NFIB Georgia Member Profile: Arylessence

Date: April 14, 2015

Steve Tanner, owner of Arylessence, talks about how he started his business.

How did you start Arylessence?

Arylessence is a manufacturer of flavors and fragrances. We make the components that make up a fragrance, or flavor in dairy products, soft drinks, toothpastes, cooking products, perfumes, candles and so on. Our business is a blend of knowing the trends in the marketplace, whether it’s fashion, home decor or food, and making people love the product. Like most companies in the industry, Arylessence is a small, family-owned business. It was founded by my brother in 1977 and started with three employees. Now we have 120 full-time employees and a 14-acre site with manufacturing and R&D facilities.

What is your favorite part of the workday?

We have a great team here. We’re doing better than the competition because of our people. I enjoy seeing their success and providing better-than-average benefits and quality of life. My daughter, Cynthia, is the executive vice president and my son, Bret, is an engineer and vice president of operations and it’s great working with them. They make a great team.

What challenges do you face?

How much time do you have? Our products are in the consumer arena, so we have to deal with ‘the acronyms’:  the EPA, OSHA, ATF, ACA. Costs have gone up this year for our healthcare. We have to pay more and our employees have to pay more. It would be very difficult to start our business today the way we did in 1977.

Why did you join NFIB and what do you like about it as a member?

We’re too small to have our own lobbyist for state or national issues. We value the contacts we have from NFIB and the opportunity to talk to legislators who have an impact. Strength in numbers, that’s why NFIB is so important.

Related Content: Small Business News | Georgia | Healthcare

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