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Hispanics have long lighted them for loved ones and for luck. But devotional candles are increasingly kindled by anyone with a wish or a prayer, and as a result, they are a lucrative and growing niche in the $2 billion candle market in the United States. “The reason why these kinds of candles fly off the shelf is they have a job to do,” said Neil Foley, professor of Hispanic history and culture at the University of Texas, Austin. “You find marijuana in your daughter’s drawer, a bill is due, your son is arrested – you burn a candle to your favorite saint to help you out.” Devotional candles not only illuminate home altars and shrines; they also have become an integral part of makeshift memorials for missing children, victims of violent crimes and soldiers killed in Iraq. Especially during uncertain economic times, Foley said, “desperate people – whether they are Hispanic, Anglo, African-American, Catholics, Pentecostals, Jewish or Buddhists – burn candles because it can’t hurt and – who knows? – it might help.” AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORECoach Doc Rivers a “fan” from way back of Jazz’s Jordan ClarksonThe candles, also known as prayer, novena and semana candles, burn at any time of year in many households, but they are especially popular near the holidays. Manufacturers say sales have increased 15 to 20 percent annually since 2002. Mary Flood Nugent, a mother of six and a community activist in Houston, has several devotional candles burning in her fireplace, with images of St. Jude or the Sacred Heart printed on their glass containers. “I have a lovely salmon-pink one going now for my friend who is starting treatment for breast cancer,” Nugent said. There are only a handful of manufacturers of prayer candles, including several in California – Bright Glow in Pomona, the Continental Candle Company in Compton and Indio Products of Rancho Dominguez – and, in Texas, the Reed Candle Co. of San Antonio, serving what they estimated as a market of $100 million to $300 million. Many of the businesses, mostly family-owned and Hispanic, report rebuffing recent buyout offers. “I get approached every week about selling,” said Sister Schodts Reed, president and chief executive of the Reed Candle Co. The company, founded by her father-in-law in 1937, reported sales of $24 million last year. The origin of devotional candles is a matter of some dispute. Reed said her father-in-law, Peter Doan Reed, was the inventor, coming up with the idea of filling a decorated glass with enough wax to burn for seven days, longer than small votives. With pictures of saints printed on the containers, “the candles were intended as an extension of people’s prayers,” she said. Others in the industry, however, credit an unnamed monk in Germany with the idea or say that devotional candles evolved from wax-filled milk bottles. The newest entrant to the market – St. Jude Candle Co. in Houston – was financed by a group of private investors and began production in March. “We see it as an underserved sector with a tremendous potential for growth,” said William A. Grimsley, the company’s president and chief financial officer. He has helped start or turn around several companies, including Arena Brands, which makes Lucchese boots and Stetson hats. St. Jude has already taken market share from its competitors, he said, by signing several deals with regional grocery stores and grocery distributors including Associated Wholesale Grocers. Prayer candles in containers with pictures of saints or claims to bring love, luck or money are distributed primarily through Wal-Mart and other chain grocery and discount stores. They are also sold through many independently owned religious stores or botanicas that sell herbs and ointments as well as candles. “The majority of our business is candles,” said Donna Escamilla, manager of Stanley Drugs, a onetime drugstore and now a busy botanica in Houston. “The most popular ones are for love, to cause a breakup or for protection against your enemies.” Botanicas often coat prayer candles with special oils and herbs for extra potency. The price of such dressed candles is $12 to $25, far higher than candles found on grocery store shelves, which cost $1 to $5, depending on the sophistication of the pictures, whether they are scented and how long they will burn. “We focus on botanicas and religious stores because the profit margins are much higher,” said Martin Mayer, president of Indio Products, which he said had nationwide sales last year totaling $12 million. One of his company’s best-sellers is a candle depicting Jesus Malverde, a Mexican folk hero known as the narco saint and thought to protect drug smugglers. While margins are slimmer for candles sold at grocery stores, the other major makers of prayer candles said supplying these stores is nonetheless lucrative. Though none would disclose profits, they said they were doing well despite the rising price of wax, which is made from petroleum. “Religious candles are the No. 1 turning category, outselling everything else we offer,” said Kirk Zehnder, a spokesman for Mercado Latino, which distributes Hispanic grocery items to stores including Wal-Mart and Albertsons. To meet the demand, Mercado Latino acquired Continental Candle in 1991 and transformed it from a struggling supplier of candles to the restaurant industry into a maker of devotional candles, with annual sales exceeding $20 million. People who buy devotional candles tend to buy them as routinely as milk and toilet paper. “They are a staple,” said Reed of Reed Candle. In keeping with the eternal-flame concept and Hispanic cultural tradition, many people light a replacement before any candle goes out on their home altars, said Foley at the University of Texas. Most altars have several candles burning that need replacing every five to seven days, Zehnder said: “You do the math; it’s a lot of candles.”160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! read more