This week we talk to Dr Suji Sanjeevan, a Melbourne-based medically trained clinical researcher who made the ultimate career change to become an ambience creator.
In 2015, Suji and her husband, Dr Sanjeevan, a respiratory and allergy clinician, co-founded Light & Glo Designs, a fragrance house that consists of two operational arms – Light & Glo, the retail business that specialises in premium natural soy wood-wick candles and scents, and BrandScent, a scent marketing agency that creates signature scents for brands.
ISB: How did your interest in fragrances come about?
SS: There is a real psychology behind scents – the sense of smell is one of our most powerful senses and directly connects to a part of our brain that evokes memories and emotions and this is why we are instantly reminded of past memories when exposed to certain scents.
As a scientist I needed a creative outlet and given my interest in scents I started making wood-wick candles. I gifted some of my candles at my baby shower, and after receiving “rave reviews”, Jeeva and I decided to capitalise on the opportunity and turn my hobby into a business.
ISB: What made you decide to set up your business with both consumer-facing and brand-facing aspects to it?
SS: Being a relatively new small business didn’t deter us from taking risks, disrupting the norm and with the mantra from the School of Thinking ‘Current View of the Situation (CVS)’ to ‘Better View of the Situation (BVS)’, we think outside the box, incorporate flexibility and adaptability in daily life. This has seen our business grow and gain recognition as a highly competitive entity within its sector.
Innovation in an organisation is a multifaceted process, with product innovation being paramount but focus also needs to be on process, marketing, organisation and strategy. This is all the more important as businesses are expected to do business differently and pivot to weather the current storm.
ISB: How do you balance managing the different demands and the work involved in handling two different client bases of your business?
SS: We are opportunity seekers and through meticulous research and formulated networking, we have been able to amplify our presence in the industry. As small-business owners, we have an advantage when it comes to building customer rapport. The size of our company allows us to reach people at a more personal level than big businesses, which turns into stronger relationships with customers.
Through an efficient CRM system, role clarity and meticulous processes and procedures with clear boundaries we are able to operate separately yet in unison. The brands have their own identity and client bases, yet we utilise the similarities and overlap to feed into each other. For example, our wholesalers from Light & Glo have gone on to create their unique bespoke scents that they then utilise in their multiple stores as sensory branding.
ISB: How were you able to apply your medical knowledge and expertise to create these scented products?
SS: We sought to disrupt the industry through the knowledge of hormones and understanding which scents trigger the release of endorphins, dopamine, serotonin etc. We deliver feelings and emotions through senses. Humans comprehend everything around us through senses and learn through experience and that as a starting point is our brand strategy which focuses on one’s senses – sensory branding. The use of wooden wick added another sensory element to the candle burning experience.
ISB: What is your vision for Light & Glo and Brandscent in the next couple of years?
SS: Our vision is to go global. We have developed a clear vision statement to be industry leaders in the field of fragrances and scent marketing, revered locally and know globally. We want to create a memorable experience through scents, operate the company in a way that diminishes our carbon footprint, inspires and empowers our employees and customers, and support charitable organisations, and achieve sustained, profitable growth, thereby creating new opportunities and career development for our employees. We are also setting up our Ambiance Foundation to be advocates for social change in the space of mental health though past experiences, assimilation for PTSD sufferers, and to be voices for the multicultural sector.
ISB: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned as entrepreneurs that others can use in their businesses?
SS: Collaboration and Research. In today’s increasingly global business landscape our supply chains stretch across the world, as a brand we consciously choose to immerse ourselves with local industries and work together with them. And we research and review trends both here and overseas in order to uncover gaps, trends, and opportunities that we can then take advantage of.
