# Munio ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 2008 | | Origin | Latvia | | Headquarters | Riga | | Status | Active | | Previous names | Munio Candela | | Manufacturing | Riga, Latvia | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.themunio.com/ | Munio, which trades as "the MUNIO", is a Latvian maker of hand-poured candles, home fragrances and body-care products based in Riga. The company dates the brand to 2008, when founder Elina created her first collection of soy-wax candles [2]; the operating company, SIA "MUNIO SPA", was established in 2010, according to the Latvian Patent Office [8]. Originally sold as Munio Candela, the brand later dropped the Latin word for candle from its trademark as its range widened into diffusers, room sprays and, from 2019, body care. The business remains a small family enterprise run by sisters, with its main production, flagship store and workshops in Riga and a second store in Berlin. It is built largely on export: the Latvian Patent Office reported in 2024 that nearly 90 per cent of its products are sold abroad, chiefly in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. ## Origin & founders The company traces its beginnings to a café. According to Munio, founder Elina ran a café where candles burned everywhere for atmosphere, and the cost of getting through hundreds of them a month pushed her to look for a better way. Researching how candles are made, she came across soy wax as a replacement for paraffin. The company says it burned twice as long and was a natural material. Accounts differ on who founded the brand and when the rest of the family joined. The company's franchise page describes the MUNIO as a studio "founded by sisters Elina and Laura in 2008" [2]. Its About page tells the story differently: there, Elina joined forces with her sister Laura in 2012, with Elina responsible for creativity and product development and Laura for production, logistics and finance [3]. The Latvian Patent Office gives a third version. It names three sisters, Elīna Čīma, Laura and Liene, as the founders of SIA "MUNIO SPA" in 2010, and adds that Elīna made the first candle collection in 2008, which gained popularity quickly before her sisters came on board [8]. A retailer profile likewise credits the 2008 founding to Elina Cima alone and says both Laura and Liene joined after the brand grew in international markets [10]. Read together, the accounts agree that Elina started the candle line in 2008 and that her sisters joined later; they differ on whether Laura counts as a co-founder from the start, and on whether Liene is part of the founding story at all. The name is explained in two ways. Elīna Čīma told the Latvian Patent Office that "the MUNIO" comes from the Latin for "emotionally strong", and that its somewhat mysterious sound was meant to arouse interest. A retailer describing the original name, Munio Candela, translates it as "the candle that strengthens the spirit". ## History & milestones International sales came early. In 2009, a year after the first collection, Munio Candela entered the Japanese market. The Baltic Times reported that the company made its contacts at the Interior Lifestyle 2009 trade fair in Tokyo and received its first order after three months of negotiations [9]. Elina Cima told the paper that a strong brand concept can cross cultural barriers, but advised other Latvian producers to prepare for "a long and patient job" when targeting Japan. The legal entity, SIA "MUNIO SPA", followed in 2010. The trademark was first registered as "MUNIO CANDELA"; the company later moved to "the MUNIO" so that the name would not limit it to candles as the range expanded [8]. The next turn came from Elina's long-standing interest in perfumery. The company says she enrolled at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery in France to learn how scents are built, and that the training inspired a skincare line. Work on formulas and aromas began in early 2019. Moss, which the company names as a favourite scent of both sisters, was developed from scratch by adding fragrance a few drops at a time until the aroma was right. Over the following years the business added a second shop with candle-making workshops in Berlin, a wholesale operation and a franchise programme. Marking what it calls 15 years of candle making, the company invites partners to open MUNIO studios in other European cities. It offers franchisees a handover of existing business and private clients in their country, marketing material, training to run its candle-making and skincare workshops, and access to its product range; the franchise fee, it says, varies by country. The brand has also worked with Riga Original® on a co-branded set of mini pillar candles in its Juniper & limonium, Moss and Wild flowers scents. ## Ownership Munio is privately held and describes itself as a family business. No parent company or acquisition is documented. An early account in The Baltic Times, covering the 2009 move into Japan, named Ieva Dekstere as a co-owner of Munio Candela alongside Elina Cima [9]; she does not appear in the company's own telling of its history. Today the company presents itself as run by the sisters, and says that "a truly democratic approach" guides all decisions. ## Philosophy & positioning Munio presents itself first as "an aromatic experience" rather than simply a candle maker. In its own words, the candles, diffusers and skincare are tied together by the scents of northern nature, which it describes as forests, meadows and countryside air, and by a commitment to eco and organic products. Its stated mission is to bring "a touch of elegance and serenity" to homes and spaces around the world. Handwork is central to how the company describes itself. It says the founders go out into nature to pick the moss, flowers and herbs used in the products, place each decorative flower in a candle by hand, and mix, pour, de-mould and package everything in their own studio. The company describes its range as premium and points to design stores as a key outlet, saying it has become a preferred choice for shops looking for one-of-a-kind products. It also runs candle-making, home-fragrance and skincare workshops at its stores. ## Products & innovation Candles remain the core of the business. Munio makes them from a blend of soy and rapeseed wax with natural fragrances, and a retailer adds that the wicks are lead-free cotton. Many are decorated with dried flowers and herbs. A Czech stockist described how, as the wax melts, the pressed petals and herbs inside the candle light up so that it glows like a lantern over the course of