In the Roering house, the coffee table is full of candles. Katie Roering starts counting.
“We have one, two, three, four.” She continues until all are counted. “We have 10, 11 candles on our coffee table.”
Katie and Eric Roering founded Fontana Candle Company from their Mt. Joy home. Working through loss and grief, they learned the intricacies of running a successful business devoted to healthy lifestyles. Their clean-burning, wooden-wicked candles are attracting devoted customers eager to beautify their lives without the toxicity of conventional candles.
Fontana Candles were born in January 2018, after Katie and Eric burned a gifted candle, only to get splitting headaches. Eric was curious. He had learned an attitude of “just get the ingredients and start blending and see what happens” from his handyman-type dad, so he delved into researching and experimenting.
Photography by April & Mike Raymond Photography
After trying perhaps 150 variations, they settled on the blend that makes all the difference. Conventional candles employ paraffin and chemically derived scents. Even “all natural” soy candles often hide petroleum-derived additives.
The Fontana Candle blend of beeswax and coconut oil holds scents—pure beeswax does not—and creates an even burn. The essential oil-derived scent is light. Choices in essential oils are limited by nature herself, so customers can find a summery mint and lime or wintry Fraser fir, but there’s no pumpkin spice candle in the lineup, because pumpkins don’t provide essential oils.
“It’s one of my favorite scents, so I’m disappointed,” admits Eric (although the cinnamon orange clove candle offers a crisp hint of fall).
In the beginning, making candles was a hobby, but when friends and family enjoyed their Christmas gifts, the lightbulb went off.
1 of 3
Jeff + Liz Co.
2 of 3
Jeff + Liz Co.
3 of 3
Jeff + Liz Co.
Katie’s first business venture was a dog day care and training center. One day, she went with family to the Lancaster Polo Club grounds in Lititz. She approached a man there with his cockapoo puppy, Stella, to tell him about her business, and they hit it off. He enrolled Stella in puppy classes. Did he sign up for the dog, or for himself?
“Maybe a little of both,” Eric says now.
Eric also had a sound business background, working in accounting and procurement for major cocoa and chocolate corporations before joining a friend’s startup beverage business. Later, he returned to corporate procurement, in a job he still holds, even as his free time goes to candle-making.
Katie provided marketing expertise and a laser-like focus on the customer. Digital marketing has built a strong following on Instagram and Pinterest. Collaborations with like-minded brands are reaching and educating audiences ready to live toxin-free.
Early in the business, Katie’s semi-retired dad, Francis “Chip” Errigo, was omnipresent.
1 of 3
Jeff + Liz Co.
2 of 3
Jeff + Liz Co.
3 of 3
Jeff + Liz Co.
“From pouring candles to delivering to our wholesale accounts in Lancaster, you knew he would do it for us,” says Katie. His unexpected death from leukemia in January 2019 plunged the family into shock, but the business persevered. Katie’s mom, Judy Errigo, moved in with the Roerings and now provides the constant support that her dad once provided.
In Chip’s honor, the company donates often to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Katie and Eric each contribute unique talents to the enterprise, and both stubbornly protect their realms. She dreams big—for instance, pursuing the process to become the first certified nontoxic candle on the market. He protects the company purse.
“That’s the fun part,” says Eric. “We have very spirited debates. Certification is very expensive. She keeps pushing and pushing, and I say, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ She doesn’t give up. So we allocate budget dollars. Cut some expenses. I think it’s helpful that we’re not shy of each other.”
Eric knows that he still has a lot to learn, especially navigating the differences between billion-dollar companies and small businesses. The process is both scary and empowering.
“This is 100 percent ours, so we can do what we see fit,” says Eric.
Katie now realizes that she once doubted herself too much. She doesn’t love public speaking, for instance, but she pushes beyond her comfort zone and has even recorded a podcast.
“I’ve learned I am capable of way more than I think I am,” she says. “It’s helped me build my confidence as a leader and an entrepreneur. It keeps pushing me to grow as a person.”
Fontana Candle Company
fontanacandlecompany.com | @FontanaCandleCompany
Photography: Jeff + Liz Co. | jeffandliz.co | @jeffandliz.co
