Natural Alternative

Candles made from vegetable wax were virtually unknown ten years ago. The only alternative to paraffin wax was beeswax, a costly natural substitute. But in today's market, there is a range of candles based on vegetable waxes, and their supporters say they offer longer and cleaner burns, are made from a renewable resource, and are often sourced entirely from within the United States. While some of these points are debatable, the fact is that retailers now have a wider range of candle products to offer their customers, with some pretty persuasive selling points to go along with them.

Vegetable wax candles are made from renewable resources such as soybeans, palm, and other plant oils. Paraffin wax is extracted from fossil fuels. The "all-natural" standing of vegetable wax is bound to appeal to the consumer who buys recycled, organic, and other earth-friendly products. However, paraffin is a byproduct of the petroleum refining process, and as long as people need gas for their cars there will be abundant paraffin at reasonable prices. Someday, rising gas prices and shrinking supplies may force more manufacturers to switch to vegetable waxes.

A patriotic appeal can be made to consumers with the many vegetable wax candles that are made in America from soybeans grown in this country. "The American farmer grows soybeans, so we can support the local economy instead of having to import oil products," noted Brett Almquist, chief executive and president of candle manufacturer BeansWax in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

Precise burn times for vegetable waxes vary depending on the wax formula, the wick, and the fragrance being used. Overall, however, vegetable wax candles burn longer than paraffin wax candles. Jimmy Belasco of Dallas-based Er'go Candle estimates that vegetable wax candles will burn 10 to 20 percent longer than paraffin wax. Almquist claims that the cooler melting point of vegetable wax accounts for the extended burn time.

Vegetable wax candles also produce significantly less soot when they burn. "Vegetable wax completely combusts," noted Almquist, "whereas regular candles don't." He pointed out studies done by home inspectors and insurance companies that show "there's been a great increase in soot collection around rafters and vents [in homes] since scented candles became popular. We have local churches that use our [vegetable wax] candles because they've had thousands of dollars of soot damage," he added. A cleaner burn can also reduce health risks to homeowners. "Every paraffin candle emits carcinogens as it burns," said Belasco.

But not everyone is convinced. "I don't know if there's much of a difference in performance between a fully refined paraffin versus a vegetable wax candle or even a beeswax one," said Steven Lundstrom, chief executive of Aroma Naturals in Irvine, California. "I personally don't see any difference and I work with waxes all day long. I burn candles constantly in my house for testing purposes. It's all a matter of market perception."

Proponents of vegetable wax also claim that because it is a "cleaner" wax than paraffin, it makes for a cleaner scent. "When you melt it down it just smells like any kind of vegetable oil," noted Belasco. "There's not any kind of distinctive odor. Even beeswax has a distinctive odor. Once you smell a fragrance in a soy wax, it just smells clean." Belasco noted, however, that not every soy wax is free of chemicals. Some formulas contain many additives. To illustrate the chemical-free qualities of the wax he uses, he melted some down and fried chicken in it. "It tasted just like chicken," he said, laughing.

Carole Gilman, president and owner of Montreal-based Seracon, sees both paraffin and vegetable waxes as having their own qualities. "I am not going to give any negatives about paraffin. We use it all the time," she said. "But vegetable wax is a different color and a different texture. We are able to get many different textures with the vegetable that we can't get with the paraffin." After more than six years of experimenting with vegetable waxes that didn't burn well, Seracon decided on a vegetable and beeswax blend, which it introduced in its Chakra line. "We're very excited about vegetable wax. It's still in its beginning stages, but we know that it's going to go further," Gilman said.

If the biggest advantage soy wax has over paraffin is its "natural" qualities, the biggest advantage it has over beeswax is its price. It's comparable to paraffin. But, even with price not an issue, habit and ignorance have kept retailers from embracing the vegetable waxes unconditionally. "Every show we go to, 90 percent of the people say 'what's this?' " said Brett Almquist of BeansWax. "We don't sell BeansWax, we just educate the consumers. Once the consumers are educated, they buy it. It's not hard to get them to come back, it's hard to get them to try them in the first place."

To make that first sale easier, BeansWax provides point-of-purchase displays that describe each component of a candle. The displays also include little baskets of soybeans. "Its very tactile. People love to touch soybeans. And then they're reading our cards and saying 'look at this,' " said Almquist.

In addition to point-of-purchase displays that educate, keeping a sample candle burning and offering a money-back guarantee to customers who aren't satisfied are other ways to promote the vegetable-wax candles.

Vegetable-wax candles are one solution for retailers searching for new products to offer their customers in today's competitive marketplace.