Asheville Based Artisan Perfumer AURAtherapy Named North Carolina Small Business of The Year in WNC

In a departure from industry norms established over many decades, Asheville based Auratherapy is successfully mainstreaming the use of all natural, vegan, multi-note essential oil blends with the practice of aromatherapy.

• Western Women’s Business Center(WWBC) is proud to celebrate Auratherapy and its cofounder and CEO Laura McCann as their first recipient of the 2019 Small Business of the Year.

Auratherapy is the creator of Mood Boost, Chakra Boosts, and Room Boost collections all of which are hand made in small batches at the company’s Asheville, North Carolina factory.

• Auratherapy’s distributor, Universal Companies, the leading single-source supplier to more than 40,000 spa businesses and wellness professionals credits the demand for natural perfume with Auratherapy’s market acceptance.

• Demand for natural perfume mounts – market research firm The NPD Group estimates sales of prestige natural fragrances climbed 32% last year. According to a recent Fact.MR report, the global fragrance market is expected to reach $70,000 million by 2022, increasing at a CAGR of 6.2% during the period.

“We are providing customers with an innovative and alternative approach to traditional perfume where breath, intention and essential oils come together in expertly formulated multi-note perfume blends to support a sense of well being allowing your inner beauty to shine through," said Laura McCann, co-founder, and CEO of Auratherapy. “We call this “Scent with Intent.”

“Through the ups and downs of building her business, Laura has been able to grow her beauty brand. She demonstrates what a woman small business owner needs daily to protect her passion - the tenacity, and creativity to overcome any challenge that comes her way on the path to success. That is why we are thrilled to celebrate the tenacity, creativity, and success experienced on her journey in small business," said Sharon Oxendine, Director of The Western Women's Business Center.

“We selected Auratherapy as one of our Signature Brands because we believe that the clean perfume category will grow, particularly as more and more women realize that beauty and wellness go hand in hand. The spa and wellness consumer is knowledgeable and sophisticated and expects ingredient transparency, quality, and results. The Auratherapy brand has gone beyond perfume to create an experience around scent that fits into the spa environment, where traditional perfume has always been a challenge. We are investing in an omni-channel strategy with their hero collection of 19 scents and believe the brand will become a leader in the category” said Karen Short, CEO Universal Companies.