Diptyque

A Paris wallpaper and fabric boutique founded in 1961, sold its first-centred candle ten years later. 63 years on, the candle business has built a 200 million euro luxury empire, with a fragrance line riding on its coattails. Three friends opened a design boutique at 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain in 1961, selling imported English fabrics and their own printed wallpapers. In 1971, they launched the first three-centred candles, designed to fragrance the small boutique itself rather than sold as products. Customers asked to buy them, and the candles became the primary product line by the late 1970s. Most fragrance houses start with perfume and expand into candles as a lower priced accessory. Dip-teak did the opposite.