Cire Trudon

Who owns Cire Trudon?

Cire Trudon was owned by Audacia through Audacia Capital Développement IV (2023 vintage) from 2014 to 2019, exited via Trade Sale.

Hand-verified · updated 2026-05-07

About Cire Trudon

Cire Trudon is a French luxury house that designs, manufactures and sells scented candles, tapers and home fragrances, and it presents itself as the oldest candlemaker in the world. Its candles are still hand poured at a workshop in Normandy, the fragrances are composed in Grasse and the signature green glass vessels are mouth blown by craftsmen in Italy, positioning the brand at the high end of the home-fragrance and decorative-arts segment. The company operates from Paris and distributes through its own boutiques and a wide wholesale network, with roughly 600 points of sale across more than 50 countries and directly operated stores in cities including London, Seoul and New York. Revenue reached more than EUR 10 million in 2018, up from about EUR 5.5 million in 2013, reflecting the brand's move from a heritage niche supplier into an internationally distributed luxury label.

Ownership journey

Cire Trudon traces its origins to 1643 in Paris, when Claude Trudon began selling candles, and the house went on to supply the court of Louis XIV and many of the great churches of France before becoming the largest wax producer in the French kingdom. The modern company was acquired in 1989 by Olivier Blondeau, who repositioned the historic name as a contemporary luxury brand. In 2014 Audacia backed the company through its Audacia Capital Developpement IV fund, committing around EUR 1 million of growth capital to finance the brand's expansion, notably the opening of new boutiques in Paris. Audacia exited its stake in 2019 via a trade sale.

Under PE ownership

The capital provided by Audacia was earmarked for retail development and international growth, and over the holding period Cire Trudon expanded its owned-boutique footprint in Paris and abroad while broadening distribution to around 600 sales points worldwide. Revenue roughly doubled during the investment, rising from about EUR 5.5 million in 2013 to more than EUR 10 million in 2018. The brand widened its range beyond classic candles into busts, tapers, room sprays and other home-fragrance formats, reinforcing its luxury positioning while keeping hand production in Normandy. By the 2019 exit, Cire Trudon had grown from a heritage manufacturer into a scaled international luxury house.