Celebrating Stories One Scent at a Time With Eric, Cristina, and Erica Love
Founders of Mahal Scent
A scent can be many things.
In one tenth of a second, a fragrance can evoke a time and place in our lives, or even a person. It can orchestrate the perfect date night, welcome a new season, or provide comfort and therapy.
It can be clever too (complicated, even).
A scent can warm our hearts as a fire does on a winter’s day, bring complete peace and tranquility, or invite a waterfall of bottled-up grief.
Palo Santo…saffron and sandalwood
Lola - Grandmother…tropical white flowers in bloom
Mahal Kita…grapefruit and hydrangeas
Moonlit Waters…dark aromatics
Muir Woods…damp earth and pine
Oftentimes, an aroma is in itself a memory: an experience, or the anticipation of something much more.
So, this is where our story begins: the meeting of Love (a family name and that indescribable feeling of closeness) and scented candles (a centuries-old household accessory with ever-evolving practical and reverent uses).
Introducing Mahal Scent
From their roots in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset District to the break of dawn in the scorching Sacramento heat and weekends among the kinder breezes of the Alameda shoreline, a family of candlemakers delights patrons far and wide in their celebration of memory-evoking fragrances, scents of home and family, and - yes - exaltations of love and elegance.
Born from a deep fondness and care for their community, Mahal Scent (Mahal meaning “love” in Tagalog) is a San Francisco-based brand of hand-poured soy candles. Created by Cristina, Eric, and Erica Love - a wife, husband, and daughter trio - Mahal Scent lives and breathes a philosophy that blends an unwavering dedication to the highest quality ingredients with creative celebration of Filipino heritage. What started as a fun assignment in April 2022 to design party favors for their son’s fiancé’s bridal shower has since grown into an adoration in homes all across the Bay Area.
Today, Mahal Scent is featured at a diversity of community events (e.g, American Heart Association Go Red for Women, The Sawyer Hotel, Philippine International Aid Gala & Fashion Show) and cherished at a full lineup of weekly and seasonal markets (e.g., Midtown Farmers Market, Outer Sunset Farmers Market, Headwest Marketplace, SJMade, Makers Markets).
The brand currently carries over fifty uniquely scented candles ranging from refreshing essences like Lush (bright bergamot, lavender, mint) and Iris in Bloom (iris, cotton blossom), floral ones like Daisy (sugar pine, patchouli, sage) and Sampaguita (sweet jasmine, citrus), and nostalgic ones like Ikaw at Ako (tonka bean, sea salt, amber) and Isola Bella (grapefruit, vetiver, cedar) that make you dream of your next Mediterranean vacation with that special someone.
What makes Mahal Scent so beloved?
One of the things that sets Mahal Scent apart is the brand’s enthusiasm for their community - a deep interest and compassion for patrons’ personal narratives. In fact, the Loves often create special scents inspired by their customers’ specific life stories and circumstances.
Erica recalls her sister-in-law saying that her grandmother, Tita, loved gardenias. So, when Tita passed away, Mahal Scent decided to make a candle for each of Tita’s children. One of the sons told us he walked by the candles and actually thought his mother was in the room.” It was a beautiful moment of awe and levity. “He said, “No way…This is her!’”
In another of their most precious memories, a regular customer who often came to the Mahal Scent Outer Sunset Farms Market stand with their caretaker specifically asked for a candle that smelled like the Sampaguita flower, a sweet-smelling flower that holds a lot of meaning and symbology in the Filipino culture (also the national flower of the Philippines). The Loves replied that, unfortunately, they did not, but quickly returned home and devised a plan to create one. And now, they do (and it is one of the most gorgeous scents)! Thinking of these moments, the founders are so honored to be able to intimately touch the lives of those who support them.
“It keeps us inspired!”
The Science and Art of Candle Making
When the co-founders are not tinkering with their next dream scent or engaging with customers, they invest time into educating themselves and the community about the candle-making process, quality materials and ingredients, candle care, and safety. As the candle industry is large and mostly commercialized by big-box retailers, it is very important to the Loves that they share information that concerns everyone’s health and safety.
“I have actually never liked candles,” Eric shares, “because they always gave me headaches. I did not know why…so I just avoided them.”
Erica too, as a young girl, loved going to department stores to buy commercially-made candles of various textures and bright colors, but they often felt overpowering.
