The 46-year-old ornament maker Old World Christmas is broadening its candle portfolio for September, adding six fragrances to its hand-poured soy-wax line and introducing a votive format for three bestsellers — a calculated push into home fragrance timed to the calendar retail event known as National Candle Month.
All full-size 8-ounce candles are reduced to $24.99 for the month, down from the standard price, with an additional 15% discount on new candle SKUs through September 6. The 8-ounce format carries a burn time of up to 60 hours and uses a 100% lead-free cotton wick; the formulation is vegan and free of parabens and phthalates.
The New Lineup
The six additions lean heavily into food-and-beverage reference points that have become a dominant merchandising strategy in the home fragrance category. Caramel Pecan Pie and Homemade Gingerbread target the warm-bakery segment; Marshmallow Cocoa plays the cozy-beverage angle; Pineapple Colada anchors the tropical-cocktail tier. First Flurry and Sugared Berry round out the range with seasonal and fruit-forward profiles. They join existing inventory that already includes Spiced Pumpkin Creme, Twisted Peppermint, and Frosted Cranberry — scents that map directly to the food-and-beverage flavor trends tracked across both specialty retail and foodservice gifting.
Three bestsellers — Dark Rum Pistachio, Balsam Fir, and Frosted Cranberry — now also come in a new votive size priced at $14.99. A 3-Pack Votive Set retails at $39.99, designed as an entry-level gift format for hosts, teachers, and corporate gifting occasions. The lower price point is a deliberate trial mechanism: votive buyers who convert to the full-size format roughly triple the average transaction value.
Promotional Structure
The month-long campaign is structured in phases. After the opening week discount, the company runs weekly 48-hour flash sales at 20% off on select scents — Naughty & Spice (September 19–20), Dark Rum Pistachio Fig (September 21–22), and Fresh Balsam Fir (September 23–24). A Votive Sampler Saturday on September 26 offers 25% off the votive sampler set through September 30. The stepped promotional cadence is consistent with a strategy to sustain consumer engagement and repeat site visits across the full month rather than concentrating demand at a single discount event.
The campaign also serves as a lead-in to National Ornament Day on September 25, when the company plans to officially launch the Old World Christmas Collectors Club, a loyalty program designed to reward repeat buyers with points, exclusive perks, and member benefits. Loyalty programs have become a meaningful retention tool across the specialty gifts and seasonal retail segment, where high-intent collectors drive outsized lifetime value.
"A candle isn't just a scent to us," said Neal Applefeld, Chief Executive Officer of Old World Christmas. "It's the moment you walk in the door and the whole house feels like the season. We've always made things people keep, and these new scents are that same idea."
The candle line is distributed through oldworldchristmas.com and retail partners nationwide. The brand's active ornament collection currently spans more than 1,700 designs, with 150 to 200 new ornament SKUs added annually.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