an evening [11]. The range covers pillar and mini pillar candles, candles in glass jars and votives, and scented wax rounds. Home fragrance forms a second line, with diffusers, wax melts, wax-bar fresheners and room sprays. The company also sells herbal tea. The body-care line, developed from 2019, includes body oils, hand and body lotions, liquid soaps in glass bottles and refill sizes, body scrubs, bath salts, body washes and roll-on fragrance oils. Products are grouped into scent families shared with the candles, among them Wild flowers, Juniper & limonium, Moss, Rose, Heather, Lavender and Linden flowers. Among the items the company lists as best sellers are the Wild flowers pillar candle, the Juniper organic body oil, the Juniper organic liquid soap and the Moss organic hand lotion. Munio describes its skincare as "naturally scented and organically sourced", and many products carry "organic" in their names. The company itself does not cite a third-party certification. One retailer states that all raw materials in the skincare carry COSMOS certification and that the products are free of ingredients of synthetic or animal origin [10]. No certification of the finished products is documented. ## Sustainability Packaging is the company's main sustainability theme. It says it avoids plastic as much as possible: candles are wrapped in cotton cloth and placed in biodegradable cardboard boxes, while skincare comes in glass bottles that go into natural tie-bags before shipping. Munio calls packaging that creates less waste and "little to no carbon footprint" one of its top priorities. The plant waxes it uses in place of paraffin, the choice that started the business, are part of the same picture. No independent assessment of these commitments has been published. ## Recognition In April 2024 the Latvian Patent Office named the MUNIO a first-quarter candidate for the main award of its Trademark of the Year 2024 competition, in the category "Trademark of the Year – for Europe" [8]. No win has been reported. The company's website also lists Elle, Cosmopolitan and Elle Décor among publications that have featured it. ## Current status Munio is active. In 2026 it runs an online shop with delivery across the EU and the UK, operates its stores in Riga and Berlin, and continues to advertise its franchise offer. Third-party stockists still carry the products; in August 2026 a florist and retailer in Brno, Czech Republic, published a feature on the candles [11]. According to the company, its reach now extends across Europe, Asia and the USA, with design stores among its main customers. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 2008 | The Munio was born; founder Elina created the first candle collection. | https://www.themunio.com/pages/about | | 2009 | Munio Candela entered the Japanese market after making contacts at the Interior Lifestyle 2009 Tokyo fair (per The Baltic Times). | https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/23732/ | | 2010 | Operating company SIA "MUNIO SPA" established (per Latvian Patent Office). | https://www.lrpv.gov.lv/en/article/candidates-main-award-trademark-year-2024-competition-first-quarter-year-sia-dance-studio-space-un-munio | | 2012 | Elina joined forces with her sister Laura (Laura handles production, logistics and finance). | https://www.themunio.com/pages/about | | 2019 | Started experimenting with skincare formulas and aromas in early 2019, after Elina studied at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery in France. | https://www.themunio.com/pages/about | | 2024 | Named a first-quarter candidate for the main award of the Latvian Patent Office's Trademark of the Year 2024 competition. | https://www.lrpv.gov.lv/en/article/candidates-main-award-trademark-year-2024-competition-first-quarter-year-sia-dance-studio-space-un-munio | | — | Operates a second store with candle-making workshops in Berlin, Germany (year not stated). | https://www.themunio.com/pages/our-stores | | — | Offers a franchise model for studios across European cities (franchise fee 15,000–75,000 EUR depending on country; year not stated). | https://www.themunio.com/pages/franchise | | — | Riga Original® × the MUNIO candle collection (collaboration listed on homepage; year not stated). | https://www.themunio.com/ | ## Awards {#belagg-awards} | Year | Awards | Category | Source | |---|---|---|---| | 2024 | Trademark of the Year 2024 (Latvian Patent Office) — first-quarter candidate for the main award (nomination; no win found) | Trademark of the Year – for Europe | https://www.lrpv.gov.lv/en/article/candidates-main-award-trademark-year-2024-competition-first-quarter-year-sia-dance-studio-space-un-munio | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Wild flowers pillar candle** — Wild flowers pillar candle — €33 (7 reviews) — https://www.themunio.com/ - **Juniper organic body oil** — Juniper organic body oil — €31 (2 reviews) — https://www.themunio.com/ - **Juniper organic liquid soap in glass bottle** — Juniper organic liquid soap in glass bottle — €28 (7 reviews) — https://www.themunio.com/ - **Moss organic hand lotion in glass bottle** — Moss organic hand lotion in glass bottle — €31 — https://www.themunio.com/ - **Moss organic fragrance oil with roll** — Moss organic fragrance oil with roll — €18 — https://www.themunio.com/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} soy wax · rapeseed wax Source: https://www.themunio.com/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **The Baltic Times** — Article "Japanese market attracts Latvian producers" on Munio Candela's entry into Japan in 2009, quoting co-owners Elina Cima and Ieva Dekstere. — https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/23732/ - **Latvian Patent Office (lrpv.gov.lv)** (2024) — Official announcement of Trademark of the Year 2024 Q1 candidates; profiles SIA "MUNIO SPA", its founders, export share (nearly 90%) and main markets. — https://www.lrpv.gov.lv/en/article/candidates-main-award-trademark-year-2024-competition-first-quarter-year-sia-dance-studio-space-un-munio ## Sources 2. (T1) https://www.themunio.com/pages/franchise 3. (T2) https://www.themunio.com/pages/about 8. (T3) https://www.lrpv.gov.lv/en/article/candidates-main-award-trademark-year-2024-competition-first-quarter-year-sia-dance-studio-space-un-munio 9. (T3) https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/23732/ 10. (T4) https://50-ml.com/brands/munio 11. (T4) https://www.kvetinybrno.cz/en/nase-novinky/munio-candela--latvian-candles-that-bloom-as-they-burn/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-01 Please cite with a link to the article URL.