Once in a while, product labels go way beyond providing information and promotion. There is a trend toward more emotionally compelling advertising and marketing in general. Some organizations are expanding their messaging to inspire, motivate and touch the heart.

In doing so, they also provide a special brand of customer service –helping their customers feel good about buying and using their products.

One such company is Coral Springs, FL, USA-based ScentsAbility Candles, which recently rebranded its product line to feature the inspirations behind the endeavor – the young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities employed to create and manufacture a variety of uniquely-scented candles. While the soy blend candles themselves are notable for combining such fragrances as orange flower, mystical jasmine and silk flower derived from four different fragrance houses, it’s the messaging and profile behind the names that hit the heart. The Ability candle, one of five selections, “reminds us that we all have talent and ability.”  The other candles are Potential, Gratitude, Purpose and Positivity.

The scents themselves were selected for their connection to the name, message and young craftsperson who created it. For example, inspiration for the Ability candle and in fact the entire ScentsAbility enterprise is 36-year-old Jessica Schmidt, who tells everyone she meets she loves them. (The jasmine scent in this candle represents love.) Jessica is the daughter of co-founder Bonnie Schmidt. Jessica’s rare metabolic disorder led to doctors saying she would never walk or talk. Thanks to early intervention and continued therapy, Jessica walks, talks, hugs everyone she meets, takes cooking, hip-hop and exercise classes, and generally leads a fulfilling life – despite continuing to fight health battles.

Notes Denise Anderson, executive director, “Our sophisticated scents, created exclusively for ScentsAbility by some of the world’s finest perfumers, give life to our candles. We carefully select formulas and procedures so that each special young adult can participate in the candle-making process.”

Bonnie Schmidt says the venture provides purpose and gainful employment to young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Having just read the story behind ScentsAbility, how could someone not have heartfelt gratitude and positivity around this company?

This is the essence of how savvy, sincere and committed product manufacturers will market their products and themselves moving forward. Besides companies being able to do good and make money at the same time, consumers can have “warm fuzzies” that complement their appreciation of the product itself. That’s a win-win that ultimately will define the future product marketplace. Plus, customer service caring and commitment are much more likely to follow along in these companies.

All of this poses an important question for product manufacturers to think about when pondering messaging for everything, including labels and packaging: What do you want to be, and how do you want to reflect it in your branding? This, in turn, leads other questions, such as:

1. What is your core purpose(s) for being in business: Selling products, being socially/environmentally conscious, offering great customer service, providing meaningful employment and income streams to employees, suppliers, partners and other stakeholders?
2. Based on answers to #1 above, how well does the company currently align with this purpose(s)?
3. What can be done to create/expand messaging and branding that supports purposes in an authentic and transparent way?
4. How will you prioritize messaging and branding changes to make sure the most important items are addressed first?
5. What metrics will you put in place to evaluate how good a job you’re doing vis a vis these purposes/priorities?

Increasingly, consumers will make buying decisions using criteria beyond product quality and longevity in the marketplace. Be right there with them.


Mark Lusky is a marketing communications professional who has worked with Lightning Labels, an all-digital custom label printer in Denver, CO, USA, since 2008. Find Lightning Labels on Facebook for special offers and label printing news.