Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Your favorite nostalgic mall fragrance store, Bath & Body Works, is not feeling the holiday spirit just yet. The retailer, known for its often potent fall and Christmas candles, had to pull its Snowed In candle this week because of some bad graphics. The candle was supposed to be wrapped in a festive red covering with a picture of a snowflake, but it didn’t look like the angelic, crystalline white flakes we normally associate with winter-inspired packaging. Instead, to some, the snowflakes looked like KKK hoods.
Photo: Bath & Body Works
The candle quickly went viral on social media. On Wednesday, a Reddit user posted an image of the candle, asking, “I know it’s one of those paper snowflakes, but I can’t be the only one who sees ‘it,’ right …. RIGHT??” The commenters all agreed. One user on X said, “wait, how the fuck did nobody at bath & body works clock the klandle.” This design surely made it past many people but somehow landed on shelves. Less than 48 hours later, the candle was pulled from the site and all stores and the company issued an apology. In a statement provided to the Cut, a Bath & Body Works spokesperson said, “At Bath & Body Works, we are committed to listening to our teams and customers, and committed to fixing any mistakes we make — even those that are unintentional like this one. We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are swiftly working to have this item removed and evaluating our process going forward.”
This isn’t the first time the retailer has been under fire for poor packaging. In 2022, it went viral for a Black History Month collection featuring its signature home fragrances and body care with kente-cloth-like packaging. Looks like the art department needs some new direction.
