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The future smells like a candle of love and the 12-year-old CEO is burning bright.
After starting the Vienna-based business in his family’s kitchen, Alejandro Buxton will open his first brick-and-mortar location of Scent of Love next week, bringing homemade, soy and coconut wax candles to Tysons Corner Center.
The kiosk, located on the second floor of the mall between Victoria’s Secret and Banana Republic, will open with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. next Thursday (September 1). During the opening weekend of September 5, customers can enter for a chance to win free candles for a year.
“My mom grew up in Tyson, so working at Tyson is a lot of fun. My family actually shops at Tysons,” Alejandro said. Putting our candles out there is a big deal.
Alejandro’s family got the idea for the scent of love when they realized that his mother’s occasional headaches were caused by a candle she liked to keep around the house.
When those candles ended up in the trash, Alejandro—then 9 years old—started experimenting with healthier, more environmentally friendly alternatives. The result was “Jurassic Orange,” a cedar-based, orange-scented candle profiled on the online store.
The candle was a hit with Alejandro’s mother, Patricia, and with her encouragement and help, he turned his candle business into a full-fledged home business through online retail.
The scent of love quickly outgrew the Buxtons’ kitchen and moved into the basement, growing from six candles to around 200 at a time.
A visit by Vice President Kamala Harris to DC’s annual Downtown Holiday Market in December further raised the business’s profile. When the candle boxes began to crowd the house, it became clear that the basement was no longer enough.
in the tiered Tysons Corner Center, which offers space for a production facility and kiosk. Tyson’s Corner Center General Manager Jesse Benitez said this is the first time the mall has leased to a child.
“Tyson’s Corner Center is thrilled to support entrepreneurs like Alejandro and his Aroma Love Candles and this unique opportunity to showcase their brand in one of the country’s most popular shopping destinations,” Benitez said in a press release. “…it really inspires a lot of young entrepreneurs to follow their passion and believe where it will take them.
All in all, juggling work and school has been “very easy,” Alejandro says, though it may be more difficult when he faces challenges ahead.
But since Tysons’ manufacturing facility can make 600 candles at a time, Scent of Love will now be open in malls, hiring product team members, marketing experience and part-time sales associates to help run the kiosks.
“That’s a lot of candles to make…so we’re really hiring,” Alejandro said.
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