Shunem is building its place in Eswatini’s lifestyle market through quality home fragrances, handcrafted candles and products that bring its vision of rest into everyday living.
Shunem began as a personal hobby during the COVID-19 period, when the founder, Nontsikelelo Msibi was searching for home fragrances that offered affordable luxury. The experience of losing her grandmother during that same year also shaped the beginnings of the brand.
Creating fragrances became an unexpected way of processing her grief, and the first blend, Nester, was named in honour of her grandmother.
Described as a warm caramel and vanilla fragrance, Nester remains one of Shunem’s best-selling scents. For Msibi, it carries a personal meaning, reminding her of the warmth of her grandmother’s embrace.
What started as an experiment for her own home gradually attracted the interest of other fragrance lovers. At the time, finding locally made candles that offered the quality and cleaner burn she wanted was difficult, particularly natural, vegan options.
Shunem grew from that personal need into a brand offering products that bring together fragrance, comfort and thoughtful living.
Fragrance is personal, and Shunem’s collection reflects the different ways people experience and enjoy scents. Its range spans floral, citrus, fruity, woody, oriental and gourmand profiles, giving customers the opportunity to find something that suits their preferences and the atmosphere they want to create.
Alongside Nester, popular fragrances include Everything Nice, a fruity mixed-berry scent, and Redamancy, which combines sweet pea, hibiscus and creamy sandalwood notes.
Customer favourites also change with the seasons. Candles tend to sell quickly during winter, while diffusers become more popular in warmer months.
For Shunem, creating a memorable fragrance goes beyond producing something that smells good. The brand places importance on developing a recognisable scent identity and maintaining the quality of its products as its collection grows.
“We’ve always wanted to build something that feels true to who we are, rather than simply follow what everyone else is doing.”
This approach also informs the brand’s expansion into body care, with products designed to complement its home fragrance collection and encourage customers to create their own relaxing rituals.
While customers can discover Shunem through its products, the brand is also creating opportunities for people to experience fragrance in a more hands-on way.
Its candle-making sessions invite guests to explore different fragrance profiles, experiment with combinations and create personalised candles from scratch. Participants get to learn how different notes work together before taking home something they have made themselves.
The sessions offer an alternative to the usual social outing, giving friends, families and colleagues an opportunity to spend time together while exploring their creativity.
Shunem also offers trinket tray painting and can arrange experiences for birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, bachelorette celebrations, girls’ days out and intimate gatherings. Corporate clients can book tailored sessions for team-building activities and wellness events. The intention is to make each experience about more than the finished product.
“We want people to walk away feeling that they have spent their time doing something meaningful and a little different from the ordinary,” she says.
The brand also participates in markets and festivals, including the Luju Festival, where it has had a presence three times. These events allow customers to experience the fragrances in person, something that photographs and online descriptions cannot fully capture.
Shunem extends its approach to rest and connection through personalised gift sets and custom orders. Rather than simply combining products in a package, the brand works with customers to understand the occasion, the recipient and the feeling they want the gift to communicate.
Whether the brief is elegant, playful, minimal or luxurious, the products, fragrances and presentation are selected to create a thoughtful overall experience. Corporate gifting can also be tailored to reflect a company’s identity and the message it wants to share.
Building the brand has not been without challenges. Sourcing materials, maintaining consistent supplies and managing courier costs for products brought in from outside Eswatini remain practical realities. With more businesses entering the home fragrance market, standing out also requires consistency, creativity and a clear sense of identity.
Yet Shunem continues to build around the idea that inspired it from the beginning: making room for rest in everyday life.
For those interested in exploring the collection, arranging a personalised gift or booking a private creative session, Shunem can be contacted through Instagram at @shunem_sz or on 76394995. Updates about upcoming public experiences are also shared on its social media platforms.
At its heart, Shunem is an invitation to make ordinary moments feel a little more meaningful, one fragrance at a time.
