Digame: Melissa Gallardo is Celebrating Latinidad Through Candles

Entrepreneur and New York native Melissa Gallardo was inspired by her bicultural experience as a Latina in the U.S. when she founded her candle company, Bonita Fierce. As a brown, non-Spanish speaking Latina of Salvadoran descent, she struggled with insecurities about her identity and a sense of belonging. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Broadcasting and a Master’s in Media Management and Impact Entrepreneurship and now she’s a using her knowledge to build her business. When she poured her first candle, she realized that the scents she grew up with weren’t represented in the home fragrance industry and so she set out to fill the void in 2020. From cafe con leche to horchata to coquito, the scents that are a part of the signature collection at Bonita Fierce are in honor of the scents that are commonly found in our homes.

“We’re tired of seeing the Merry Merlot, Ocean Breeze, and Lavender Lemonades of the world. There are 62+ million Latinos living in the U.S. but how many Latin-inspired candle brands can you name?” she previously told HipLatina. “We are evoking the ephemeral feeling of home and childhood memories through fragrance.”

Read on to learn more about the jefa and what keeps her motivated as a business owner and one of the most prominent Latinas in the fragrance space.

Which Latina(s) have had the greatest impact on your life and why?

It’s so cheesy, but it’s my mom and my grandma. I grew up with a powerful matriarchal force and being surrounded by strong, fierce women (my mom, tias, primas, and sister) every day. I didn’t get the chance to grow up with my grandma as she passed away when I was a toddler but my mom’s stories of her resilience and tenacity of her journey to and in the U.S. alongside me growing up with a single mom shaped me into who I am today.

If you could meet a Latina icon who is no longer alive, who would it be and why?

Hands down, Selena Quintanilla. She was the definition of the bicultural experience in the U.S. And as someone who is a non-Spanish speaking Latina, she is the first person who comes to mind that shares my experience. As a teen, I was able to look up to her and her legacy as someone who struggled with language and their cultural identity as a Latina in the U.S. There’s no one I’d rather meet.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Invest early and don’t let perfectionism get the best of you.

Who was the first person to believe in your dreams/goals?

My mom has been my biggest and number one supporter my whole life. When I wanted to go to a private university in NYC, she had no idea how I was going to do it but truly believed in me one day one. She’s always told me, “No one is more determined to make their dreams come true than you.” My entire family knows when I’m faced with obstacles and adversity, I’m the one who will solve it. She’s the person who’s always told me that I can, and I will.

How do you stay connected to your cultural roots?

I didn’t grow up speaking Spanish and have never been to my parent’s home country. So, I stay connected through food, music, and learning my family’s cultural history. As an adult, I embrace the U.S. Latina experience, with the dream of going to El Salvador to learn, grow and develop a personal relationship with the country by my 30th birthday. I’m spending my entire life reclaiming my roots.

What do you wish more people understood about what you do?

I wish more people understood the sacrifices I’ve made and hardships I endure to succeed in business and to support myself and family. I am first generation and this business supports my family first and foremost and many times people believe all of the brand recognition is immediate success. I’ve spent the last five years living in my childhood home building Bonita Fierce Candles. I can spend up to 12 hours a day pouring and packing candles or working online and feeling isolated from all the community I’ve built over the years. No one truly sees how much the business can take a toll on my physical and mental health. I put off other life milestones like getting married and moving out to build not only my dream business, but to make sure my family is taken care of.

What motivates you?

It’s a combination of my own personal goals, my family and my community. I keep fighting and working for all three to rise together because I can’t succeed and neither can my business without them.

How did you end up on the professional path you’re on now?

The last thing I ever expected was to become an entrepreneur. I was prepared to enter a corporate media career and was on that trajectory when the pandemic hit less than a year after graduating college. During the pandemic without all the fun of an office or career growth, I quickly realized the corporate career I was building wasn’t for me. I began craving a community of like-minded Latinas. I never saw myself mirrored in spaces in my local community and began searching for spaces where I could belong. And it all came to a head when I realized I would be stuck with “the golden handcuffs” of my corporate career if I didn’t start a side-hustle. My pandemic hobby and side-hustle turned into my full-time job less than 2 years into business. And I never looked back.

What is your greatest professional achievement so far? Personal achievement?

My greatest personal achievement was the ability to quit my corporate 9-5 and contribute to my family’s mortgage.

My greatest professional achievements include becoming the first Latina-owned candle brand to launch into 700+ stores nationwide with retailers like Barnes & Noble, Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom and winning over $100,000 in non-dilutive funding and prizes to build and amplify Bonita Fierce Candles at 26-years old.

What is a goal you have that you haven’t accomplished yet and what are you doing to get closer to accomplishing it?

Two goals I haven’t accomplished yet is to be one of few Latina founders to raise $1M in capital and provide financial pathways to support other first time, multicultural and underrepresented founders. BIPOC founders are always over educated and underfunded and I’d love nothing more to build Bonita Fierce candles enough to exit and use every financial means to give back to our community and give back to the next generation of entrepreneurs or use our business to build programing to uplift other underrepresented businesses with high potential.

What pop culture moment made you feel seen?

I really felt connected to the TV series Jane The Virgin and their family dynamics and relationships in an English-language, larger than life, telenovela style. It was the first series I felt seen as a Latina and what it means to live a bicultural experience without being fully bilingual.

How do you practice self care?

I disconnect from my electronic devices and read. I’m obsessed with contemporary romance and have already finished 30 books this year! My goal is to read 40 books by the end of the calendar year.

Quick Fire:

• Shoutout an Instagram account that could use more love and tell us why you’re a fan.
  @amigas.latinas and @culturatakeover. Both are new up and coming communities that are fostering personal and professional growth in-person and online. I specifically love them because they’re based out of NYC! I always have FOMO when I see Latina and entrepreneur-focused communities out of other major cities.
• Shoutout your favorite Latina owned business and why.
  I have two! Ocoa Beauty @ocoabeauty and Hello Updo @helloupdo. My journey to reclaiming my roots (literally and figuratively) began when I decided to embrace my naturally curly hair and heal all of the heat and color damage over the course of my life. Both brands battle the ‘Pelo Malo’ stigma in the Latino community and end hair assimilation by focusing on your natural hair health. They’re the best products on the market, and not because they’re just Latina-owned. They’re genuinely the best I’ve ever tried.