The History of Yankee Candle

In 1969, 16-year-old Michael “Mike” Kittredge was short on cash for Christmas gifts, so he used kitchen string, half a milk carton, and some red crayon wax to make his mother a candle. A neighbor saw his creation and convinced Kittredge to sell it to her. He then used the profits to make two more candles — one for his mother, the other to sell — and Yankee Candle was born. Kittredge soon began making candles to sell at local gift shops. In just a few years, his at-home efforts had morphed into a multimillion-dollar candle company. In 1983, Yankee Candle moved from its original headquarters in an old paper mill in Holyoke, Massachusetts to South Deerfield, a strategic location that received heavy automobile traffic. The Yankee Candle factory opened a year later in the same location (though it was moved to Whately, Massachusetts in 1994). Yankee Candle quickly became famous for offering candles in a variety of unique scents, and Yankee Candle Village soon became a tourist attraction in its own right, with hundreds of thousands of families visiting each year. It included a massive flagship store with a variety of sections, including a candle emporium, home store, general store, and fudge shop. In 1993, the Yankee Candle Village underwent an expansion to add the Bavarian Village, a year-round Christmas section. Today, this impressive attraction includes simulated falling snow, a 25 ft. Christmas tree, a tinsel-trimmed "Black Forest" containing ornaments and holiday collectibles, and a moat that separates it from Nutcracker Castle, where Santa can often be seen working in his toy shop. (There is even a tradition where Santa arrives at the Village via helicopter each year!) The Bavarian Village was based on German medieval villages, which Kittredge fell in love with during his travels there. Over the years, additional Yankee Candle stores opened all around the country and the products were also made available online. Recently, Yankee Candle has expanded its focus to include flameless products like wax melts and scent plugs. Today, Yankee Candle is extremely well-known for its scented candles and has devoted fans both in the United States and internationally, as well.