Summer Scent Manufacturing ventures into government arena, adds product line

Lance and Wendy Renfrow purchased Summer Scent in 2006 from Scott and Angie McDonald with the help of a $120,000 loan guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The company got its start solely manufacturing products for Nixa-based Country Bunny Bath & Body, now known as Jordan Essentials.

And while Wendy Renfrow estimates that Summer Scent still manufactures between 70 percent and 80 percent of its products for Jordan Essentials, she said diversification efforts are under way.

Summer Scent recently became a registered government vendor, and the Renfrows are now learning the ropes of bidding on job opportunities and marketing to government purchasers.

“We want to be able to sell bar soaps and hand soaps, body and hair shampoo, lotions and things of that nature to the Federal Medical Prison, veterans’ hospitals, nursing (and military bases),” Wendy Renfrow said.

In addition to Jordan Essentials products, Summer Scent also is manufacturing lotion and lip balm for Pleasant Valley-based Dead Down Wind, Lance Renfrow said. Dead Down Wind sells odor-masking products for hunters through retailers including Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s.

Renfrow, who began working at Summer Scent in 2002, said his company also makes lotions and creams for Lead Hill, Ark., based Beelieve Co. A key ingredient in those products is honey, which comes from Beelieve owner Dianne Thompson’s five beehives.

Thompson said she’s worked with Summer Scent since opening her company about three years ago. She said she trusts Lance Renfrow’s expertise on bath and body products because of his years of experience, and she values the couple’s willingness to experiment with her on products.

“They’ve always been so willing to do whatever (I need), and they’ll hardly say no to anything,” Thompson said of the Renfrows, whom she described as a “hard-working young couple.”

Beelieve, which is about an hour and a half from Summer Scent, combines its products and labeling “to offer God’s word for everyday living,” Thompson said, noting that she’s eyeing significant growth, but she’s unsure of the timeline.

“We’re in 30 states now,” Thompson said. “I’d like to hit all 50 this year, but with the economy a little slow, I don’t know if we’re going to make it.”

A brand of their own

The Renfrows are just getting started on their own product line, R Bath and Body.

“It’s similar (to what) we do for Jordan or the Beelieve Co., but they’re not exactly the same formulas,” Lance Renfrow said of the line, which includes sugar scrub, hand and body lotion, and candles.

“We hope to add a new product or two every six months or so,” Wendy Renfrow added. The Renfrows don’t plan to open a retail site for R Bath and Body. The products are available online at www.rbathandbody.com, and they’re also sold wholesale to vendor retailers, including Staxx Apparel, 331 South Ave., and Bag Lady Boutique, 1111 E. Republic Road.

Summer Scent will soon launch a recycling program for R Bath and Body products, Wendy Renfrow said.

“We put our bubble bath in glass bottles, and we don’t want people throwing all those things away,” she said.

International reach

Summer Scent also manufactures bath and body products for Nixa-based Mostly Memories, and that relationship will soon extend Summer Scent’s reach into Japan.

“We’re working on a pretty significant order to export to Japan,” Renfrow said.

Mostly Memories Vice President Jaime Jarvis said the Japanese retailer, whose name she wouldn’t disclose, learned about Mostly Memories at Atlanta Gift Mart, which she described as the “international hub for the gift industry.”

While Jarvis declined to discuss the size of the order that will be exported, she said, “They are buying personal care products and candles to distribute in Japan.”

She noted that that the products will be custom-labeled for the Japanese company, which is sending a representative to Mostly Memories’ facility this month.

Poised for growth

Summer Scent posted $285,000 in 2007 revenues, and the Renfrows are estimating 2008 revenues of $625,000.

To keep up with anticipated demand, the Renfrows are using a $200,000 SBA-backed loan to add equipment that will boost Summer Scent’s manufacturing capacity and add manufacturing lines for new products such as scented talcum powders and foot powders.

“We currently do a melt-and-pour glycerin-based type of soap,” Lance Renfrow said.

New equipment will enable the company to create cold-process bar soaps, which will mean more soap more quickly.

“Basically, we’ll be able to manufacture about 40,000 bars a day, rather than about 2,000 bars a day,” he said.

The equipment is coming from an undisclosed area operation, and Renfrow said Summer Scent plans to hire that company’s two full-time employees.

His parents, Pete and Debbie Renfrow, who are part of Summer Scent’s current staff of seven, are in the process of buying into the company.[[In-content Ad]]