Homesick's New Candles Smell Like a Galaxy Far, Far Away

“This is the way” to keep the candle burning on a 45-year-old franchise. Homesick, the DTC fragrance brand owned by Win Brands Group (WBG), is launching its first Star Wars collection on May 4, which is universally known to the beloved franchise’s fandom as Star Wars Day. Fans—and the people who lovingly indulge them—can sign up for early access to purchase the “saga of scents” starting April 25. Created in partnership with production company Lucasfilm, the collection features three scents inspired by the worlds from the original films: Tatooine (home of Luke and Anakin Skywalker), Endor (home to the Ewoks) and The Death Star (home to imperial officers with a disturbing lack of faith). A car freshener honoring the franchise’s newest icon, Grogu (affectionately known as Baby Yoda from the Disney+ series The Mandalorian) will also be available for purchase. “When we started to think about how to approach the collection, we tapped into our roots creating fragrances based on the places people truly love and long for,” said Lauren Lamagna, general manager at Homesick, in a statement. “With Tatooine, Endor and the Death Star, we've created a collection that not only represents some of the most iconic locations and moments in the Star Wars galaxy, but in movie history.” Eagle-eyed fans will find “notes” such as Manak leaves and Ganga sap among the woodsy, green and smoky combinations listed on the packaging—winks to the locations each ingredient is native to in the Star Wars ecosystem. The outer packaging boasts artwork depicting memorable scenes from the locations each scent represents, with additional artwork included on a dual-sided label—a first for the brand—that has a special reveal as the candle burns. The brand, which has created scents invoking memories of states, cities, countries, cannabis, doughnuts and even beer-fueled backyard barbecues, had a unique challenge when it came to creating scents for worlds that do not exist in real life. But Emeka McQuade, vp of communications at WBG, noted the team was up for it. “There's tons that’s been written about the kind of climate and the flora and the fauna of these places,” McQuade told Adweek. “We know that Tatooine is a desert planet. We know there’s desert plants like dune grass, and we can recreate the smell of that.” He also noted Homesick's previous Zodiac collection, in which the brand consulted with renowned astrologers to develop fragrances based on the personality traits of each sign, as well as designing the scents to interact together based on the signs' compatibility. The Star Wars collection has similarly been designed to interact in tandem. The collection, which McQuade said was two years in the making, is the first entertainment collaboration for the brand, with more coming within the year. The multi-year deal will see the collection expand to include locations and characters from additional properties across the $70 billion franchise, a deviation from previous “one-and-done” launches. “The way that we think about collaborations in general is through the lens of reach, relevancy and growth,” he added. “We have lots of partnerships on the table that we consider. With Star Wars, [it checked] every single one of those boxes.” Prices for the collection range from $12 for the car freshener to $44 for the candles, which can also be personalized with a message and/or commemorative lines. Initially available exclusively on homesick.com, McQuade said the collection will eventually roll out to platforms like Amazon. Continuing what he called its “fan-first approach” to both product and marketing, he added that WBG will promote the collection through outreach to fan sites, Star Wars-branded media and influencers who identify as fans of the franchise. “We want fans to be able to get their hands on it,” McQuade said. Currently, the company has no plans to work with any of the actors from the films or shows, although McQuade wouldn’t object to a shout out from Mark Hamill—Luke Skywalker himself— whose 5 million Twitter followers are some of the most engaged on the platform. “I love Mark Hamill on social media," McQuade said. "He’s just a joy to follow and it would be great if he ended up loving [the collection]!” Campbell’s Warms Your Home—and Heart—With Soup-Scented Candles