It's an interesting concept: wickless scented candles that don't use flame, but rather melt from the heat of a 25-watt bulb in a decorative candle warmer. Even without a salesperson's insistence that "scents bring people together," you might be inclined to make a purchase, just to see what all the fuss is about.

This reaction is largely responsible for Meridian company Scentsy's explosive growth.

Four years ago, Scentsy operated in a 40-foot, air-conditioned ocean-freight container on a sheep farm. In five years, it has grown more than 300 percent annually. Its revenue was $109 million in the year that ended June 30.

But you won't find Scentsy candles in stores. Scentsy is what is known as a direct-selling company, whose salespeople make direct contact with consumers to sell the product.

Scentsy is one of three Idaho direct-selling companies to be honored this year by the Direct Sale Association, a national trade association that gives just five awards annually. The other Idaho winners are Oxyfresh, a Coeur d'Alene company that sells personal hygiene and wellness products, and ServiceQuest, an Idaho Falls company that consults for direct-sale companies to help them grow.

"It's amazing that most of our awards went to Idaho this year," said Neil Offen, the association's president. "We have member companies all over the United States, so the competition was fierce."

These are good times for companies like Scentsy. Direct-selling companies often see an upswing during times of recession, Offen said. People facing reduced hours or who are simply out of work see direct sales as a way to keep afloat.

"The higher the unemployment rate, the more people get involved in direct selling," Offen said. "Direct selling provides primarily part-time supplemental income. What better time to get started than in a recession?"

SCENTSY: GREAT SMELLS FROM A SHEEP FARM

For those who have ever managed to burn themselves with hot candle wax, a flameless wax melter that produces a candle's aroma may sound pretty good. And with 35,000 independent Scentsy consultants across the United States, odds are good that you'll be able to pick one up without too much difficulty.

"Bottom line is we've got a great product," said John Curtis, director of public relations. "It's very safe and good for the environment. People love it."

Scentsy's decorative warmers resemble small flowerpots or vases. Wax is placed in a tray on top of the warmer, and a 25-watt light bulb inside melts it. The melting fills the room with aromas like Pumpkin Roll (from Scentsy's line of bakery-themed scents) or Twilight (from the Romance line), combining florals with fresh ocean scents. The warmers come in a variety of styles and designs and cost $30. The scented wax comes in either $5 bars or $20 bricks. Scentsy offers 80 scents.

Scentsy runs on a party-plan model, like Mary Kay and The Pampered Chef. The independent consultants host parties where customers can test the scents and place orders.

"It gives me an excuse to be social," said Danette Kroll, assistant principal at Frontier Elementary School in West Boise and a Scentsy consultant. Kroll got involved with Scentsy after she made what she described as an "obligatory" purchase from Frontier's bookkeeper.

"I bought it without seeing or smelling it," Kroll said. "I liked it so much and was so fascinated by the product that I went online to find out how I could get more involved."

Kroll soon found herself hosting parties with a Scentsy starter kit.

"At first I just wanted to earn some extra cash for a car payment," Kroll said. "But six months later, I had paid off my car completely, and I decided to keep going."

By 2004, Orville Thompson, Scentsy's president and CEO, had found himself in dire straits. He and his wife, Heidi, had been running an unsuccessful business setting up booths at trade shows and selling specialty products. At a trade show in Salt Lake City, Thompson met the original founders of Scentsy, Colette Gunnell and Kara Egan. They had a booth across from his. He was immediately intrigued and bought the company shortly after.

Thompson took over the company in May 2004.

"We didn't have money," said Thompson. "We didn't have investors. We didn't have bank loans, and we didn't have the power to get any of it because of our financial situation."

Thompson described the next few steps as "bootstrapping," or working with what was on hand. And what Thompson and his wife had on hand was a 40-foot ocean container and a sheep farm. Despite this, they set to work.

Scentsy isn't the only wickless candle maker, but it is now one of the largest and best known.

"There's no reason why you should go into business unless you're going to be industry leading," Thompson said. "I thought that the product had the legs to take us there."

Thompson keeps a poster in his office bearing a quote from Einstein: "Try not to become a man of success. Rather, become a man of value. A successful man takes out of life more than he puts in. A man of value will give more than he receives."

"I got that poster when I was 16," said Thompson, who is now 40. "It became a personal philosophy of mine that I had forgotten for a lot of years. I was incredibly humbled by the struggles that my other business went through. I realized that for me to get what I need, I had to create a greater amount of good in society."

Thompson put this philosophy to practice when Scentsy pumped $100,000 into local businesses for its fifth anniversary celebration. On July 18, Scentsy gave nearly 1,000 employees and suppliers and their family members $50 gift cards to 40 locally owned Treasure Valley businesses as a reward for service. They proceeded in groups of 50 to each business, spending a total $2,500 at each business.

Thompson sees plenty of room for growth.

"One of the things I'm careful about doing is not outrunning our headlights," said Thompson. "Where we're going to be in five years is a difficult thing to define. I see our growth rate continuing, maybe slowing down a little bit depending on the economy. I think we're going to fill the United States. We're going to be an iconic direct-selling company. We're going to have sales on more than one continent."

Scentsy's consultants are concentrated in Idaho and Utah, though there are consultants across the United States. Because it is a multilevel marketing company, consultants receive bonuses for signing new consultants, adding further incentive to growth.

OXYFRESH: FROM TOOTHPASTE TO JOINT REMEDY AND MORE

Oxyfresh was started in 1984 as a dental product company by Richard Brooke and Randy Anderson, two veterans of the direct-selling industry. The Coeur d'Alene company has expanded to produce nutritional supplements, weight-loss products and pet products. It now boasts more than 10,000 distributors in a dozen countries.

"Our pet line is our second-biggest seller, behind dental," said Marketing Projects Manager Keith Erickson. "Our stress-relief products are also becoming very popular."

Oxyfresh says its products are becoming more popular everywhere they're sold, though it declined to disclose its revenues.

"One of the stranger things about Oxyfresh is how popular it is in the Middle East," Erickson said. "We have distributors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates."

SERVICEQUEST: THE POWER BEHIND THE CHEERY SALESPERSON

ServiceQuest is not a direct-selling company, but consults for many such companies on how to retain customers and succeed with party-plan operations.

"We think of ourselves as a coaching firm," said Terrel Transtrum, the founder and CEO, who is a Blackfoot native and a University of Idaho law graduate. "We help companies on a service level, with our real focus in helping people cope with growth."

ServiceQuest has worked with hundreds of companies across the United States, though it hasn't consulted with either Scentsy or Oxyfresh.

ServiceQuest also reports a rise in activity as the number of direct-selling startups increases. It declined to share its revenues.

"During down times, companies are trying very hard to retain business," Transtrum said. "We do a lot of customer retention work, so we're getting a lot of people asking us for help."