Harlem Candle Company

What Harlem Candle Company does

Harlem Candle Company is a privately held, founder-owned luxury home fragrance brand founded in 2014 by Teri Johnson in New York City. The company designs, produces, and sells premium scented candles, reed diffusers, and room sprays organized around a Harlem Renaissance cultural narrative, with each scent built from top, middle, and base notes tied to specific jazz-era figures, places, and moods (e.g., Lady Day for Billie Holiday, Langston, Duke for Duke Ellington). Pricing spans $52 for an 11 oz two-wick standard candle up to $102 for premium ceramic vessels, supported by a $125 free-shipping threshold and gift cards from $30 to $200.

The core product is built through collaborations with award-winning perfumers, with proprietary scent formulations and reusable ceramic vessels (Ceramic Gold Collection, 22k Gold Cocktail Glass Collection) that double as decorative objects after the candle is consumed. The portfolio has been extended into adjacent categories through sub-brands Harlem Design Co. (journals, tote bags, drinkware) and Harlem Perfume Co. (fragrance line), plus licensed collaborations with The White House, The MET Museum, The Wiz, and Gypsy.

Go-to-market is primarily direct-to-consumer through a Shopify storefront shipping to 100+ countries, supplemented by a wholesale program for retailers and a dedicated corporate gifting/B2B channel. Revenue is generated via unit-priced one-time product sales plus licensing royalties from institutional collaborations, targeting affluent individual consumers, Harlem Renaissance enthusiasts, and corporate gifting buyers. The brand received its highest-profile consumer validation when the Purple Love candle was included in Oprah's Favorite Things 2023.

Name

Harlem Candle Company

Legal name

Harlem Candle Company

Website

https://harlemcandlecompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Harlem Candle Company is a privately held, founder-owned luxury home fragrance brand founded in 2014 in New York, designing and selling premium scented candles, reed diffusers, and room sprays inspired by the Harlem Renaissance through DTC e-commerce, wholesale, and corporate gifting channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Home Fragrance / Scented Candles

NAICS

Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (456120)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Scented Candles & Wax Melts (Home Fragrance) (CRAJAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Candles, Home Fragrance & Diffusers Retail (CRAIACAC), Home Fragrance (Candles, Diffusers, Room Sprays) (CRABADAE), Party Favors, Gifts & Custom Merchandise (HSACACAM)

Keywords

• Luxury scented candles
• Home fragrance products
• Reed diffusers
• Candle accessories
• Premium home decor

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Direct sales of luxury scented candles, reed diffusers, room sprays, travel candles, ceramic collections, and candle accessories to consumers through e-commerce.
2. Licensing & Collaborations: Cultivated timeless creations in partnership with The White House, The MET Museum, The Wiz, and Gypsy, generating revenue through licensed candle collections.
3. Corporate Gifting & Wholesale: B2B sales channel through wholesale and corporate gifting programs for businesses seeking branded or bulk candle orders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Harlem Candle Company designs, produces, and sells luxury scented candles inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, along with complementary home fragrance products such as reed diffusers, room and linen sprays, and candle accessories. The product line spans 2-wick candles, 1-wick candles, travel candles, and ceramic vessel candles (including the Ceramic Gold and 22k Gold Cocktail Glass Collections), with each scent crafted in collaboration with award-winning perfumers. The company also offers sub-brands including Harlem Design Co. (journals, totes, drinkware) and Harlem Perfume Co. (fragrance line).

Product overview

Harlem Candle Company is a luxury home fragrance brand founded in 2014 by Teri Johnson, specializing in scented candles inspired by the Harlem Renaissance. The core product portfolio includes luxury candles (available in 2-wick, 1-wick, travel, and ceramic formats), reed diffusers, and room sprays organized into themed collections such as the Botanical Collection, Ceramic Gold Collection, and 22k Gold Cocktail Glass Collection. The company also offers complementary sub-brands including Harlem Design Co. (journals, tote bags, drinkware) and Harlem Perfume Co. (fragrances), along with gift cards, gift sets, and candle accessories. Notable bestsellers include the Speakeasy, Josephine, Langston, Lady Day, Holiday, and After Dark luxury candles, with flagship products featured in Oprah's Favorite Things 2023 and collaborations with The White House, The MET Museum, The Wiz, and Gypsy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Harlem Design Co. Lifestyle accessories brand featuring journals with original illustrations, tote bags, and drinkware inspired by Harlem's history.
• Harlem Perfume Co.

Products and services

• Luxury Candles
• Travel Candles
• Ceramic Candles
• Reed Diffusers
• Room + Linen Sprays
• Botanical Collection
• 22k Gold Cocktail Glass Collection
• Candle Accessories
• Gift Cards
• Gift Sets
• Harlem Design Co.
• Harlem Perfume Co.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• The White HouseflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarlem Candle Co. has cultivated timeless creations in partnership with The White House, creating licensed candle collections for official events and commemorations.
• The MET MuseumflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art to create candle collections inspired by museum collections and exhibitions.
• The WizcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensed candle collections inspired by the beloved musical 'The Wiz' featuring culturally significant scent profiles.
• GypsycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensed candle collections inspired by the musical 'Gypsy' creating theatrical-themed fragrance experiences.
• Award-winning PerfumerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe company collaborates with award-winning perfumers to design and craft their exquisite scented candles and home fragrance products.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Boy Smells: Independent premium candle brand positioned on inclusive storytelling, design-forward vessels and DTC + Sephora distribution; directly comparable cultural-narrative candle competitor to Harlem Candle Co.
• Voluspa: California-based heritage candle house with decorative vessels, multi-wick formats, and DTC/wholesale distribution; comparable to Harlem Candle Co. on vessel-as-object design and premium price points.
• Cire Trudon: French heritage luxury candle maker sold as decorative home objects; directly comparable to Harlem Candle Co.'s high-end ceramic and gold-accented candle vessels at ultra-premium price points.
• Diptyque: Parisian heritage luxury candle and home fragrance brand; directly comparable to Harlem Candle Co. as a premium-priced, storytelling-driven candle label sold through DTC and department stores with strong brand IP.
• Otherland: DTC-first luxury candle brand with bold visual identity and storytelling-driven collections; closely overlaps Harlem Candle Co.'s premium positioning, gifting set strategy, and Instagram-led DTC marketing.
• Byredo: Swedish luxury fragrance house with strong home/candle line and culturally-led brand storytelling; parallels Harlem Candle Co.'s blend of niche fragrance credibility, premium pricing, and cultural narrative.
• Le Labo: Estée Lauder-owned niche fragrance house with a signature candle line and DTC boutiques; comparable to Harlem Candle Co. on perfumer-driven formulations, cultural cachet, and gifting credibility.
• NEST Fragrances: New York-based luxury home fragrance brand (candles, diffusers, room sprays) sold DTC and through department stores; directly comparable to Harlem Candle Co. in category, price band, and distribution strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Jo Malone London: Estée Lauder-owned British luxury fragrance house with a flagship candle and home fragrance line sold globally; overlaps with Harlem Candle Co.'s premium DTC + wholesale candle model but operates at vastly larger scale.
• Bath & Body Works: Large publicly-traded US home fragrance and personal care retailer with strong candle category and seasonal gifting playbook; broader incumbent that competes with Harlem Candle Co.'s price tier on volume and shelf availability.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/harlemcandles
• Facebookfacebook.com/HarlemCandleCompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harlem-candle-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Harlem Candle Company