LIBERTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A family-owned candle company in Casey County is expanding. Company officials say it will bring 160 new jobs to the area.
Goose Creek Candles will expand its headquarters in Liberty by 85,000 square feet. The company was founded in 1998 and has grown to amass huge sales numbers. According to the company, 10 million people visited their website in 2023 and they sold 33,000 candles per day.
"This is a success story for the Meece family, but it's such an economic boost to the area, so really exciting," said Governor Andy Beshear as he toured the factory to help celebrate the groundbreaking.
What makes the story even more fascinating is that they easily could have given up. On May 18, 2013, a fire devastated the plant. The Meece family, though, immediately committed to rebuilding, and pivoting.
"They made a big switch to ecommerce and that has created the growth. They took a minute, even in the midst of their tragedy and concern and pain, and they thought about what the future would look like, and they made some really good decisions and that's why we're here today," Beshear said.
Goose Creek's chief marketing officer, Jordan Meece, said the expansion will help them ship products from the Liberty facility much faster. He said it would also allow them to focus on new product lines.
Goose Creek now has six manufacturing plants across the country, sells more than 30,000 candles per day worldwide, and has a deal with Walmart that puts them in more than 3,600 stores.
