Making scents of it, Meridian company grows

Nampa resident Betty Wheeler has worked four years for the wickless candle company Scentsy, based in Meridian and says it's made her a leader.

By Jennifer Gonzalez | Idaho Business Review

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Betty Wheeler is passionate about Scentsy products. The Scentsy Star Director has worked as an independent consultant for the Meridian-based direct sales company that specializes in scented, wickless candle products for four years.

After having worked in retail, property management and two other direct sales companies, she wouldn’t work anywhere else.

“I am my own boss and have the freedom to be a wife, mother and leader,” she said.

Wheeler devotes about three hours a day to answering emails, talking to team members and managing her day-to-day Scentsy responsibilities. She isn’t employed by Scentsy, but manages a 40 - member team and a group of another 370 consultants that market and sells Scentsy products. Her phone is almost always on, and when it rings or she receives a text, it’s generally about Scentsy.

While Wheeler has been able to make a living selling wax, warmers, stuffed animals, and other Scentsy products, local economic and marketing professors question whether the $400 million company can sustain its momentum and avoid market saturation.

“The products really sell themselves,” Wheeler said. “It’s popular, I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t liked it.”
Scentsy CEO Orville Thompson said the business model is straightforward.

“We wanted to create a real product, with real value, that is functional,” said the 41-year-old.

Thompson and his wife, Heidi, first realized the potential of the flameless product after meeting two women who were marketing the warmers at a home show in 2004. The couple bought the company, moved to Meridian, and started making products inside a 40-foot shipping container. They joined the Direct Selling Association later that year, hired their first consultant; and expanded without any advertising.

Today, Scentsy employs nearly 1,000 people in 480,000 - square feet of corporate, customer service, manufacturing, and distribution locations near Eagle and Franklin roads. In October, the company purchased 48 acres of land at Eagle Road and Pine Avenue in Meridian, which will be developed into a “Scentsy Campus.” It will house all business operations in a single location in about three years. Another 75 people are employed in another distribution center in Lexington, Ky.

Scentsy products are manufactured in Meridian and China. According to company stats, everyday 12,000 boxes are packed and shipped, 4,000 orders are received, and 38 bathtubs of scented wax are poured. 80,000 consultants nationwide market and sell Scentsy products at parties, online and though catalogs that are available in Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico.

“We are always researching and looking at other countries,” Thompson said.

Douglas Lincoln, professor of marketing and chairman of the marketing and finance department at Boise State University, said only time will tell if the sheer number of consultants selling such specialized items runs the risk of market saturation or loses momentum.

“Staying power is based on the quality and value of the product,” Lincoln said.

Direct sales companies like Scentsy tap into the emotional connection of marketing products to people with similar interests or preferences, he said.

“We are social beings,” Lincoln said. “Companies like this make it easy to contact and engage with other people.” 
BSU Center of Entrepreneurship Director Kent Neupert said the consumable nature of Scentsy products, like its wax, helps spur sales.

“If you like the scents they provide, you are going to eventually replenish it,” Neupert said. “If it’s a product you like buying, that social aspect also helps facilitate sales.”

Independent consultants earn up to 25 percent commission for every product they sell, and also receive financial bonuses and other incentives depending on their total sales. They also make a percentage of every sale one of their recruits makes, but aren’t compensated for recruiting new consultants. For instance, Superstar Director Apryl Nuebel of Star, has 3,800 recruits under her.

“I have never considered myself a salesperson. I used to be uncomfortable talking to people and tried to talk myself out of hosting parties,” Nuebel said.

The 39-year-old signed her first recruit in June 2005, and has watched her business grow. Her parties average between $3,000 and $5,000 in sales. She said it is actually down from its peak of between $5,000 and $8,000 as customers are purchasing wax refills for use in warmers they already own. While the mother of three asked us not to reveal exactly how much income she generates every month, she said it is several thousand dollars.

“It’s been fun to watch it take off,” she said.

In order to become an independent contractor like Nuebel, a person must have a sponsor, which can be another consultant, and pay $99 for a starter kit of products for hosting a Scentsy party. The initial fee also covers a three-month personal website subscription and other promotional, marketing and training handbooks. Website and online workstation maintenance goes up to $10 a month after that. Scentsy also hosts annual training, conventions and networking events for consultants throughout the United States.

Directors including Nuebel and Wheeler also participate in weekly Monday morning conference calls with company CEO Thompson that address any company issues, updates or other concerns.

“Orville has a way of treating everyone like family,” Wheeler said. “He listens to us and makes us feel important.”

From a marketing and financial standpoint, Lincoln said, Scentsy’s future depends on the relationship its people have with each other and their customers.

“People value convenience and relationships with other people,” he said. “The challenge is finding the social time to become involved.”