We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Devin Sawyers and Max Webb a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Devin and Max, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

When we set out to create a better air freshener, we knew we had to set ourselves apart–not only in terms of quality but also in design. It wasn’t enough for us to simply make a premium air freshener that lasted. We wanted people to actually want to keep the air freshener in their vehicle long after the scent faded away.

When we started burning designs onto the air fresheners–which was an entirely new concept altogether–we had no idea how that would impact the future of our product. Once we started vending the product at our carwash, we realized that some customers were actually buying the air freshener JUST for the design. Once we realized that, we started working hard on creating funnier, more elaborate designs. We figured if we could get someone to purchase the product based on the design alone, we could keep them as a customer once they figured out our product wasn’t merely a novelty item. Yes, the designs can be funny but the premium scents are what keep people coming back.

Devin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Scentister began when we owned and operated a self-service carwash in the small town of Canyon, Texas. We sold a major brand of air freshener out of the vending machine there. Once we started using those products in our own vehicles, we realized how awful they actually were. The scents didn’t last very long and the fragrances smelled cheap. Not only that, but the amount of questionable chemicals like phthalates in the products concerned us as well. Even after looking at the more expensive brands, we realized that ALL of the air fresheners options out there were basically the same. Like they say, “if you want something done right, do it yourself.” So we began our journey to a better air freshener.

We started researching how to make vehicle fresheners that were made with premium ingredients instead of cheap chemicals like our competitors. It was a long road of testing not only what ingredients worked but also what materials held scent the best. It took us a while but once we figured all of that out, we then had to come up with our name and logo. We knew immediately that we wanted to be the antithesis of the cutesy, butterfly-laden merchandise out there. Once we had a friend of ours draw out the logo with the cowboy sheriff, the name “Scentister” came to us. The rest, as they say, is history.

We’re extremely proud to give people the option of purchasing a better all-around air freshener made with premium ingredients. We’ve had a lot of customers tell us that every other air freshener they’ve used gave them headaches but ours doesn’t. It’s always so rewarding to hear people talk positively about the quality of the product we’ve worked so hard to make. Since we actually use our products in our vehicles, that focus on quality and safety is extremely important to us. Our motto has always been: we want your vehicle to smell better without killing you.

Have you ever had to pivot?

After careful deliberation, we made a major life change and sold the carwash in Canyon, TX in April of 2021. We felt we had achieved everything we set out to do with that business in the 11 years we had it, so it was time for something else. While we knew we wanted to keep Scentister alive, we had no idea what we were going to do in addition to that.

An opportunity to purchase a building in West Virginia arose in less than three months after we sold the carwash. (Having grown up in West Virginia, this was close to home for me.) This building not only had functioning businesses already in it, it also had an available space for a potential Scentister storefront.

We purchased the building in September of 2021 and moved all of our Scentister operations as well. Now we’re working on opening our very first Scentister store in the Spring of 2023. Our focus is to support the local community by selling nothing but locally-made products along with our air fresheners.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

When we first started in Canyon, TX, we had no idea just how much our manufacturing process would evolve over time. We started out making our air fresheners in a small room in a dilapidated shop building. The building had no source of heating or cooling so there were times we were working in less-than-desirable conditions. However, these trying times gave us the opportunity to figure out what worked and what didn’t in regards to our product. It also helped us to streamline the process before customers really started to hear about us. In hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.

Now we manufacture our air fresheners here in Beckley, West Virginia. From the designs of the air fresheners to the label designs, we do everything on our own. We hand-measure the oils, tie the strings, bag and label, and finally heat-seal the air fresheners–all by hand. It’s definitely a process but we believe it’s a true commitment to the quality of product we always set out to create. We absolutely refuse to skimp on quality.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.scentister.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/scentister
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/scentister