Bridgewater Candles: an interview with Bridgewater President Bob Caldwell Jr.
When we discovered Bridgewater Candles, we immediately fell in love with their Sweet Grace scent. When we sampled it, we knew that we had to share not only the amazingly scented candle with our CAUSEBOX community, but we had to share with you the story of Bridgewater Candles. For every candle that they sell through their Light a Candle ⢠Feed a Child program, they are able to donate a dayâs worth of meals to a child in an international orphanage.  Read out interview with Bridgewater President Bob Caldwell Jr. below. :)Â
1. Tell us about the background of Bridgewater Candles. Today, itâs a huge success in the world of beautiful, socially conscious products. How did the company begin, and how did it get to where it is today?
We are a family-owned business whose roots go back to 1974. My dad eventually stumbled into the home fragrance industry during the early 1980âs and several years later, my parents exited the greenhouse business to focus on the rapidly expanding home fragrance business. Â
In 1998, we launched Bridgewater Candle Company. Around 2006, we began discussing the need to repackage and rebrand Bridgewater. Â Ever since I can remember, my parents viewed the business as more than just a means for profit, but also as a vehicle for giving back and doing good. Â As a family, we began discussing what it might look like to more directly connect the dots for our employees between the work they do each day and the impact it makes. We all agreed that it needed to be authentic and something we were passionate and committed to investing in for the long-term. We wanted it to be more than a short-term feel good initiative. Â As we began exploring what this might looklike, we realized the perfect partnership was right under our nose. Â
Since the founding of Rice Bowls in 1980, our business has donated much of the back office support to Rice Bowls, reducing their overhead and allowing more of the money raised to go towards the mission of Rice Bowls. Â Overtime, Rice Bowls shifted its focus from famine relief to providing for the food budgets of childrenâs homes around the world. We realized Rice Bowls was a perfect partnership through which we could clearly connect the giving dots for our employees. Â It was an organization and cause our employees were already familiar with and an organization and cause to which we had been deeply committed to for over 25 years. Â
In 2010, we rebranded Bridgewater with a give back component and the Light a Candle ⢠Feed a Child⢠program was born.  For every container filled candle we sell, we donate $.75 to Rice Bowls.  On average, $.75 will provide 3 meals. So, for every container candle purchased, an orphaned child is fed for a day.  Itâs humbling to look down our candle production lines and know that each candle on the line represents the life of a child who is being transformed through something as simple as a candle.
2. Not only do Bridgewater Candles smell incredible, but theyâre also held in colorful,intricately-designed tins. Whatâs the design process for each candle? How important is the role of design in the process of creating a new candle or new scent?
As it relates to design, we are first and foremost fragrance driven.  Great packaging will catch the consumerâs eye and may create an initial sale, but it wonât bring the customer back for more.  It takes great fragrances to accomplish that goal, and thatâs what we are after. We are very unique in that we have our own team of in-house perfumers who work with the brand team to develop each fragrance from concept to finished product.  The development of a fragrance typically begins with the creation of a fragrance brief,which includes pictures and color swatches to set a mood and inspire specific fragrance notes and accords for inclusion in the fragrance. This brief is then used to inspire both the perfumery team and the graphic design team in creating the fragrance, packaging, and a fragrance name so that each component builds off the other all integrating into one great product.
(pictured: Sweet Grace Mingle tin candle in the Winter CAUSEBOX)
3. Is there a lesson or takeaway that Bridgewater has learned on the path to success? There are so many new, smaller socially focused businesses out there and I know they would love to hear advice from a company as successful as Bridgewater.Â
Focus on designing great products first and foremost. Â As a socially-focused entrepreneur, it is easy to fall into the trap of making social impact the primary focus of the business. Â Never forget that it is a business first, and your ability to have social impact as an entrepreneur will be directly tied to the marketplace success of your products. Â Work to create products that consumers will enthusiastically seek out. While the mission absolutely rests at the core of the socially-focused brandâs DNA, within the marketplace the social mission should be the cherry on top that closes the sale, not the sole basis for the sale in the first place.Â
4. We fell in love with the Light A Candle, Feed A Child program. Can you tell us about that, and why itâs so important for Bridgewater?
One of our core values is to âAct justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly.â   Another is to âDo things that matter.â  Caring for vulnerable children who lack a family to support, nurture, and protect them is something we care deeply about and is one of the ways we live out these core values.  In addition, the Light a Candle ⢠Feed a Child⢠program directly connects the work that our employees do each day to the difference their work makes.Â
(pictured: Bridgewater Candle president at a orphanage in Haiti)
5. Whatâs the number one thing youâd want a new customer to know about Bridgewater?
We are in this for the long haul. Â We are serious about creating great fragrances and great products that customers will return to loyally purchase. Â We are equally serious about having a long-term impact on the international orphan crisis. Â The more we grow, the greater the impact we can have together.Â
6. How can readers best contribute to the Bridgewater mission?
Buy Bridgewater Candles! Â Â If youâre struggling to select a fragrance, Iâd recommend starting with one of our best sellers: Â Sweet Grace, Afternoon Retreat, or Kiss in the Rain. Â Consumers can visit www.bridgewatercandles.com to locate their nearest retail dealer or to make an online purchase. Â To date, we are privileged to have partnered with our dealers and customers to provide over 5,000,000+ meals to orphaned children throughout the world. We would love to have your community join us in working to bring about transformation in the lives of these amazing kids who have each experienced trauma in their lives, and yet have unique potential and value as human beings.Â
