Root Candles was founded in 1869 by its Amos Ives (or A.I.) Root when he revolutionized beekeeping worldwide through his numerous inventions. Since those early days of mass producing honey and bee supplies, Root evolved to making candles and is now one of the largest suppliers to the liturgical (church) market in the US – in addition to making all the decorative candles that most people think of when they think of Root Candles. To this day, Root still relies on the purity and naturalness of beeswax and bees that inspired Amos Ives Root all those years ago. Their candles are made with an all-natural beeswax blend and the fragrances contain essential oils for a long lasting, aromatic bouquet that is always true to nature. Candles are sold all over the world through their website and they have a retail store in Medina, Ohio.

Root was a very entrepreneurial and curious man. He had a wide range of interests and engaged with many well-known people of his time – the Wright Brothers and Hellen Keller, in particular. At one point he owned a jewelry store in Medina Square, when a swarm of bees landed on his window. This event ignited a passion in him to learn and to share his knowledge in all things bee-related. This helped make the city of Medina (Ohio) famous as the founding place of the “Bee Industries”. In 1928 Huber Root was approached by a priest and asked to expand and make a high quality candle for use in church services. He was able to meet these high expectations and since then, Root has become a candle maker known for their outstanding quality, consistency and aesthetics – supplying both churches and consumers.

We have a great, loyal customer base. Our recent challenge is to produce and supply enough products to fulfill all of their needs – in a timely fashion. We have the equipment, but we struggle to hire and train enough people across all shifts. We work closely with every source of potential new hires. We have instituted department-specific videos and written training that are easily accessible through iPads throughout the facility, and we are implementing new technology to help increase how much we can produce without needing more people. 

The majority of our business is in the United States but we ship all over the world. But you never know when a new market will pop up! – A few years ago a Korean soap opera used Root Candles on their sets and this generated strong international demand. While we source some materials across the globe, much of our raw materials come from the Midwest and South. We also have quite a bit of custom-made candle equipment, as well as equipment from major suppliers from Germany and Italy.

We work hard to recycle as much as possible. Within the manufacturing process, we reuse and recycle many of our waxes. We also strive to recycle our finished candles and have recently had outstanding success working with one of our customers – the University of Notre Dame. They use thousands of candles every month and when these were burned, they would throw them away and landfill the empty glass and containers. But now they put the used candles back into the original shipping containers allowing us to return these. We have a partner that cleans the glass and puts them back into the original cartons. This enables us to refill them and ship them back again. This has reduced the landfill issues by thousands of pounds every year. It’s a win/win for all – and especially our environment.

Brad Root, the fifth generation of Roots to run the company, is very involved within the community. He works closely with local government to be sure they know what we need and what we can do to support them. We partner with elected officials and give tours regularly. We are also big supporters of Medina City Schools and many philanthropic organizations throughout the region.

A great source of new hires is from referrals from people who work here or know of people who work here! Individuals can also apply on our website, or through many of the staffing agencies and job boards throughout the area. We strive to tap into every venue to get great people. Please reach out!

Why do employees like to work here?

We have a very welcoming environment and we really go out of our way to celebrate our successes and key holidays. We enjoy working together – many of our associates have been here a very long time. We have good benefits and work hard to make the highest quality product possible. Also, the whole plant smells wonderful. People refer their family to work here so you know they like it!