Antonie’s remarkable journey started with candle-making, which evolved into a wellness business

Some individuals have the innate ability to inspire others just by being around them.

Nicole Antonie is one of these people, and her journey has been as remarkable as the person she is.

 Antonie started Soy Lites as a candle-making business when she returned from a South American adventure where she spent three years in the jungle.

It was 2007, and Antonie, along with life and business partner Colin Skelton, took a leap of faith to introduce new candle technology into South Africa.

“Colin’s dad, who lives in the US, had been tinkering with soy wax, looking at it as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional paraffin,” she said.

“It had the potential to shake up the candle industry a bit, and because of my love of nature, it held even greater appeal for me.”

She got to work, designing a brand, labels, packaging, and a small manufacturing plant. “Like all startups, it happened in the garage,” said Antonie.

It was a slog; a labour of love and her first break came a year later with a successful sortie at a Christmas décor exhibition.

It was also the ramp-up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup tournament in SA, and she entered Soy Lites into the entrepreneurial programme.

“It was a bit of a disaster,” she shared. “There was a soccer field full of challenges, and nothing ever really took off.” Hopes of taking Soy Lites to a wider audience were shattered.

“It really tested our resilience, and while nothing came of it, at least it forced us to innovate and diversify our product range.”

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It’s all about wellness

Soy Lites’ products evolved into a comprehensive range of candles that double as skin care products, balms and more.

“A candle doesn’t just serve as a source of light and fragrance but also as a therapeutic, skin-nourishing product.

“It marries the benefits of aromatherapy with the tactile pleasure of a moisturising body product. It’s all about wellness.”

After what she called the “Fifa disaster”, Antonie worked night and day to set up distribution channels for her products and eventually landed listings at more than 100 retailers.

Soy Lites has also done particularly well on its e-commerce platform. About a year ago, she added bricks and mortar – the first Soy Lites retail store opened in Linden, and she now provides a platform for other artisan wellness products to showcase their wares.

Antonie’s life philosophy and wellness journey is inextricably linked to her experiences in the Amazon forest.

“It changed my life completely. It changed my outlook, and the jungle connected me deeply to the earth and its people.”

When she first arrived, she worked as a tour guide for a resort. “I used to take visitors to see a tribal village in the jungle.”

Huts on stilts

But a year into her adventure, she decided to move in with the locals, and live like them. “A friend accompanied me. We built our own huts on stilts.

had a roof, but no walls, we were one with nature.” That is where she spent the next two years. Living in the jungle is not like in the movies. It had its scary moments.

“I once had a frightening encounter with a giant snake. It was in my way, I had to back up pretty quickly.

“When we started to get a bit braver, we’d look for Jaguars, and see if we could find them in the night. So, it became a very immersive experience.”

As a degreed zoologist, Antonie had the opportunity to explore and experience the jungle like few people have.

Mealtimes were the stuff of drive-through-loving Westerners’ nightmares. “Guinea pig is a delicacy in Peru’s jungle, and we dined on them a lot.

They’re best braaied, almost like a spatchcock chicken, except of course this was spatchcock guinea pig,” Antonie laughed.

A mealtime favourite was beetle larvae. “It sounds disgusting, but it is larvae which comes from the heart of a palm tree.

And they were big, fat white grubs, which were a high source of fat and protein. And they became quite a staple part of our diet.”

She tried Ayahuasca, a plantbased ceremonial brew known for hallucinogenic effects that induce altered states of consciousness, like visions, profound emotional and spiritual awakenings, and even out-of-body experiences.

“Ayahuasca acted as a mirror, compelling me to reflect deeply on my choices and their impacts. But it can be a hectic substance.

Its use must be in the presence of someone who understands what you will be going through when under its influence. It is powerful.”

She said the biggest lesson for her was the importance of connection. “The connection to the earth and how much we learn when we are living with nature and as one with the earth, and also the people that live close to the earth. There is a deep simplicity. I really experienced the power of presence and connection.”

Antonie is also a trained Hawaiian Kahuna massage therapist. It’s one of her biggest passions and, as Soy Lites grows, she plans to also incorporate Kahuna into her day-to-day business.

“It’s very much linked to wellness and, for me, doing body work, growing our product range, putting in the sweat and the passion.

“I do it for my daughter, for my partner, for my family at home and at the store. It’s what brings me purpose.”

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