We interviewed Emme NYC because we think you’ll like their picks. The products featured in this article are from brands available in NBCUniversal Checkout. E! makes a commission on purchases.
In 2019, Emme NYC founders Erica Luo and Mark Fuqua moved from San Francisco to New York. Then the pandemic hit. The couple found themselves feeling homesick for the scents of their Asian-American upbringing, but the candles at everyday retailers just weren’t cutting it.
“We started off by burning whatever we could find off the shelves from department stores,” explains Luo. “And every time we did find a candle, it was always mixed with maybe a flower, or something like a vanilla or lavender base—something that didn’t really capture the authentic essence of the smells we were looking for and grew up with.”
Thus, Emme NYC was born. The AAPI-owned brand makes candles, diffusers, and hand washes in scents that might be familiar (or new!) to you, and are largely inspired by the Asian community, its foods, and its rituals.
“We actually started with [the scent] honey and jasmine,” the candle brand founder explains. “It was a very popular boba drink at the time. That’s where the inspiration came from, and how the Asian angle really got started.”
Emme NYC’s line of scents is as extensive as it is mouthwatering. Customers can shop everything from treat-inspired mochi, red bean, bingsu, and almond biscuit candles, to nature-inspired scents such as hinoki, bamboo, sakura, and chrysanthemum—and so much more.