Kudzi Chikumbu on the Impact of Niche Creators: SXSW Panel Sneak Peek
4 minute read time
With the surge in popularity of short-form video, the ability to carve out a unique niche has become a cornerstone for success for Creators. As we gear up for our highly anticipated panel at SXSW, we’re giving you a preview into the insightful world of niche Creators.
At the forefront of this discussion is panelist Kudzi Chikumbu, a Creator known as “Sir Candle Man.” Kudzi has leveraged short-form video formats to become both a viral sensation and trusted voice on all things fragrance. In this exclusive interview, Kudzi provides his expert opinion on the importance of finding a niche, and how a niche Creator’s passion can fuel their content, partnerships, and growth.
How do you think the rise of short-form video has impacted the viral potential of niche Creators?
Niche Creators help pierce through the deluge of content we’re experiencing. I love that content creation is now democratized and that anyone can be a Creator, but that also means it can be challenging to find what you’re looking for. Niche Creators cater to people’s specific, unique and sometimes hidden passions which means that people feel seen, take notice, and engage with content.
Your content is about candles. How did you identify that this was a niche or a gap to be filled?
They say that “riches are in the niches,” which I think is true. But it’s not enough to find just any random niche. You need to find a niche you are passionate about and that people relate to. I stumbled upon an incredible niche fragrance brand in Paris, so I posted about it and people received it very warmly.
The niche doesn’t matter as much as the authentic passion you have for it and how it fits into people’s everyday lives. If you can connect to a specific category or niche that fits into people’s lives, you can create a magical connection and build a community.
How has targeting this niche helped you forge an authentic connection with your audience and what is it about your content that resonates so well with them?
The niche is an invitation into a specific life. Scented candles, and fragrances in general, are more than just about the scent. They illuminate and amplify your everyday life. So by making content about candles, I was able to connect with moments that are personal to people—unwinding after work, cleaning your home on the weekend, self-care time, and even romantic moments.
When people see a Sir Candle Man video, it’s not just about the candle or the perfume, it’s about the feeling you have or the moment you remember when you experience the scent. The nostalgia if you’re looking back, or the feeling of hope if you’re looking forward.
How have you been able to bring a unique and authentic perspective to brand partnerships? How has that unique perspective benefited these brand partners?
My motto is: share it, don’t sell it. While I enjoy, and I am good at, talking about a product’s benefits to my audience, the magic comes when you connect products to feelings and experiences, especially educational experiences that help people have a deeper love for a product.
This looks like the brand trip I took with CHANEL to the South of France to share how CHANEL N°5 is made, or talking about how a candle scent came to be for my incredible collaboration with LAFCO, or sharing about how you can enhance your personality with fragrances from Target. They all point to one thing, which is the magic of fragrance to illuminate your life overall. For brands that means tapping into that unique, not-salesy perspective that allows your brand to shine on Creators’ channels.
Could you provide an example where your unique content and engagement with your followers has offered distinct value to your brand partners?
I collaborated with LAFCO on a candle, called Heart of The Matter, that was a complex and fun exploration of a much-loved but also decried fragrance note: vanilla. Instead of just showing the candle and selling it, we started with content about education around the vanilla note—why people love it or hate it, what makes good vanilla, and what can help accentuate a great scent. Then we announced the candle, which got 5 star reviews all around!
This experience highlighted how much consumers want to know the details about the making, the ingredients, and the benefits of the scents. And ultimately, the partnership helped a consumer base understand what was in these candles and in turn, moved the consumer down the marketing funnel to consideration and purchase.
Some brands have yet to tap into the potential of niche or micro-Creators because they’re focused on reaching the largest audience possible. Why is this a missed opportunity?
I always ask brands, “do you want buzz and awareness or do you want more prospective customers and sales?” If a brand just wants impressions, then they should go for the biggest names. But if they want people who will buy their product, become a repeat customer (which is the holy grail), and share their passion for their product with others organically, then it’s important to tap into the niches. In this regard, the riches are really in the niches.
What do you think makes niche Creators ideal long-term potential ambassadors for brands?
A niche Creator is a dream for both top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel Marketers. On branded posts, I get plenty of comments that say, “I am going to buy it and try it.” This is because my audience trusts me and we are going on the journey of exploring this brand together. In each post, I invite them to try products with me.
See the SXSW Schedule for more information and to attend our panel.
