New York

In Woodstock, N.Y., a second-generation business owner is using Amazon’s AI tools to transform his family’s 55-year-old candle shop into a national brand.

Candlestock, known locally for its unique candles and infamous dripping candle mountain, began selling through Amazon in 2013. Under Ben Schachter’s leadership, the business has grown to offer over 700 products in the Amazon store, with sales increasing 92% last year.

While embracing technology to reach customers nationwide, Candlestock maintains its hometown roots with a team of local craftspeople who hand-make the unique candles. The business plans to expand globally while preserving the magical experience that’s made it a Woodstock institution.

In New York’s smallest city, a piece of American manufacturing history endures against the odds. When Oneida Limited, once the world’s largest flatware manufacturer, ended its U.S. operations in 2005, it seemed to signal the end of an era. Like so many other American manufacturers, they couldn’t compete with cheaper overseas production.

But two former executives, Matt Roberts and Greg Owens, weren’t ready to let 150 years of craftsmanship disappear. They purchased the historic factory in Sherrill – known as “The Silver City” – determined to keep American flatware manufacturing alive.

The path wasn’t easy. By 2010, facing bankruptcy amid the financial crisis, they made a decision that would transform their business: launching their brand, Liberty Tabletop, in the Amazon store. Today, with 67 employees and growing sales, they’re proving that American manufacturing can thrive with the right tools and approach.

Most businesses face seasonal ups and downs, but for Lisa-Jae Eggert of 3 Moms Organics, timing is everything. Her East Hampton natural tick repellent company needs to produce its entire spring inventory during winter’s slowest months. With sales doubling year over year, the pressure to fund production intensified.

“Anybody who has a small business knows cashflow is the hardest thing to control,” said Eggert, whose company is tracking 71% growth this year. Through Amazon Pay’s Express Payout, which allows businesses to receive payouts within 24 hours, including weekends, at no additional cost, she’s transformed seasonal constraints into opportunities for expansion. Now, 3 Moms Organics is on track to reach $1 million in sales this year.

Inside Hot Crispy Oil’s new manufacturing facility in Albany, New York, fresh garlic sizzles as workers monitor production lines. John Trimble moves through the facility with practiced efficiency, overseeing a process that now ships thousands of units nationwide through Amazon.

This local favorite, born in Trimble’s family restaurant kitchen, has found enthusiastic fans across the country using Amazon’s suite of business tools, from AI-powered image creation to fulfillment services.

“Amazon’s AI tools are a game-changer for small businesses like ours,” Trimble explained. “They’re intuitive enough that we don’t need specialized expertise, yet they produce professional results that rival major brands.”

Explorer Cold Brew founder Cason Crane is an adventurer at heart. In 2013, he became the first openly gay mountaineer to climb the Seven Summits—where he also discovered his love of coffee. In 2020, he took a new leap, launching a line of cold brew concentrates that let customers control their caffeine.

With support from Amazon seller tools, Crane has scaled his business, built lasting customer relationships, and created a reliable stream of revenue—all of which fuel his mission to give back.

“Our community isn’t just about drinking coffee,” said Crane. “It’s about participating in a movement for more intentional consumption—and creating impact with every cup.”

Noticing that home bartenders lacked access to the same high-quality mixers used by professionals, hospitality veteran April Wachtel launched Cheeky Cocktails—making it easy for cocktail connoisseurs to craft their favorite drinks at home. In 2023, the New York–based entrepreneur brought her brand to the Amazon store, and found a national audience thirsty for her premium, shelf-stable cocktail mixers.

For Brooklyn Delhi founder Chitra Agrawal, a passion for preserving family recipes sparked a blog, a cookbook—and eventually, a multi-million-dollar food brand. She began selling small-batch achaar, a bold Indian condiment, at local markets. To reach a wider audience, she turned to Amazon, using ads to expand her sales—and ultimately her product line.

In 2018, Patrick Jones stood in his fourth-floor Manhattan walk-up, surrounded by DIY candle-making supplies. Living in the crowded city with limited access to nature, he had a simple idea: if you can’t get out to nature, bring nature to you.

“If you had told me in my twenties that I would start a home fragrance business from my tiny Manhattan apartment, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Jones recalled. But what began with a simple candle-making kit evolved into Outdoor Fellow, a growing family-run business now reaching homes across America through his Amazon store.

Nadia Williams had a lifelong dream of owning her own business. Inspired by the idea of providing relief to over-worked women, she created Crafts and the City, a line of self-care products that bring the spa experience directly into the home. Crafts and the City’s SOO JELLY! jelly pedicure packs and aromatherapy shower steamers have become best-sellers, particularly over the holiday season when Williams’ Amazon sales double.

Fulfillment by Amazon has been instrumental in helping Williams manage the rush of seasonal sales, not only ensuring customers receive their goods in time for their gift-giving needs, but also in housing enough inventory to meet all her orders—something Williams says she would be unable to do from her apartment.

For college best friends Tracy Vontélle Green and Nancey Harris, a casual phone conversation about the difficulty of finding a comfortable pair of glasses planted the seed for a new business venture: an inclusive eyewear company dedicated to fitting more face types.

Shortly after launching Vontélle Eyewear in 2020, the friends started to get orders from overseas. To successfully scale overseas, they realized they needed help. They launched in the Amazon store, using Fulfillment by Amazon to reach customers in different regions.

Since launching its Amazon storefront, Vontélle Eyewear’s revenue has doubled year-over-year and entered new markets across Mexico and Canada through Amazon Global Selling. The founders say their ultimate goal is to be the number one eyewear company in the world, which they believe they can achieve with help from Amazon.

As father to a daughter with nut allergies, Baked Cravings CEO Craig Watson saw there was a gap in the market for nut-free baked goods. So when the opportunity for him to open his own bakery in East Harlem presented itself, he jumped on it.

Soon after opening Baked Cravings in 2017, Watson launched a line of cookies and cakes in an Amazon storefront. His nut-free sweets quickly became a hit, not just with consumers but with business buyers who discovered his products on Amazon Business. As a result of the business connections forged on Amazon, Watson’s been able to grow Baked Cravings into a national brand, sold in supermarkets across the country.

Kapuluan owner and CEO Felipe Vasconcelos has a track record of buying and scaling beauty brands. When he acquired the coconut oil-based hair and skincare company in 2019, he used Amazon’s suite of market research and customer data tools to expand its product line and double revenue year-over-year.

After Nancy Kalish promoted her Brooklyn-based baked goods business, Rule Breaker Snacks, on a popular television show, orders for her gluten-free vegan and kosher brownies and blondies exploded with an immediate demand of 10x her normal monthly sales. Luckily, Amazon was there to help.

“Not only did they ship all our Amazon orders in a timely manner, but by using Multi-Channel Fulfillment, we were able to ship orders placed on RuleBreakerSnacks.com just as speedily,” said Kalish, a former health journalist-turned-entrepreneur.

Today, Rule Breaker Snacks products are available in more than 4,000 retailers across the country, with sales expected to triple over the next year.