Seven aspiring entrepreneurs who met while studying the same college course have launched their new product into local stores and are starting to enjoy the sweet smell of success.

Capturing the essence of Cornwall through sight and smell, Cornish Essence was created by business, enterprise and leadership students at Truro and Penwith College.

The company, which has broken even in just its first five months of trading, has created a unique air freshener inspired by Cornwall’s unique character, heritage and landscape. The product was the brainchild of the seven university-level students who come from across Cornwall.

Company managing director Maxine Tregenza, from Falmouth, said: “If I’m doing something, then I have to put my all into it. I have a lot of pride in what I do and am extremely happy with the direction that the business is going in, particularly now we have the Cornish Store in Falmouth keen to supply our products.”

Module leader Gemma Bevan added: “They’ve all done so incredibly well, especially going from not knowing each other before they started the course in September to creating a business off their own backs. It’s great to see that they can put the theory learnt in class into practice for their real business venture, and to be so successful already too.”

Decorated with a visual image as well as the sweet scent of Cornwall, the first fragrance Coast is depicted by a photo of St Michael’s Mount paired with a clean and fresh scent whereas Bloom is represented by a photo of the flower of Cornwall paired with a light floral fragrance.

The air fresheners have now also been redeveloped with new packaging to link the image to the scent and to represent the aims of the product that reflect the target market.

Sales director John Lewis from Redruth said: “It’s great to get out there and meet people, finding out what the market is like and what the customer really needs: we want people to be able to take a little piece of Cornwall away with them; something that’s great for both locals and tourists.”

Approaching local independent retailers, the company began to make valuable business contacts and links within the community. The Cornish Store in Falmouth was the first business to purchase units from the start-up company and Cornish Essence is now looking to expand their network of retailers across Cornwall. The team also plan to attend a variety of business trade fairs across Cornwall and Devon to promote their company.

Check out the team's Facebook page or their website, cornishessence.com, where you can find out more about the business and their products.