- Yankee Candle is rebranding its candles with a new logo and wax reformulation.
- It will work with influencers to attract younger, premium shoppers.
- Yankee Candle has been struggling with declining sales in the crowded space.
Yankee Candle is working to rebrand its portfolio to avoid being forgotten.
Many of us have probably walked by a display in a big store like Target and been met with a strong scent of either nostalgia or disgust.
Strongly scented candles, specifically those on end cap displays, are often strategically placed for customers to pick up, smell, and get transported back to a fond memory.
Perhaps no company does this better than Yankee Candle.
The South Deerfield, Mass.-based candle company is known for its iconic scents like Pink Sands, Macintosh, and Spiced Pumpkin.
But it’s been having a hard time converting its strong scents into strong sales.
Yankee Candle lost its identity after sale
Some customers have complained that Yankee Candle strayed away from its core offerings in recent years.
Its inventive fragrances haven’t translated directly into increased sales.
Fragrance and skin care reviewer Drew Yauch explained in a July YouTube video analysis that the brand seemed to have lost its way over the past few years.
“It’s been a little rough. Weird fragrances, weird, conceptual-type fragrances, weird labels. No strength and throw. The list goes on,” he said.
“After they were purchased by Newell Brands, things got a little rocky,” he added. “I don’t think they saw a clear vision of who Yankee Candle really is. And the customers made them very aware of that.”
Yankee Candle was bought by Newell Brands for $13.2 billion in 2015.
What’s changing and what’s remaining for Yankee Candle
In July 2025, Yankee Candle will rebrand its candle line.
“The best just got better,” Yankee Candle writes of its relaunch, explaining that its new candles are getting packaging and scent upgrades.
Some of the Yankee Candle changes include:
- Longer-lasting fragrance and better burn
- New premium wax blend for increased throw (the industry term for scent payload)
- Reduced soot from burning
- Improved packaging and larger imagery
The iconic glass jar and curved lid, however, are staying the same, as they are popular and decorative for many devoted customers.
The new look is simply intended to focus more on the actual fragrance and accomodate modern aesthetic preferences.
Yankee Candle will focus on younger buyers
With the new retail rebrand, Yankee Candle will work with influencers to help target younger customers.
By working with influencers, it plans to tell a story about candles being a lifestyle purchase.
This makes sense for a company that sells scents like Midsummer’s Night, White Strawberry Bellini, and Fresh Cut Roses.
None of these fragrances are particularly explicit; instead, they sell a memory or feeling that Yankee Candle hopes to lean into.
And there’s a lot of revenue to capture.
The candle market is worth over $4 billion, and customers aren’t afraid to spend money on quality.
The rebrand hopes to target shoppers who buy more expensive candles by mass premium brands like Diptyque (whose candles often retail for upwards of $100).
Yankee Candle is rethinking promotions
Yankee Candle is also planning to capture enthusiasm for its brand by launching limited-edition candles and promotional events.
In fiscal 2023, around 12% of sales came from company-owned stores or exclusive promotions.
In 2025, however, that number is estimated to rise to 30-35% of sales.
Yankee Candle is rethinking where it will target customers, too.
“That may include changing locations from malls to outdoor shopping or lifestyle centers as leases expire,” Modern Retail says.
And some marketing analysts suggest we could see more Yankee Candle on online retailers, like Amazon, to help meet younger audiences where they’re already shopping.
In the end, Yankee Candle is hoping that small improvements will carry it to a new era without totally taking away from the nostalgia of an iconic brand.
“Scent is still the hero. That never changed. What we needed was to reframe the experience around it,” SVP and GM of home fragrance at Newell Brands said. “We simplified the packaging. We changed the label. We rethought the photography. But we didn’t touch the juice.”
