Soy wax candles - Zero to Hero in only 15 years

The use of soy wax for making candles is quite a new innovation - and a completely American invention.

The credit goes to Michael Richards, who began a business called Candleworks to make beeswax candles in 1990, and quickly found that there was a substantial demand for candles made from natural waxes.

Just as quickly, he found that beeswax was 10 times as expensive as the usual candle wax, which was made from petroleum. But he found a solution..

While he kept up his beeswax business, Michael started experimenting with various vegetable oil blends, and by 1994 he was mixing soybean oil and beeswax to manufacture a less expensive candle made of natural products.

By 1996 he was able to produce candles almost entirely from soybean oil, although other vegetable oils were added in small quantities to improve the appearance and achieve a better scent "throw".

He was also able to develop soy waxes with varying melting points - so that he could use a lower melting point for candles in containers, and a higher melting point for pillar candles

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