Inside Magazine - February 2026
Link to article: https://insidesmallbusiness.com.au/latest-news/hard-work-and-research-bring-the-sweet-scent-of-success-to-brisbane-candlemaker
Jessica Demichelis studied psychology and communications at university, and subsequently built a career in market research and product development. Working in corporate environments allowed Jessica to develop a strong understanding of consumer behaviour, brand strategy, and how products are built from insight to execution. Jessica stored those learnings, and they drove an aspiration to step away from corporate life to apply everything she’d learned into creating her own business. The inspiration that prompted her to make that step was a long-standing love of candles and home fragrance, and the role they play in shaping how a space feels.
“I was drawn to the idea of scent as a way to create a sense of home and atmosphere, but I struggled to find fragrances that felt truly unique,” Jessica explains. “Many brands rely on pre-made fragrance blends, which often results in the same scents appearing across multiple businesses.”
Homage to family heritage
The ethos behind Casale is to craft unique, aromatic experiences that transport those who buy the candles to the serene landscapes and inspiring destinations Jessica has encountered on her own travels. The brand name refers to a tiny hamlet – Casale Popolo – outside Milan that Jessica’s great, great grandparents called home. And, to this day her extended family call the hamlet home. So, despite being third-generation Australian, Jessica felt a such a strong connection to Casale Popolo when she visited that she vowed to honour the name through her business.
After making the decision to ‘cross the rubicon’, Jessica spent the best part of 12 months working on her concept. She taught herself the art of blending individual fragrance notes together in order to develop original scents from scratch. She refined her craft and launched Casale with a small, considered collection – five different scented candles originally.
Starting up in 2021, at a time when retail was still navigating the effects of the pandemic, Jessica chose to build the business part-time alongside her corporate career. This was in no small part down to allowing space for the market to stabilise. The brand began in local gift stores and has since expanded its retail presence across Australia.
Striking a balance between the start-up and corporate worlds
Caslale was born on through long hours of making candles on the kitchen table. Jessica initially sold her candles through online marketplace Etsy’. This strategy gave her early validation and helped her develop a deeper, more measurable understanding of the demand for her products
“As the brand grew, I made the decision to close the Etsy store and launch my own website. This enabled me to sell directly to customers and build a stronger brand relationship,” Jessica says. “Alongside this, I regularly attended maker’s markets, which were incredibly valuable.”
Speaking directly with customers and observing their reactions provided real-time feedback that helped Jessica refine both the product and the brand. From there, she began approaching high-end gift stores in upmarket areas of Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. “When those retailers began reordering consistently, it confirmed that the product was resonating beyond a single sale,” she says. “To date, I’ve driven the business’s growth largely through direct outreach and cold calling. As the brand continues to scale, I’m now in the process of partnering with a wholesale agent to support the next phase of growth and expand Casale’s retail presence further.”
Recognition of a greater responsibility
Sustainability is embedded into every aspect of Casale’s day-to-day operations. One of the brand’s core commitments is planting a tree for every candle sold – an aspiration that is achieved through a partnership with the reforestation organisation Ecologi. “A portion of each sale is directly allocated to planting trees, allowing customers to make a tangible environmental impact with every purchase,” Jessica says.
On an operational level, Casale’s mantra is focusing heavily on reducing waste. Wherever possible, Jessica reuses packaging received from suppliers – including boxes and packing materials – in wholesale orders. If packaging can’t be reused by Casale, she makes a conscious effort to pass it on to other businesses rather than sending it to landfill. A recent example was partnering with a Christmas ornaments brand that was able to reuse materials that weren’t suitable for Casale’s needs.
“Ultimately, the aim is to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as possible, ensuring sustainability is reflected not just in our messaging, but in our everyday actions,” Jessica stresses.
Looking to the future, Jessica is determined that the next phase of Casale will generate growth without losing the craft behind the brand. “I’ll be focusing heavily on scent creation, particularly through limited-release fragrances that give space for creativity and storytelling,” she explains. “At the same time, partnering with a wholesale agent will support expansion into more retail stores across Australia, with New Zealand a key market for the brand’s next stage of growth.”