Who Makes The Candles For Bath & Body Works?
Bath & Body Works is an American retailer specializing in soaps, lotions, fragrance mists, perfumes, candles and home fragrance products. The company started out as an affordable line of fragrances and body care products in 1990. Over the past 30 years, Bath & Body Works has grown into a global brand with over 1,700 retail locations.
One of the brand’s most popular product lines is their collection of scented candles. Bath & Body Works offers a wide variety of candle scents across various fragrance families like fresh & clean, fruity, sweet, floral, spicy, woodsy, and seasonal. Their signature 3-wick candles have become a staple home decor item and gift-giving favorite. With clever naming and beautiful packaging, Bath & Body Works candles have developed an almost cult-like following among candle enthusiasts.
Bath & Body Works Candle Popularity
Bath & Body Works has become one of the most popular retailers for scented candles in North America. Their candles have developed a cult-like following, with fans eagerly awaiting new seasonal launches and limited edition fragrances. According to the company, they sell over 24 million 3-wick candles each year in their stores and online.
The signature fragrances have become staples that customers buy every year when they’re released, like Pumpkin Apple and Fresh Balsam for fall. Bath & Body Works often sees long lines and sell outs when a highly anticipated new fragrance launches. Their candles are frequently ranked as top sellers on e-commerce sites as well.
Bath & Body Works candles have achieved broad popularity due to their affordable pricing, trendy and nostalgic scents, giftable packaging, and constant flow of new releases to keep customers engaged. The company has tapped into creating an emotional connection between scent and memory through their candles.
Bath & Body Works Candle Manufacturing
Bath & Body Works candles are primarily manufactured in the United States. The company operates a number of factories and production facilities across the country where its popular 3-wick candles are made. The main manufacturing and production takes place in Mississippi, where Bath & Body Works owns a large facility.
Inside these factories, the candles go through a complex multi-step manufacturing process. It starts with pouring wax into molds and embedding the wicks. Once cooled and hardened, the candles are pulled from the molds and undergo further finishing and processing. This includes trimming the wicks, adhering the label, and attaching the lid.
Quality control is a top priority during manufacturing. Bath & Body Works carefully inspects each candle at multiple stages of production for defects or issues. The company has strict standards in place to ensure consistency and performance. Before shipping out to stores, all candles must pass a final comprehensive inspection.
In addition to in-house manufacturing, Bath & Body Works partners with select third-party vendors that produce candles to their specifications. However, the majority of production takes place at their own facilities. The company is very protective of its candle making process and recipes.
Signature Fragrances
Bath & Body Works is renowned for its iconic candle scents that customers love and frequently purchase again and again. Some of their most popular signature fragrances over the years include:
Japanese Cherry Blossom – Launched in 2006, this feminine floral scent has notes of cherry blossom, Asian pear, and sandalwood. It’s one of B&BW’s longest-running and best-selling fragrances.
Twisted Peppermint – A holiday classic since 1999, this peppermint scent has notes of vanilla buttercream and fresh balsam. It’s a perennial favorite during the Christmas season.
Pumpkin Pecan Waffles – First introduced in 2014, this gourmand bakery scent has notes of maple syrup, pumpkin purée, and brown sugar. It flies off shelves every fall.
Mahogany Teakwood – Launched in 2012, this masculine fragrance has notes of mahogany, oak, and cedar woods. It remains popular year-round, especially among male shoppers.
Fresh Balsam – A nostalgic pine scent released in 2011, with notes of balsam, cedar, and juniper berry. It’s a huge hit during the Christmas holiday season when people want their homes to smell like fresh evergreens.
Ingredients
Bath & Body Works candles are made with a proprietary blend of soy, paraffin, and palm waxes. Soy wax is made from soybeans and is prized for being a clean-burning, natural wax. Paraffin wax is a petroleum byproduct that helps the candles burn longer and stronger. Palm wax comes from the fruit of palm trees and adds hardness to the candle.
The fragrances used in Bath & Body Works candles are complex blends of natural and synthetic ingredients. Top notes provide the initial scent impression, middle or heart notes form the core smell, and base notes linger after the candle is blown out. Popular notes include fruity, floral, fresh, and gourmet scents.
Dyes are added for color while maintaining transparency to allow the candle flame to be visible. Additional ingredients like coconut oil and antioxidants are mixed into the wax to improve burn performance. All candle ingredients are evaluated for compliance with internal safety standards.
Safety & Testing
Bath & Body Works takes great care in ensuring their candles are safe for consumers. Each new fragrance goes through multiple rounds of burn testing at their Fragrance Laboratory in Columbus, Ohio before reaching production. This testing evaluates how evenly and safely a candle burns, monitors scent saturation and throw, and checks for any issues like smoking, sooting, or too high of a flame height.
Their toxicologists run safety assessments for every component that goes into their products, surveying ingredient safety data and applicable regulations. This helps guarantee that both the fragrance oils and the wax formula meet safety standards for candle production and home usage. Throughout development, all candle fragrances are also evaluated by an expert perfumer to make sure the scent throw is strong but not overpowering or irritating.
