Tuesday, 26 August 2025

Mattys LTD

From Wax to Wings: How a Nottingham Candle Maker’s Bees Took Over the Business
When bees “moved in” at Matty’s Candles, founder Matthew Romane discovered that a plant-based candle brand and a handful of hives can create a powerful local ecosystem—one that now helps pollinate the very crops behind his wax.
“The way to save the planet is to start a chain reaction—alter your daily routine and choose how you spend your spare time wisely,” says Matthew, MD of Matty’s Candles.

A plant-based stand: why Matty’s Candles chose rapeseed & coconut (not soy or paraffin)
Matthew has always been clear about what won’t go into his products.
Soy was off the table because of its link to habitat conversion and deforestation in key biomes such as the Amazon and Cerrado (reported by conservation bodies and international agencies).
Paraffin was a no, too. Paraffin wax is petroleum-derived, and burning candles (of any wax) can emit particulate matter and trace volatile organic compounds. Public-health and building-science reviews note that candle flames contribute to indoor particles; measurements with paraffin-based candles have detected volatile organic compounds such as benzene and toluene—hence the emphasis on ventilation and clean-burn practices.
Instead, Matty’s Candles uses a rapeseed and coconut wax blend. This combination forms his Scented Candles and Wax Melts. Oilseed rape (rapeseed) is widely grown across the UK and Europe, contributing to domestic agriculture under strict pesticide rules. Coconut wax, meanwhile, is derived from the flesh (meat) of the coconut—harvesting the fruit rather than felling the tree—and much of the world’s coconut production is carried out by smallholders, supporting farming families.
“I didn’t want paraffin because of indoor air quality concerns, and I didn’t want beeswax because I respect the work bees put into building cells for their young,” Matthew explains. “Coconut and rapeseed give us a clean, plant-based, UK-friendly alternative.”

So… why bees?
Matthew explains, ‘I find it very interesting how a worker honey bee’s life unfolds: it starts as an egg for about three days, then hatches into a larva that’s fed for around six days before the cell is capped; she pupates for roughly twelve days and emerges as an adult at about day twenty-one. In her first couple of days she cleans cells and helps warm the brood, by days three to ten she’s nursing the young and tending the queen, around days six to twelve she’s making wax, building comb and clearing debris, by days twelve to eighteen she’s receiving nectar, ripening it into honey, fanning the hive for ventilation and guarding the entrance, and after that she takes orientation flights and becomes a forager, bringing home nectar, pollen, water and propolis. Queens develop faster—about sixteen days—and drones take longer—about twenty-four—but it’s the workers’ step-by-step career that really fascinates me. Because Matty’s Candles is literally surrounded by rapeseed fields in Nottinghamshire. Rapeseed blazes yellow each spring and is a magnet for pollinators.” Matthew argues that pollination is one of the biggest levers ordinary people can support.
Globally, animal pollinators (mostly insects) affect around 35% of crop production by volume and enhance yields in roughly 75% of the leading global food crops (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization). That means many fruits, nuts and seeds we eat rely—at least in part—on animals like bees, flies, butterflies, moths and beetles moving pollen.
But here’s the nuance behind “how much do honey bees do?”: there isn’t one definitive global percentage that honey bees alone contribute. Managed honey bees are vital and economically indispensable, pollinating more than a hundred commercial crops in North America, yet landmark research across 41 crop systems shows wild insects are irreplaceable—they often boost fruit set independently of honey bees. The takeaway: honey bees and wild pollinators work together; we need both.
“Our bees help pollinate the rapeseed that ultimately gives us rapeseed wax,” Matthew says. “It’s a circular story—support the fields, and they support us.”

When the bees “took over”: a crash course in swarms
Matthew and his husband expected honey, not high drama. Within four weeks of installing a first colony, the hive signalled it was ready to split—beekeeping shorthand for swarming, the species’ natural reproductive process. The original queen departs with a large contingent of workers to start a new home, while the colony raises a new queen in the mother hive. Cue urgent phone calls, extra boxes, and a rapid education.
How do you know a hive is about to split? UK beekeeping guidance points to several classic signs:
• Queen (swarm) cells being built along the bottom or edges of brood frames—once they’re sealed, a swarm may be imminent or have already occurred.
• Overcrowding or congestion in the brood nest, with limited space for the queen to lay.
• Backfilling—workers storing nectar in brood cells, squeezing the queen’s laying area.
These indicators trigger swarm-control actions; if you can’t find the queen, official guidance from the UK National Bee Unit sets out manipulations to divide the colony and reduce swarming pressure.
“We had no choice but to make a forced split and buy another hive,” Matthew recalls. “Then it happened again. In weeks, we went from one hive to four.”

A new home in Babbington: natural farming, real synergy
A chance appointment with their chiropractor, John Anthony, led to a conversation about his family farm in Babbington, run with natural methods and no pesticides. It proved an ideal satellite apiary for Matty’s ever-multiplying colonies. The result is a local pollination boost for hedgerows and crops alike—including those blazing yellow rapeseed fields—and a safer, quieter site for beekeeping growth.
From a business standpoint, the synergy is obvious: healthy pollinators for rapeseed (supporting rural economics) and plant-based wax (supporting a cleaner burn), converging into the brand’s core ethos. It’s also very Nottingham: local fields, local farmers, local bees.

