Soybeans can be found in a wide variety of food, but they are also used to make candles.
One of the companies that does is Soy Harvest of Winnipeg, which started in a kitchen nine years ago and has since expanded to supply stores in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario.
Soy candles are made from soybean oil that has gone through a special hydrogenation patented process that turns liquid oil into a solid (wax), which stays solid until heated.
Unlike paraffin candles, soy wax needs less heat to melt back into its liquid form.
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“If you were to take one of our votive candles, which primarily needs to be put inside a glass jar, a paraffin one will stand straight and burn until it melts away,” said Bruce Reynoldson, the company’s sales and marketing director.
“Ours would turn into a puddle, because it liquefies at a low temperature. That’s why the burn time is long and, because it liquefies right away, it doesn’t burn off the fragrance.”
Burning at a much lower temperature allows candles to burn twice as long as paraffin.
Reynoldson joined Soy Harvest’s founder, Sheila Sorochan, about three years ago, after her father died. Since then, the company has expanded from making 20 candles a day to 6,000 a week.
The current demand for the product is closer to 25,000 per week, Reynoldson said. As a result, Soy Harvest is looking for a new manufacturing facility in Winnipeg.
The company supplies nearly 300 stores in Canada, with some of its private label companies carrying the product in the United States.
“Soy candles are a softer wax than traditionally paraffin, like the straight, long candles you’d see on a dinner table,” said Reynoldson.
The company is not yet able to source the soy wax in Canada, al-though it is working to get a manufacturer in Canada.
It currently buys soy wax in pellet form from local importers, which bring it in from the U.S. This way, the product is easy to handle before the fragrance is added. The wax is pored over the wick and left to cool and solidify.
Soy Harvest is hoping to get into a new building next year.
