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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
D.V. McWillis has always been an entrepreneur. For many years he had a business in the floral industry, but after customers started requesting scented candles, he decided to experiment. The result was bigger than anything he could have imagined.
After a year of experimenting, D.V. launched Salt City Candle in 1994, and the product was an instant success. Fragrances strong enough to scent an entire home appealed to customers. Originally, the candles were intended to be sold through a network of home party distributors, but they were so popular that retail locations began requesting to carry the product. In 1996, D.V. brought his sons Blake and Scott in to run the business.
The candles are now sold through a network of 20,000 home demonstrators and in retail locations both nationally and internationally. Blake says the company is distinguished by the strength of its fragrances, the creative and innovative approach to products and the price. At any given time 100 different scents are available for purchase, and each year, the company launches around 10 more.
Blake tells me it's a 6-12 month process to prepare new scents. Once he gets an idea for a new fragrance, Blake works with several fragrance houses to tweak the scent until it fits his original vision. This February Salt City Candles released six new scents including Cantaloupe, Fresh Linen, Flower Shop, Spa Tropic, Cashmere and Vanilla Lime.
In addition to candles, the company sells room sprays, air fresheners and other products clients can use to make their home, car or office smell better. Home demonstrators also sell a line of jewelry.
The phenomenal growth has been one of the biggest changes for Salt City Candle. Because the candles became popular so quickly, Blake said it took a while to keep up with the demand, but growth and production have finally equaled out. He intends to continue finding creative ways to help clients scent their environment.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
