personalised candles.
The story behind the organisation is that Zorica has already been making simple sculptures at home as her hobby. Later, she came up with the idea to open a startup business, which has maintained its place on the market.
Management structure and governance
MoodLight is a for-profit company. It is a small business that operates everything in-house. Hence, it does not have a complicated structure for governance.
Principles of work, objectives and activities
MoodLight is a hand-made creative enterprise. Every order takes up to 4-6 working days. MoodLight already delivers in North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania.
The main principle is having every order done and delivered on time. The main goal at the moment is to reach a bigger audience. Also, another thing that Zorica focuses on at the moment is spreading globally by implementing the right marketing strategies on her website.
Target groups
The target groups are people between 18-50 years old who are interested in handmade crafts. Everyone who buys personalised candles benefits, and also what means a lot to Zorica is the positive feedback she receives.
Innovation
Every personalised candle is unique. Zorica’s goal was to have extraordinary candle shapes, for example, dessert candles. There is no specific business model. The way Zorica operates is by the client’s needs and expectations. However, if her customers do not have a particular will, then she will offer her designs of the candles depending on what they are looking for. MoodLight has no outreach department except for promoting and marketing on social media, mainly Instagram.
Key partners
Zorica Pecakovska does not maintain a network of partners. Her business remains small and only operates in-house.
Impact and Evaluation
It takes a lot of patience, time and practice to actually make good candles. Most of the time, customers want personalised products, which give Zorica space to be more creative, think outside the box and gather more ideas. For Zorica, this is a very positive influence.
Recommendations
This start-up business is the only one in this sector that has started the initiative, which is what makes it a best practice. The Covid-19 pandemic had only boosted MoodLight and its online sales.
The fact that all candles are made with passion and love is amazing. It is truly an art to see how the company prepares the candles.
This best practice can be adopted in another country because of its diverse products that are intended for all age groups. There is not a specific target age group, which means everyone can enjoy a candle either for decoration or for a romantic dinner with their partner.
Lessons Learned
In the beginning, it did not go as planned, and some barriers slowed down the realisation of this idea, but as time passed, Zorica learned that not giving up was the key factor.
References
MoodLight Instagram profile.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.