It was not until the three of them interrogated the science and history did they realize that the 18th, 19th, and 20th Century advances in steam power, mechanical presses, and industrialization radically overtook the once- small-scale and individual production of candles using natural waxes (soy, beeswax, vegetable). These technological advances introduced the ability to make paraffin wax (used in most big-box candles), a cheap base obtained from petroleum that has numerous documented health risks including causing headaches, kidney damage, bone marrow damage, cancer, and birth defects.
Thus, in devising their brand’s mission and vision to return to the trade’s sustainable and non-toxic origins, the Loves are ever-resolute in enforcing the quality of their ingredients and promoting the health of their community. In addition to letting customers glean into their candle-making process over social media and through conversations in-person, they also provide a candle care guide to ensure that all candle-users have the best information to enjoy their purchases safely.
Here is a candle tip: “Always trim your wick 1/4” before lighting the candle each time to avoid any soot.”
In fact, one of Mahal Scent’s very first customers and a self-proclaimed candle-connoisseur, Rachelle Watson, is eager to share about the brand’s care for the community.
“Ever since purchasing a Sea Mist candle at Mahal Scent’s first week vending at the Outer Sunset Farmers Market, they have become a staple in my home. I was hooked. They are so amazing… [Cristina, Eric, and Erica] are always innovating with new scents and also educating their community on how to properly care for candles.” Even since moving away from San Francisco, Rachelle still keeps in touch with the Loves. She adds: “When I first met [Cristina, Eric, and Erica], my son was an infant, and so they have seen him grow up…now, he is walking and talking!”
As someone who has had the pleasure of uplifting this family’s small-business journey and whose house is also decked out in Borocay and Palawan, I have experienced firsthand how Cristina, Eric, and Erica’s thoughtfulness and dedication truly make a difference.
The Beginnings of Love and Business
So, how did these family of artisans turn the first pages of their small-business story?
Unsurprisingly, love had a lot to do with it. And a growth mindset of gold…
First, love brought Cristina and Eric together. They met as partners at the wedding of Eric’s Uncle and Cristina’s long time friend (and the rest, as they say, is history).
Both Bay Area natives, Cristina and Eric got married and moved into Cristina’s family home in San Francisco.
Cristina: “I came [to the U.S.] from the Philippines when I was two. I grew up in the city and I pretty much lived in the same house I grew up in…so over 50 years.” She glows at the thought of her multi-generational household. “My mom passed away two years ago, but my aunt still lives there with us and it is really nice to be able to share [the home] with my husband and my three kids and also my grandkids.”
Before Mahal Scent, Eric was (and continues to be) a volunteer coach for the women’s basketball at the City College of San Francisco, Erica pursued a degree in broadcast and electronic communication arts at San Francisco State University, and Cristina was (and still is) a project manager at Stanford Health Care’s Bone Marrow Transplant Cellular Therapy Facility. Candle-making was not an obvious path for the trio, but love - again - surprised them with a mission.
In April 2022, Cristina and Eric’s daughter-in-law was planning an English tea party-themed bridal shower and asked if the couple could help with party favors. With little idea of what to make, but a lot of enthusiasm and optimism, they accepted and embarked on a series of late nights and early morning brainstorms and window shopping - looping in Erica as she was home a lot due to COVID-19 policies forcing college courses to go remote.
And so began the DIY journey. All of a sudden, Cristina’s childhood home became a laboratory of craft kits, kitchen experiments, meticulous documentation, hours of online research, and - occasionally - pleasant surprises and scents. One day, after many trials and errors using off-the-shelf candle making kits, Eric found Candle Science. Candle Science provided clear guidance on proper candle-making equipment to use, instructions on how to create original scents, and an easy-to-navigate process for the Loves to hand-pour their own candles and design the accompanying labels and aesthetics.
So, with a procedure in place, the trio created a few unique scents including black currant and jasmine for the bride’s choosing. Once the jasmine scent was selected for the party favor, they began producing the quantity needed and also driving across the Bay Area in search of the perfect vessel for the candles. Trip after trip to estate sales, Goodwills, boutiques, and consignment stores provided them an abundance of one of a kind tea sets.
They were perfect.
Fast-forward to the bridal shower, it was as if there was a universal calling: the amateur candlemakers were showered with compliments on the party favors and everyone urged them to start their own business. Surprised by such an overwhelming response, the Loves went about their usual routine but each with a feeling of wonder and new possibilities.
During the following month, the co-founders again created a beautiful offering of scented candles to the guests present at their son and daughter-in-law’s wedding. And with that, an influx of more compliments slowly but surely turned into a commitment to take a chance on themselves.
