What’s in a bottle? Well, at Perfect Oil, it would be scents with the names Cotton Candy or Lemon Cupcake, or that which by any other name would smell as sweet. Perfect Oil sells about 100 different scents of home fragrance oils and a selection of essential and body oils and accessories. “We have all of the traditional fragrances, including a huge variety of florals, fruits, spices and clean, fresh fragrances,” said founder Nick Landolfa. Perfect Oil also develops new and unusual fragrances: Strawberry Shortcake, Grandma’s Kitchen and even an offering called Fruit Loops, based on the popular breakfast cereal. 

Landolfa started his concept in 1990 as a way to earn extra money. He sold a selection of oils at local flea markets on a part-time basis for nearly a decade before finally deciding to leave his job as an auditor and sell oils as a full-time business. In 1999 he opened a Perfect Oil kiosk at Festival Marketplace, in Pompano Beach, Fla. He has since begun operating three mall stores in Southeast Florida. He opened his first at the Mall at Wellington Green, in Wellington, in November 2010. More recently, he opened a store at Palm Beach Outlets, in West Palm Beach, in April 2016, and then he moved from a kiosk to an in-line space at Coral Square Mall, in Coral Springs, in March. 

Landolfa makes it a point to lease a space larger than actually needed, to help create an open, airy environment that is not jammed with product. “We want customers to feel very comfortable when they come into our stores,” he said. The mall stores range from 1,600 to 2,000 square feet. 

The shops sell what the company calls “synergy” blends of essential oils that help relieve stress, promote relaxation and boost energy. The staff people concentrate on educating customers on the properties of essential oils, and they prefer an approach that encourages shoppers to try different fragrances, rather than making an aggressive sales push, Landolfa says. 

And Landolfa anticipates continued growth. The company is fielding inquiries on a weekly basis about franchising opportunities, he says, as well as monthly inquiries from landlords interested in having a Perfect Oil store at their shopping centers. Perfect Oil is likely to follow a path of slow, controlled growth, its founder says. “We love what we do, and
we want to maintain the quality,” Landolfa said. “We don’t want to grow so fast that we overexpand just to
make money.” n