Soul Food Candle Co.: Blending Culture, Community, and Nostalgia Into Every Flame
Starting a business is never easy, and for Kojuan Trinidad-Williams and DeMarkus Trinidad-Williams, co-founders of Soul Food Candle Co., the journey has been one of passion, identity, and resilience. Since launching in 2021, the couple has grown their small, bootstrapped operation into a brand rooted in culture, community, and authentic storytelling, one candle at a time.
When we asked about early challenges, the co-founders recalled the realities of being first-generation business owners and the capital to get things started.
“Being 1st generation business owners, we didn’t realize how much production would take most of our time,” DeMarkus shared. “When we initially launched back in 2021, we started in our apartment, and we were hand-painting the jars to get the colors that we wanted. Now we do have a manufacturer that does do our custom coloring for our jars, but production was just taking so much time for a team of 2 that was just bootstrapping.”
“Access to capital was a struggle starting out,” KoJuan added. “As DeMarkus mentioned, we have been bootstrapping since 2021. As we started to grow, we noticed that the colored jars were becoming more popular, so we felt we had to move a little faster. That’s hard to do when you don’t have the resources.”
One of the most distinctive aspects of Soul Food Candle Co. is its storytelling. Each scent and design is tied to a personal or cultural experience. Their Scents Like Us collection, for example, celebrates their backgrounds and chosen families.
“The Scents Like Us collection is really an ode to who we are, the intersections of our identities,” said KoJuan. “My being Afro-Indigenous from Compton, a lot of those experiences were brought into our candles, and really it’s kind of preservation of our cultures and our identities.”
DeMarkus echoed the importance of grounding their work in authenticity: “From the beginning, we always knew what our brand’s mission was, which was to be community, culture, and identity, and give them a sense of belonging, empowerment, and nostalgia. One thing that we try to do is always stay authentic to not only who we are, but also our chosen family in our communities.”
Still, not every idea has worked. “We tried to come out with a pumpkin scent, because pumpkin is always so popular in the fall,” DeMarkus explained. “But we realized that that just wasn’t reaching our community. It wasn’t slapping,” he laughed. “They were looking for Coquito, yam-scented stuff, and cornbread.”
With over 50 scents created since 2021, the founders each have their personal favorites. KoJuan’s is deeply tied to memories of self-care: “The Sandalwood Silk Waves, the one with the du-rag artwork, is my all-time favorite. It just reminds me of getting a haircut, wrapping it up at the end of the day, putting my hair grease in, brushing my waves down, and putting my durag on. Those scents remind me of that self-care growing up as a kid and into adulthood.”
For DeMarkus, the Platano Mas Duro candle stands out: “I love that candle so much because it’s so provocative, it’s a play on ‘platano maduro’ (ripe plantain). I love the significance of being Puerto Rican and bringing something that we grew up eating and having that as a candle. It’s a beautiful way to unite a lot of our communities and give them that nostalgia.”
They also highlighted Besitos de Coco, a Caribbean-inspired scent featuring the iconic jíbaro pava hat. “We’ve had that image since 2021,” they said. “Bad Bunny has really popularized what that hat is and brings more awareness to it, and it’s really cool to see this new trend of folks understanding now what the pava hat is on our candle.”
Beyond their Afro-Indigenous and Puerto Rican roots, Soul Food Candle Co. embraces the cultures that have shaped them. Their upcoming relaunch of a Filipino-inspired collection is one example.
“We’re very excited to be bringing back our Filipino scents collection,” said KoJuan. “The Filipino community has had a huge impact on raising me, in a sense… They were my chosen family, and so with the Filipino scents, it just made sense for us to pay tribute and respect to the cultures that had a lot to do with raising us.”
DeMarkus added, “We curated scents like Halo Halo Bby, Shake That Pandan, and Ube Got Cakes that are a ‘thank you’ to the Filipino community for being part of us and being so accepting as a chosen family.”
This time, they’re collaborating with a Filipino-born queer artist for the illustrations. “That way, you can just have that beautiful Filipino touch,” DeMarkus said.
Looking ahead, the founders plan to grow Soul Food Candle Co. beyond scents. Merchandise like hoodies, totes, and hats is on the horizon, along with a renewed focus on philanthropy.
“Growing up as a Black queer male in Compton, there were very few pathways I saw for us,” said KoJuan. “Philanthropy is something we really want to work up to and find meaningful ways to give back to the communities we come from.”
DeMarkus added, “One way of us continuing that philanthropy work is also by collaborating with other artists, making sure that they have a platform, making sure that we’re providing that visibility and that anyone that we’re collaborating with also feels that they’re leaving with something.”
From scents like Sofrito y Sazón to Da Dolls R Out, which honors the trans community, the founders continue to expand their archive while uplifting the voices of Black, Brown, queer, and trans creatives.
“Everything you’ve seen from our Instagram, website, and everywhere else has been KoJuan and me at our kitchen table, creating sets, taking shots, and editing ourselves,” said DeMarkus. “Now we get the chance to venture out and build partnerships with artists that are looking to be featured and highlighted… We really believe in circulating the Black and brown, QT (queer and trans), and BIPOC dollar.”
Soul Food Candle Co. is solid proof that even something as small as a candle can spark powerful conversations around heritage, community, and identity while filling homes with a sense (and scents) of nostalgia and belonging.
