The charm of scented candles with beautiful patterns created on ceramic works reflects real Thai artistry.
As the second generation in a family business making Thai fragrances, Thaniya Janeturakit, Executive Director of Thaniya brand realised the potential for Thai Benjarong ceramic patterns to enhance the value of her family’s fragrance business.
“I started by noticing how many Thai houses often had various pieces of Benjarong ceramics decorated around their homes. The charm of these ceramic pieces lies in the pattern that looks soft, beautiful and colourful, but most importantly it reflects Thai artistry,” she says.
“When I created the Thaniya brand, I wanted to decorate our products, such as a container for scented candles, with these patterns, only in a more contemporary fashion.”
Janeturakit believes the strength of the Thaniya brand is that it represents Thai contemporary design that is both glamorous and friendly at the same time. The whole production process is made in Thailand, in particular the Thai patterns, which are hand painted by Thai craftsmen.
“Due to our unique designs, Chanel and Louis Vuitton chose our products as souvenirs to give to their VVIP at Chanel Cruise Thailand and at Louis Vuitton’s global events in leading fashion cities, such as Paris, Shanghai and Milan,” she says.
However, the uniqueness of the brand does not lie in the ceramics alone.
“We have created our own innovative product, a scented candle made from jasmine rice which has more than 20 fragrances,” she says. “Jasmine rice contains rice bran oil that helps nourish the skin. When the candle has melted it has a temperature close to the human body, which is about 30 degrees. So the wax from our candles is perfect when applied to your skin.”
Thaniya launches a new collection every three months, which provides new aromas and patterns so that customers can get to know and buy new products throughout the year. Its business strategy since day one was to become the first-to-mind fragrance and home décor brand both for Thai and international customers.
“When we create our products, we always focus on selling Thainess to an international standard,” explains Janeturakit.
Sales are split 60/40 between domestic and international markets with strong potential growth in Japan, Australia, Germany, Italy, the UK and Taiwan.
“When we entered foreign markets we received good advice from the DITP. We had the opportunity to participate in many events such as STYLE Bangkok, Host & Home Project (H&H), Salone del Mobile in Italy and Maison & Objet in France. It was a very good opportunity for us,” she says.
Janeturakit believes designs are like food in that each place has its unique slant.
“With craft and design, each country has its own unique identity. I would like Thai entrepreneurs to find the right position for their products, and if the quality is assured, then value and price will follow automatically.”
She also believes that it is important for designers to understand market trends.
“We should create our products to match market demand. Therefore, understanding our markets and clients is the most important thing,” she says.
Those interested in lifestyle product, the DITP will hold STYLE Bangkok Telematching in Lifestyle Online Virtual Exhibition (L.O.V.E.) from 11-14 August 2020. L.O.V.E. will include one-on-one online business matching sessions and an exhibition showing sample products to buyers on Live Streaming alongside product presentation via online platform ‘stayinstylebangkok.com’. For more information, should contact [email protected].
Words by Natthinee Ratanaprasidhi