What pollination really gives us
Pollination’s economic and ecological value is hard to overstate:
• Food security and diversity. Pollination helps provide many of the vitamins and micronutrients in our diets—think berries, apples, almonds, courgettes, and countless seed crops. Globally, pollinators influence a third of crop production and touch three-quarters of the leading food crops (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization).
• Wildflower and habitat health. Beyond crops, pollinators keep meadows, woodlands and hedgerows thriving—supporting birds and other wildlife up the chain.
• Resilience through biodiversity. Peer-reviewed research shows wild insects play a critical role in fruit set—even where honey bees are present—suggesting farms and towns need diverse pollinator communities for stability.
“Honey bees are the most visible pollinators,” Matthew says, “but we plant to support all pollinators—wild bees, hoverflies, butterflies—because diversity is what keeps ecosystems resilient.”

Why paraffin-free matters to Matthew
Matthew’s stance against paraffin has always been pragmatic: indoor air quality. While any open flame produces particles, public-health and building-science literature notes that burning candles contributes to particulate matter and volatile organic compounds indoors; paraffin-based candles, being petroleum-derived, have been measured to release compounds including benzene and toluene in some studies. Good ventilation, quality wicks, and appropriate burn times all help.
Matty’s Candles responds with plant-based wax, cotton wicks, and careful formulation, alongside everyday burn guidance (trim the wick; don’t burn in a draught; allow a full melt pool; keep rooms ventilated).

The rapeseed connection: supporting British agriculture
Even after a difficult growing year, rapeseed remains a meaningful UK crop. Government agriculture statistics show hundreds of thousands of tonnes of UK rapeseed harvested in 2024, underscoring how entrenched the crop is in domestic rotations. When Nottinghamshire apiaries like Matthew’s help pollinate local rapeseed, the benefit flows both ways—nectar for bees, seed for farmers, wax for candles.
“It’s fantastic to know that—indirectly—our bees help make the raw material that goes into our candles,” Matthew says.

Health from the hive: what’s proven (and what isn’t)
Honey has a long folk history, but what does the evidence actually say?
For coughs (over age 1):
Authoritative guidelines and systematic reviews indicate that honey can reduce cough frequency and improve sleep for children over one year with acute upper-respiratory infections, performing better than “usual care” and comparable to some over-the-counter remedies. Never give honey to infants under 12 months due to the risk of infant botulism. (Sources: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; Cochrane and other systematic reviews; Mayo Clinic.)
For topical wound care:
Cochrane reviews report high-quality evidence that medical-grade honey dressings can speed healing of partial-thickness burns by several days compared with some conventional dressings, with variable evidence for other wound types. This is a clinical, sterile-product use—not the same as kitchen-cupboard honey.
For allergies and general wellness:
Evidence is mixed or limited. While honey contains antioxidants and has antimicrobial properties, robust clinical evidence for preventing seasonal allergies is insufficient; professional guidance tends to be cautious. (For coughs and minor sore throats, the benefit signal is stronger.)
“Honey can soothe coughs in children over one year and may help them (and their parents) sleep better,” note mainstream medical guidelines.

Beekeeping, responsibly
Starting hives because you love bees is easy; keeping them responsibly is harder. Matthew’s crash course highlights a few lessons useful to any new beekeeper:
1. Expect swarms—and plan ahead. Learn the signs of swarm preparation (queen cells, congestion, backfilling) and have equipment ready. If in doubt, follow UK National Bee Unit guidance or consult your local association.
2. Site placement matters. Moving colonies to a farm with natural practices reduced pesticide exposure risk and created a richer forage landscape.
3. Support wild pollinators, too. Honey bees are charismatic and useful to many crops, but studies show wild insects independently increase fruit set. Plant diverse, pesticide-free forage and leave some wild corners.

From side project to strategy
What began as an environmental choice—a plant-based, paraffin-free candle line—has grown into a broader pollination strategy. The company’s hives now work the hedgerows and rapeseed near Nottingham; the rapeseed fields feed the bees, and the bees help set the seed that becomes rapeseed oil—part of Matty’s wax blend.
It’s also a story consumers can understand: local farms, local flowers, local candles—with measurable ecological value.
“Our bees play a huge part not only in our business but in our local ecosystem,” Matthew says. “That’s the bit that makes me proud.”

What this means for eco-minded candle buyers
• Ask what’s in the wax. Plant-based blends like rapeseed and coconut decouple candles from fossil feedstocks and align with UK agriculture.
• Burn smarter. Whatever you burn, trim wicks, ventilate rooms, and follow safe-use guidance; any candle flame produces particulate matter and trace volatile organic compounds.
• Back biodiversity. Buy from brands investing in pollinator habitats—whether that’s on-site planting, local conservation, or, yes, keeping bees.

The last word
Matthew didn’t set out to become a beekeeper. But in Nottingham, where rapeseed paints the spring horizon yellow, the step from plant-based wax to pollination was a short one—and the bees happily took it.
“We started with one hive. The bees had other ideas,” he laughs. “Now we have four—and a much bigger story to tell.”

Sources (named)
• United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): Global dependence of crops on animal pollinators (~35% of production; ~75% of leading food crops benefit).
• Garibaldi et al., Science (2013): Wild insects enhance fruit set across 41 crop systems; honey bees do not fully replace wild pollinators.
• Public-health and building-science literature (e.g., US EPA notes and peer-reviewed studies): Candle combustion and indoor particulate matter and volatile organic compounds; paraffin-based candles measured to emit compounds including benzene and toluene.
• DEFRA (UK agriculture statistics): UK rapeseed production figures and crop importance.
• National Bee Unit (UK): Practical guidance on swarm indicators and control methods.
• NICE guidance; Cochrane Reviews; Mayo Clinic: Evidence summaries for honey in cough management (over age 1) and medical-grade honey in burn care.

Editor’s note: Honey should not be given to children under one year due to the risk of infant botulism. For wound care, use medical-grade honey under clinical advice.
For more information please visit us here at https://mattyscandles.co.uk


Matty's Candles Contact matty@mattyscandles.co.uk and Lewis Romane on 07581 395986