Nukutere College held a Commerce Market Day yesterday for their Year 7 to 11 commerce students as part of their assessment.

At the Market Day, the students had the opportunity to sell goods such as scented candles, milkshakes, smoothies, desserts, ei katu, BBQ plates, sausage sizzles, mushroom rolls, hot chips, curry and offer a photo booth.

The students were assessed on their customer service skills and the profit they made.

Among the unique products sold were handmade scented candles. A group of three Year 11 students, with their business called Pua Glow, made scented candles in three different scents and colours.

Their unique product featured a swirly mix of coloured candle wax, creating a smooth, stirred appearance. The options they offered included a yellow candle scented with papaya, a red candle with musk and a blue candle scented with magnolia.

Marie Louisa Taraare, one of the group members, shared with Cook Islands News the production process of their product.

They bought candle jars, food colouring, scented oils and candle wax to produce their handmade candles. The girls then melted wax and mixed it with food colouring by swirling the two sources together in a jar to get their preferred look for a bright and vibrant display.

Taraare said, “We spent our own time making this and everybody else got other people to help them.”

Though their product’s outcome was perfect and went according to plan, the most challenging part of their project was their first attempt at making the candles.

Taraare said, “Our first challenge was learning to actually make a candle.”

Another significant challenge they encountered was financial constraints. According to Taraare, securing funds to purchase the necessary resources was a major challenge, leading them to use their own personal funds to achieve their goal.

The initial cost for the resources was approximately $200, and they produced 24 scented candles, which they sold for $10 each.

With invaluable support of their parents and school teacher, Pua Glow accomplished their goal through commitment, confidence and the motivation from their supporters.

“If you choose to do something, you should definitely put your mind to it and give it your all, even though you think you might not do good, it’s worth trying,” Taraare said.

Having sold all the candles and learning the group earned a total of $240, they had successfully made a profit of $40.