Laura Frankenschmidt behind Lyttelton Lights
Meet Lyttelton Lights founder Laura Frankenschmidt. In 2026, the mother of three (plus a brand you could liken to a fourth child) marks 10 years of business and a whole hoard of hurdles jumped. Metropol editor Nina Tucker finds out how Laura’s first candle crafted over the stove in her cosy Lyttelton cottage became Christchurch’s biggest home fragrance brand.
Laura opens the door to her Brougham Street warehouse, and a sweet mixture of scent wraps me in an embrace just before she does. I follow her up a short staircase that leads to a small room (with a door always open) where framed photographs tell the story of fragrance company Lyttelton Lights.
“The marketing side of me wants to tell you a story of perfect work-life balance, about the key to being a successful CEO and mum, but to be honest I’m still working it out,” Laura says on building her dream business with a little family.
“Lyttelton Lights kind of fell into place from curiosity and playing around with an idea to create a candle in an empty jar that I had,” Laura tells me from her Brougham Street office. “It’s quite nostalgic to think that our first business cards were hand-written on a little piece of paper, that we sold our couch of our little cottage to make space for candles, and that we hired our first ever staff member while looking after our newborn up at NICU. I didn’t have any start-up capital or experience in business, so it’s been an incredible journey and I’m immensely proud of what it has become.”
BORN FOR BUSINESS
Laura’s growth came organically – a mix of word-of-mouth referrals and what I’ll call a sixth-sense in business. “Growth is incredibly diverse and comes with its own individual challenges. Sometimes it’s simply overcoming daily hurdles or negotiating a new deal, and other times it’s the development and launch of a new product range that is two years in the making,” she explains. “Nothing is ever predictable, and being able to adapt to change is probably the biggest learning curve.”
Laura recognised the value of other businesses – and the people who build great ones – from the start. She collaborated with local businesses like Jeuneora to diversify the range, showcase local-focused values, and tap into an external customer base. She invested in a support network that would help grow the brand and herself as an entrepreneur. “I realised early on that building a trustworthy and likeminded collective of business partners, suppliers and stakeholders is important. It enables us to do business on a level that is not just profitable, but at the same time joyful and rewarding for all,” Laura reflects. “Lyttelton Lights evolves constantly, it’s a dynamic process that is closely related to our own ideas, values and stories, but also leans on trends and currency.”
One value that’s kept Laura grounded, dedicated, and incredibly proud of her craft, is the brand’s environmental considerations. “Sustainability has been a big part of our business and brand message right from the beginning. It’s personal because I deeply care about our natural environment. There is no such thing as being 100% sustainable and we are not perfect, but we have a responsibility to do everything we can to minimise our footprint, to always work on bettering ourselves and to invest into making Lyttelton Lights as sustainable as possible. We owe it to our planet and future generations.”
A decade, 250 stockists nationwide, and 10 staff later, Laura says her team is what she’s most proud of. She took full advantage of the opportunity to build her team from scratch and it paid off. “The creative direction and product development with a team of passionate people is by far the most rewarding and fun aspect of the business,” she says. “It’s the basis of everything and we have an incredible degree of mutual respect and fun. The diversity of our staff, and empowering the individual strengths and skills that come with it has been incredibly rewarding.”
Second best to that is the life she maintained outside of work. “I’m sure at times it would take longer to get back to people or I may have missed out on the odd event,” Laura laughs. “But I always made sure my social life wasn’t too impacted.” While the business and team thrives, her social calendar does too. “The kids are my absolute priority and the perfect little distraction.”
MADE RIGHT HERE
Laura’s production line began over the stove in a cottage over the hill, but she couldn’t possibly honour her locally-made beginnings now, right? Wrong. A diverse range of products, hundreds of stockists, thousands of orders – everything is made by her team of 10 in their Brougham Street warehouse. “Everything is still designed and manufactured in-house, and while that’s very labour intensive, it also ensures that we can take care of the creative process and quality control,” Laura says proudly. “Keeping everything in-house has been a conscious decision that allows us to do exactly that. It’s time intensive but it is also what we believe our customers deserve.”
That includes everything from product development to marketing. Every scent becomes so much more personal – a rigorous trial-and-error process that means every smell transports you afar just as much as it does home.
“Having our custom fragrances work not just in our candles but also throughout our other product ranges is by far the most challenging aspect. Creating a new fragrance that works can take up to a year in development and trials,” Laura explains. “It’s very special to hold a new finished product in your hands for the first time, and hearing stories of customers enjoying it makes it all worthwhile.”
When the pandemic threatened everything from shipping and production to financial stability, Laura doubled down. “We had some major decisions to make, both strategically and financially,” she says. “Shipping became so unreliable that we had to hold a lot more raw materials in order to fulfill orders. The cost of goods increased significantly and retail dropped. It was a time that required us to adapt, learn and diversify.”
The journey has never been straightforward, instead Laura describes it as a “whirlwind”. “Starting and building a business [alongside marriage, raising three children, volunteering for St John ambulance, and life’s major obstacles] has been extremely challenging. It’s taken a lot of belief, determination and sometimes courage to stick with it.” Blood, sweat and tears aside, Lyttelton Lights has given Laura, husband Andreas and their family a life they love. When she needs to, she can leave the business in trusted hands and travel. “We love going on little adventures in the outdoors.” Ideally, that’s the Abel Tasman (her family’s favourite place), but sometimes Laura will head towards the hills and nature’s escape. “It makes me realise that there is a world out there beyond the business.”
