Scentsational Soaps & Candles

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Scentsational Soaps & Candles Builds a Scalable, Flexible Workforce with Veryable

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For more than two decades, Scentsational Soaps & Candles has been a pillar of the candle manufacturing industry. Founded in Venice, Florida as a family-owned and operated company, Scentsational has built its reputation on exceptional craftsmanship, producing candles under its own well-known brand while also partnering with major retailers such as TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and countless local boutiques.

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As a highly seasonal business, Scentsational faces significant swings in demand, with a surge in orders starting around the Fourth of July and continuing nearly around the clock until Thanksgiving. “The candle business is definitely seasonal. Folks really enjoy burning their candles in fall and the holiday season,” explains JaNeice Cranmer, President of Scentsational.

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For years, these seasonal swings presented a constant labor challenge. During busy times, the team struggled to keep up, relying on seasonal hiring and long onboarding processes that simply couldn’t respond fast enough. In slow seasons, they faced painful layoffs that damaged morale and disrupted lives. Cranmer notes, “The worst part of my job is laying somebody off. Telling someone I can’t support their home life or their livelihood is the worst day.”

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Scentsational needed a smarter, more agile labor solution. In 2022, they turned to Veryable to build a flexible, on-demand labor pool that would transform their operations.

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Real-Time Flexibility for Unpredictable Demand

With Veryable, Scentsational gained the ability to match labor precisely to production needs on a day-to-day basis. Their labor pool included highly skilled workers who could be tapped instantly whenever demand spiked, while keeping a strong, consistent core team in place.

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Cranmer recalls, “Buying patterns are unpredictable. We have a 10-day lead time with our largest manufacturer, so we have to react fast with our labor.”

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Before Veryable, onboarding new workers took weeks, making it impossible to meet these turnaround times. But once they built a labor pool, that all changed.

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“After about the first couple of weeks, I was like, wow, we can really build a business and scale up our production quickly and efficiently with this app,” Cranmer says.

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She even remembers quickly posting and filling an op within hours to save a missed production order while hundreds of miles away in Chicago.

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Operational Performance and Sustainable Growth

The impact of Veryable was immediate and measurable in just a few months.

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✅ 28% increase in productivity

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✅ 3X improvement in quality control

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✅ 15% reduction in labor costs as a percentage of sales

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By leveraging a trusted, vetted pool of workers, Scentsational eliminated the burnout that traditionally plagued their peak seasons. Their full-time employees could maintain quality while on-demand operators supported them.

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‍“Prior to Veryable, we would see fatigue, quality issues, and production drops,” Cranmer explains. “That wasn’t the case this past year. Quality control has almost tripled since Veryable.”

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The Veryable platform also enabled more strategic planning. Cranmer now uses weekends to review the production schedule, build out the week’s roster, and confidently leave it in place — knowing that the app’s tools will keep things running smoothly.

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‍“I can plan the entire week, apply my tags to individuals I want, shut my laptop, and enjoy my Sunday,” she says. “The app takes care of itself now that I’ve done the front-end work.”

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Empowering Managers and Employees

The flexibility provided by Veryable has had far-reaching cultural benefits at Scentsational. Employees no longer worry about their jobs evaporating after the holidays, and managers are freed to think more strategically.

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“Incorporating Veryable into our strategy allows our managers to take a step back and have a bigger, broader sight coming down the line,” Cranmer says.

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In addition, she’s been able to focus on other business priorities rather than jumping into production roles herself, noting, “Before, I would have to palletize, work the wicking machine, even be in the paint booth if needed. With Veryable, I actually have the extra help.”

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This has allowed Scentsational to seize new opportunities, like onboarding a new customer who placed 1.2 million units in just six months. “We would not have been able to take on that customer without the Veryable labor pool,” says Cranmer.

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A Foundation for Long-Term Success

Scentsational’s experience demonstrates the power of a flexible workforce to drive both operational excellence and a positive, sustainable culture. The ability to scale up during peak demand — without subjecting full-time employees to grueling overtime or layoffs later — is game-changing.

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“I had no idea how effective it would be until we survived our busiest season and our payroll was 15% less than it was the year before,” Cranmer says.

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By building a Labor Pool, Scentsational has been able to:

• React in real-time to shifting customer demand
• Maintain consistent product quality and output
• Reduce overtime, turnover, and layoffs
• Optimize labor cost per unit
• Empower its team with confidence and stability

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“If I were to tell anybody about Veryable, I would say try it,” Cranmer concludes. “It’s going to cut down your labor costs, save your payroll, and increase your efficiency. It has been an absolute lifesaver in our business.”