Does Yankee Candle Incense No Longer Have a Fragrance?

When 16-year-old Mike Kittredge first dipped a crayon into candle wax and gave it to his mom in 1969, he probably didn’t realize that his DIY gift would become the country’s best-selling brand of scented candles. Now, Yankee Candle makes over 600 different fragrances in all sorts of sizes and shapes, from votives to jar candles with 150-plus hours of burn time. They come in hundreds of colors and scents, from fresh-baked bread to tropical fruit to a warm cup of cocoa. And though they started with a humble beginning, now they have a mighty following of loyal customers who can’t get enough of their home-baked aromas and cozy woodsy ambiance.

But recently, people have been expressing concern that the company’s scented candles no longer smell like they used to, with some reports that the candles don’t even have any scent at all. The negative reviews appear to coincide with a surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant, and loss of smell (known as anosmia) is a common symptom of the virus.

The company’s Twitter account responded to the concerns with a message that read: “We appreciate your feedback and understand your concerns about our candles no longer having a fragrance. However, we are confident that our products meet the highest safety standards and that they are safe to enjoy as always.”

While a spokesperson for the company didn’t respond to a request from Insider for comment, a professor at Bryn Mawr College charted complaints about the top three scented candles on Amazon, and found that the percentage of negative reviews spiked around December — right when the Omicron variant led to a spike in new cases of COVID-19. He says that while it does seem like a coincidence, this isn’t necessarily an indication that the COVID outbreak is resurging.

While this may not be proof that the negative reviews are a sign of a new COVID epidemic, medical professionals say it shouldn’t be taken lightly. They call out Caballero for drawing a dangerous parallel between candles and the virus, and stress that we should continue to follow actual data points and epidemiological trends rather than online candle reviews.