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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Scent-Sations began as a candle manufacturer in &#8220;a little closet&#8221; on Parrish Street in 2001, according to CEO Bob Scocozzo.</p><p>The company now ships its signature Mia Bella scented candles around the globe, recently beginning to sell its candles in such places as the U.K., Slovakia, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Sweden and Canada.</p><p>&#8220;If Yankee candles are there, we want to be there,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We are to Yankee Candles what Burger King is to McDonald&#8217;s.&#8221;</p><p>Scent-Sations, which moved to George Avenue in the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre in 2004, provides more than 100 scents, including ones developed specifically for the countries they are shipped to.</p><p>&#8220;In Slovakia, it&#8217;s &#8216;herbal spa.&#8217; In the U.K., it&#8217;s &#8216;Japanese pear,&#8217;&#8221; Scocozzo said.</p><p>The company also uses a special oil called &#8220;oud&#8221; for candles that ship to Saudi Arabia.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s one that we&#8217;re going to sell here,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The guys in production don&#8217;t seem to like the smell.&#8221;</p><p>Scocozzo, one of business&#8217;s owners, credits the Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance with providing the opportunity to meet distributors from around the world who were interested in his candles.</p><p>&#8220;It was a free service to me and of great benefit to our company,&#8221; he said</p><p>The chance to expand presented itself about 18 months ago, Scocozzo said, and it has since taken off.</p><p>He especially relishes the comments of his Saudi Arabia distributor.</p><p>&#8220;If it&#8217;s not Mia Bella, it&#8217;s just not the best,&#8221; his distributor said.</p><p>And Scocozzo agrees.</p><p>He cites the placement of oil throughout the whole candle, the high quality of wax and careful finishing of each candle as reasons why the candles have been so well received.</p><p>Scocozzo works closely with his son, Michael, and his daughter, Mia Bella, for whom the operation is named.</p><p>&#8220;Michael is in charge of production, and Mia runs our Instagram. She won&#8217;t even let me get on,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Scocozzo said he can foresee the business establishing a warehouse and partnering with other entities to make the company&#8217;s product even more readily available to the international market.</p><p>&#8220;Right now shipping is a significant cost,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If we could establish such a warehouse, maybe not tomorrow, in a strategic point in our global market, we can get our product out to more people, more quickly.&#8221;</p><p> Scocozzo said he gets personal satisfaction from providing opportunity for distributors &#8212; both local and global &#8212; to benefit from selling a quality product.</p><p>&#8220;The first thing I do when I get home, is light a candle,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Lisa Lucinski, head customer service representative at Scent-Sations in Wilkes-Barre, poses with the candles the company makes. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_miabellacandles01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Lisa Lucinski, head customer service representative at Scent-Sations in Wilkes-Barre, poses with the candles the company makes. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_miabellacandles02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Robert Scocozzo is CEO of Scent-Sation Inc, which makes Mia Bella scented candles. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_miabellacandles02.jpg</photo1><caption1>Robert Scocozzo is CEO of Scent-Sation Inc, which makes Mia Bella scented candles. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_miabellacandles03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scocozzo checks one of the Mia Bella candles. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_miabellacandles03.jpg</photo2><caption2>Scocozzo checks one of the Mia Bella candles. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mia Bella candles starting to ship overseas