In addition to internal testing procedures, Bath & Body Works adheres to the safety guidelines for candles set forth by organizations like the ASTM International and National Candle Association. This covers criteria like keeping wicks centered and trimming them to 1/4 inch to prevent excess soot and smoke. The company issues recommendations for safe placement and usage to further protect consumers.
Sustainability
Bath & Body Works has made sustainability a priority when it comes to manufacturing their popular candles. The company has taken steps to reduce their environmental impact by using more renewable, recycled, and responsibly sourced raw materials.
For example, Bath & Body Works candles now use soy wax instead of paraffin wax. Soy wax is made from soybeans, a renewable resource. The soy wax burns cleaner than paraffin wax, producing less soot and smoke. Bath & Body Works also uses coconut wax in some candles, which comes from a renewable resource and is biodegradable.
The candle jars at Bath & Body Works are now made with a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled glass. This reduces the amount of virgin materials needed to produce new jars. The lids for the jars contain at least 25% post-consumer recycled plastic. The wicks used in B&BW candles are now made from 100% paper fiber instead of lead-core cotton.
In terms of packaging, Bath & Body Works has transitioned to using 100% recycled paperboard in their candle packaging. They’ve also reduced the amount of paper used by optimizing box designs. These changes have significantly lowered Bath & Body Works environmental impact when it comes to candle production.
Bath & Body Works continues to research more sustainable ingredients, packaging materials, and manufacturing processes for their popular candle line. They are committed to reducing their environmental footprint over time through innovation and responsible sourcing.
Price & Value
Bath & Body Works candles are priced competitively for their size, quality ingredients, and appealing scents. Their popular 3-wick candles retail between $24.50-$26.50 depending on sales and promotions. This breaks down to around $0.14-$0.16 per ounce of wax. In comparison, other major candle brands range from $0.20-$0.50 per ounce for their candles. So Bath & Body Works provides excellent value for the quantity and quality of their candles.
When evaluating the value of B&BW candles, you must also consider the development costs that go into creating appealing, proprietary fragrances as well as the visually-appealing packaging. Additionally, all B&BW candles are formulated with ingredients that meet the company’s standards around sustainability and safety. This adds more costs than cheaper candle alternatives may incur by using artificial fragrances and lower quality wax. But the result is a safe, high-quality candle with original scents that consumers love.
With frequent sales and promotions offering candles for as low as $10-$15 each, the value proposition is very strong for Bath & Body Works candles. Consumers get an excellent price per ounce compared to competitors, with the assurance that they are getting a product made from quality ingredients and unique fragrance blends.
Competitors
Bath & Body Works faces competition from several major candle brands. Yankee Candle is perhaps their biggest competitor in the scented candle market. Founded in 1969, Yankee Candle offers a wide range of candle fragrances and designs. They are known for their trademark jars and innovative wax melts. Other top competitors include Village Candles, WoodWick, and Chesapeake Bay Candles. These brands compete by offering signature scents, quality ingredients, creative packaging, and competitive pricing.
In addition to other candle brands, Bath & Body Works also sees competition from home fragrance companies like Glade, Airwick, and Scentcy. Rather than just candles, these companies offer plugins, oils, warmers, and other home fragrance products. So they appeal to consumers looking for different types of home scents.
Overall, while Bath & Body Works is a leader, they continue to face competition for market share across the home fragrance industry. They focus on staying ahead by frequently introducing new signature scents, improving quality, and keeping their brand identity fresh and relevant. Their dominance in mall-based retail also gives them a strong advantage in brick-and-mortar sales and visibility.
The Future
Bath & Body Works has established itself as one of the leading candle brands in the world. They are known for their wide range of high-quality, great-smelling candles that customers love. As the brand looks to the future, they will likely focus on continuing to innovate their candle offerings while also expanding their reach.
In terms of innovation, Bath & Body Works continuously works to develop new captivating fragrances. Their popular seasonal collections are a key way they introduce fresh scents. For example, in 2022 they launched the Sunrise Woods, Berry Waffle Cone, and Warm Ocean Breeze fragrances. Customers are always eager to see what new scents Bath & Body Works dreams up. The brand is also likely to keep finding ways to upgrade their candle vessel designs to make them even more visually appealing.
Bath & Body Works has significant room to grow internationally. While they have over 1,700 locations in the United States and Canada, their presence in other countries is still relatively small. Expanding their physical retail footprint to more regions around the world represents a major growth opportunity. They could tailor their scent offerings to local tastes as they enter new markets. The brand is also likely to ramp up international e-commerce sales. Building their customer base globally will be key to Bath & Body Works’ continued success.
As Bath & Body Works evolves, expect them to remain committed to their hallmark approach of providing high-quality, innovatively scented candles at an accessible price point. Their focus on understanding customer needs through research and testing helps ensure their candles stay relevant. The future looks bright for this beloved brand to continue enlightening homes with signature scents and warm, welcoming light for years to come.
