NewInTheBiz Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hi all. I am new to this board and new to the industry as well. I spent a lot of time looking for a board like this and am real glad I found you. I am hoping you don't mind the newbie questions.I am looking for sources for FO's. I prefer to buy direct from a manufacturer. I am sure many people like to do that but are forced to buy from resellers or re-bottlers due to not being able to buy in large enough quantities. I probably fit that category for the time being. I could consider a pound or two though per FO. In another thread, I read about a company in Georgia claiming to be a manufacturer selling direct without minimums. The company is called Only Fragrance. Are there any others like that? My biggest concern with buying from a reseller is if they go under, or switch suppliers, I might not be able to offer my customers consistency. If I put something on the market, I don't want to be forced to discontinue it for that reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyJo Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Welcome to the addiction !!!check this link for suppliershttp://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?5492-Supplier-Abbreviations-and-LinksJo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyJo Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 My biggest concern with buying from a reseller is if they go under, or switch suppliers, I might not be able to offer my customers consistency. If I put something on the market, I don't want to be forced to discontinue it for that reason.Unfortunately... THAT is a concern in any business.... dealing with suppliers that might possibly go out of business. If / when that happens you just have to dig in and find a new supplier and keep going.Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewInTheBiz Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hi Jo. I had a look at that list. I realize they are suppliers but which of them, if any, actually manufacture FO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb426 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Aren't you putting the cart before the horse? Have you made a candle yet? In any event, there is no guarantee that a manufacturer won't go out of business or reformulate your favorite oil. There's also no guarantee that your customer's favorite scent this year will be the same next year. Its a fluid business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnvyCandles Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 My biggest concern with buying from a reseller is if they go under, or switch suppliers, I might not be able to offer my customers consistency. If I put something on the market, I don't want to be forced to discontinue it for that reason.Welcome to the board. IMO your concern is jumping the gun in a big way...Many established candlemakers cannot purchase direct - many manufacturers have minimum requirements of 25lbs per each FO... Due to the cost of materials, there is no way to even verify that a manufacturer will not go out of business, will not increase their pricing, or that formulas will not be changed. A note from one of your other posts: I have never seen any ingredients/solvents from any FO listed. Companies do not share this information. Candles/B&B are very different than flavorings or anything designed to come in contact with the body (which generally are subject to labeling/ingredient guidelines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewInTheBiz Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 Candles/B&B are very different than flavorings or anything designed to come in contact with the body (which generally are subject to labeling/ingredient guidelines.Soap comes in contact with the skin. IMO, consumers have a right to know what is in the products they use. Perhaps not a complete list of ingredients but at least something like this:DPGfragrance oilethanolAnother example would be diacetyl. If a custard or coconut fragrance contained that, I don't think you would want to be burning that. There is a limit to this proprietary nonsense. They can still give some basic information about a product without giving away information that would allow a competitor to copy a product. Besides, if someone had it analyzed with GCMS, you could get the formula anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerWicks Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Top right-hand corner there is a long white box with the words advanced search underneath. Should give you five pages of what you are searching for + extra you are not. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnS Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Yes it is hard starting out then finding your suppliers are going out of business or quit carrying a certain scent.Many of us are going through this now.I've had 2 suppliers within a couple months go out of business.Got alot of FO's from them.Doing searching for these scents is overwhelming.Then re-testing.Some might smell different or not as strong as the other fo suppliers. I started with candles almost 7 years ago.This was the first year I bowed out of craft shows.I did pretty good but I need to revamp and get the best sellers back in stock. IF I CAN FIND THEM.As you can see many of us are asking where can we get a scent comparable to so and so who we purchased from for many years. Now we are hurting.LynnS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnvyCandles Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Soap comes in contact with the skin. IMO, consumers have a right to know what is in the products they use. Perhaps not a complete list of ingredients but at least something like this:DPGfragrance oilethanolAnother example would be diacetyl. If a custard or coconut fragrance contained that, I don't think you would want to be burning that. There is a limit to this proprietary nonsense. They can still give some basic information about a product without giving away information that would allow a competitor to copy a product. Besides, if someone had it analyzed with GCMS, you could get the formula anyway.You may just want to contact the suppliers directly and ask about the specific ingredients/additives you are looking for. You always have the option of using essential oils. Good luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauramw71 Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Yes, it would be nice to know what exactly FO's are made from, but you won't find that out. Period. Yes, we should know what we are putting on or skin, or in our product, or in the air. But since the laws don't require manufacturers to give out "recipes" of their FO's, they aren't. I think you have another thread with this same concern?As far as suppliers going out of business, unfortunately that happens. And there's been a few recently. It's also not uncommon for the supplier to discontinue what to them is a slow selling FO, but to you is your biggest seller. (Seems to happen to my favorite lipstick ALL the time. ha)I'm not trying to sound rude, but since you're new to this whole industry you might want to start by just playing around, finding different suppliers you like, and worry about them going out of business if it happens.What products do you make? bath and body? soap? candles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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