LIBERTY, Ky. — Goose Creek Candles, a family-owned candle, soap and wax melt manufacturer, broke ground on the company’s new distribution facility expansion project in Casey County, a $5 million investment creating 160 quality, Kentucky jobs.
Goose Creek is a Kentucky-based home fragrance brand located in Liberty. Founded by Chuck and Tamara Meece in 1998, the brand is now mass-produced in factories across the United States. Goose Creek has experienced exponential growth in the home fragrance sector, making the brand a household name.
“While manufacturing of Goose Creek products takes place all across the U.S., the national headquarters in Liberty houses management teams and order distribution,” said Micah Meece, chief operating officer at Goose Creek. “Currently, our biggest challenge is shipping orders quickly enough to keep up with customer demands. We are shipping over 25,000 pieces per shift, and that’s just not enough.”
Owned and managed by the Meece family, forward-thinking business strategies have enabled the brand to surpass other industry players. Beyond candles, the Goose Creek brand has become known for other fragrance categories, such as body care products and flameless fragrance options. All orders placed on the company’s website are processed in the distribution center in Liberty, which currently employs over 120 people.
“Congratulations to Goose Creek Candles for this incredible investment into the local community and workforce,” said Gov. Andy Beshear, who joined local officials and company representatives for the groundbreaking. “A Kentucky company finding success and expanding its operations in the same community where it first started over 25 years ago shows the growing strength of our economy. I’m thrilled to be here today to celebrate this exciting next step for the company and wish Goose Creek many more years of success here in the commonwealth.”
Goose Creek Candles is expanding its existing distribution center in Casey County. The project will add 85,000 s.f. to the company’s current operation, allowing room for two new pick lines to help with order fulfillment, additional warehousing for inventory and expanded replenishment capacity.
Expansion work commences this year. The 160 new, full-time jobs will bring the company’s Kentucky employment to 280. It will improve ship times, meet the growing product demand and help expand a partnership with Walmart, which sells Goose Creek products in over 3,600 stores nationwide.
“We believe the future of fragrance will look different, and that’s why we are investing in new fragrance applications and technologies,” said Jordan Meece, chief marketing officer at Goose Creek. “From smart home devices to laundry care, we believe the Goose Creek brand will continue to be a fragrance leader for decades to come.”
Nicki Johnson, director of the Liberty-Casey County Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the positive impact the company has on the community and looks forward to supporting their future success.
“Goose Creek is a well-loved local business that has invested in our community since its beginning,” Johnson said. “Battling the fire, relocations and expansion, Goose Creek remains steadfast in being an employer that our community embraces, supports and encourages in all their efforts as they grow to serve a global reach for the quality products they produce. The Liberty-Casey County Chamber of Commerce endorses Goose Creek and their groundbreaking for expansion and will to contribute in every way possible to their success.”
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in January 2024 preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with Goose Creek under the Kentucky Business Investment program. That performance-based agreement can provide up to $650,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of at least $3.6 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 160 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 15 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $16.55 including benefits across those jobs.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
In addition, Goose Creek Candles can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives
