Suffolk business raises nearly £2k for Ukraine in less than a week
Founders of Cosy Aromas, Tamar and Paul Mayne, have created a wax melt where 100% of the profit goes to the Red Cross
Tamar and Paul Mayne, Founders of Cosy Aromas, have created a wax melt where 100% of the profit goes to the Red Cross to support people in Ukraine who need aid.
Cosy Aromas was founded in March 2018 and started off in their home kitchen and has since grown, with the business now occupying a 10,000 square foot warehouse.
They have a shop at Boss Hall Road Industrial Estate as well as a shop in Beech St in Felixstowe.
We spoke to Tamar about the thought process behind the wax melt and what it's been like receiving all this support: "It's quite a neutral scent.
"It's not very feminine or very masculine. It can be enjoyed by many people.
"It has cleansing notes of Cyprus and green vines supporting a fruity heart of lime and grapefruit warmed with aromatic florals and supported by a base of central woods.
"This fragrance leaves a feeling of hope and unity for the future."
Not only does this wax melt support the idea of unity but it also mimics the Ukrainian flag.
Tamar told us "we have even done a special design with the wax as well. So it's layered for the flag. So the bottom half is in yellow and the top part is in blue to represent the flag."
We asked why the decide to create the 'For Ukraine' wax melt: "So we do tend to try to use our platform for as good things as we possibly can.
"So we have raised money in the past for different charities, so we raised £14,000 in total for Captain Tom Moore's funds and we currently work with the Miscarriage Association and have already donated £6000 up to now.
"So we like to use our platform to be able to raise awareness and to do good things.
"We have obviously been watching the news like everybody else and it is absolutely horrific to watch, and the people of Ukraine do need a lot of support
"A lot of people aren't able to give things and to be able to donate to the proper charities is the next best thing.
"So we have created a wax melt called for Ukraine where 100% of the profits gets donated to the British Red Cross who use that for the Ukrainian crisis appeal."
Tamar and Paul decided to donate to the British Red Cross because they wanted "to be able to make sure the money gets spent to the right people in the right way."
We asked what it meant to them to already be receiving so much support: "It means so much because we have such a large following across our social media platforms, to be able to give back and to give to people that don't have the support that they need is a huge.
"My husband Paul and I do love to work with charities and to be able to give back where possible because we feel that we're able to do that and that it's important for us to be able to give back to people that need it."
Their initial target was to raise £1000 but this has been surpassed in less than a week. Now they "trying to get as much as possible."
" It's absolutely incredible. We sell them online which is where most of our customers are, but we also have had an influx of people coming into our shop in Ipswich ... and we've had a huge amount of people coming in from reading it in the newspaper and hearing me on the radio."
The shop in Felixstowe "has sold out of the wax melt twice this week."
"So we've had to do emergency trips down to top up the stock, which is absolutely incredible.
"So I just want to say a huge thank you to all of the customers that have helped to support this cause so far.
"Every day we're getting more orders coming through, which is the number just keeps climbing and climbing, which is just absolutely fantastic to see.
"So we're just trying to keep on top of getting them sent out, which is a really fantastic problem to have."
Cosy Aromas wants to continue to help and is producing more For Ukraine wax melts as fast as possible.
Her message to the people of Ukraine is: "That we are very sorry that this is happening, but we are here.
"We support you in the best way that we possibly can and we are working as hard as we can to send over everything that we possibly can to help you out. Keep going. We're here with you."