It was clear then that the year would see the beginnings of a new journey: a family business. And, the name?
To represent their full selves - culture, values, and personality - they decided that their name should reflect their collective identity (“Love”) but in Tagalog (“mahal”) to represent their FIlipino heritage. So, Mahal Scent it was.
Next came division of roles and responsibilities.
Cristina, being the business-minded Excel spreadsheet genius, managed acquiring the business license, registering the brand as a Limited Liability Company, sorting accounting matters, and completing paperwork and permits for vending at farmers markets. She also has a special knack for placing the candle labels exactly at the center of the vessel…
Erica, being the most technology-minded of the three, took on creating Mahal Scent’s website from scratch and creating a social media presence as well. “At first, we thought about going straight to Etsy because it seemed easier to connect with buyers. But, we all gathered together one night and decided we wanted a website of our own.” Having just graduated college, Erica was primarily job-seeking, so spared some of her time to help out with her parent’s vision. So she did…and soon became an equal contributor.
“It was a huge learning curve for me [to build the website], but I resolved to watch tutorials and build out every part of the website myself, without using any templates.” She remembered vividly: “The night before the site went live, I was so nervous. Everything was scheduled to post, but still I stayed up all night to triple check that everything looked perfect.”
And, it was.
Just four short months after the creation of their first candles as bridal party favors, Mahal Scent now had an online presence that Erica was beyond proud of. “Once the site was published, and I saw people go on, I thought ‘Wow, I did something - made something - that I didn’t think I would ever make.”
“I actually made something that I didn’t think I would ever make”
- Erica Love
And last but not least, Eric (more commonly known as “Dad” in the Love household), is the candle making equivalent of a chef: he carefully drains the hot soy wax from the melter, stirs in the scent oil, and hand-pours the concoction into their vessels (most often prepared by Erica earlier in the day).
And so the small-business owners’ weekdays are filled mostly with such preparations, followed by packed weekends of selling candles and engaging with customers at local markets and community events.
Jose Cataag, a childhood friend of Eric's, cannot hold back his admiration. “I am very proud of my friend. I never thought he would get into this type of business, but he is so motivated. And it is incredible to see them all work together as a family. They were even invited to vend at Ayesha Curry’s flagship store, Sweet July, last year.”
“I am very proud of my friend…And it is incredible to see [the Loves] all work together as a family. They were even invited to vend at Ayesha Curry’s flagship store, Sweet July, last year.”
- Jose Cataag
Jose’s wife, Rachel, adds: “It is scary to be an entrepreneur, but Cristina, Eric, and Erica are doing it. We have seen them building this business from the ground up, literally fulfilling their American Dream… and it just shows how close-knit they are.” As long-time family friends with the small-business owners, Rachel observes how innovative the Loves are, and also how willing they are to help each other out to create candles that are truly unique. “They are also so dedicated to customer service and always ask for constructive feedback to continue innovating.”
In short, as every small-business owner knows well, it takes guts to invest in an idea one believes in, and to pour heart and soul into making the business the best it can be.
The Next Chapter
So, what does the future have in store for the Loves?
“We are continuing to grow the business, and are excited to roll out our next season of candles.” This summer, Mahal Scent introduced six new candles, including Lush, Midnight Sun, and Summertime.
Cristina offers that “every three months, we sit down and decide on our next roll-out of candles and we also pick out containers to match the scents.” Erica: “We try to come up with a fitting name for each candle and devise a meaningful story behind them as well.”
As of a couple weeks ago, the Mahal Scent website also received a huge facelift, sporting a gorgeous online shop and discount features for shipping and delivery. Recently, they also invested in a laser cutter to elevate their branding across their product offerings.
With the absolute honor of sharing this family’s small business journey, I think it is true what they say about scents. Scents can bring people and communities together. They can celebrate stories, and uplift moments with our loved ones. And, they can be much more than what they seem on the surface.
So, thank you, Cristina, Eric, and Erica Love for the spirit you all bring to each of your creations and the care you all have for those around you.
Dear reader, thank you for taking a moment to read our latest story on this incredible family and their small-business adventures. If you have not had the pleasure of enjoying their candles, you can check them out in-person at a variety of Bay Area events and online at mahalscent.com. If you are looking for a few recommendations, my personal favorites are Borocay (also co-founder Cristina Love’s favorite), Sea Mist (their most popular succulent candle), and Sunset. Whatever scent may hold the most cherished memories for you, I hope you’ll take time to sit with it as the summer comes to a close. Thanks for reading, and happy community-gathering!