The Bath & Body Works Pizza & Ranch candle was designed as a playful stunt, but it quickly became a flashpoint for shopper disgust, social media dares and resale markups. What began as a quirky holiday novelty has turned into a case study in how far consumers are willing to go for a viral scent, and how fast they will turn on a brand when the joke goes too far. As the company confirms there are no plans to bring the candle back, the backlash is still burning online.
The stunt scent that lit up the internet
Food-inspired candles are not new, but few have provoked the visceral reactions triggered by the Pizza & Ranch blend. Bath & Body Works framed the scent as part of a wave of “unexpected” gourmand experiments, leaning into the idea that a living room could smell like a late-night pizza box and a side of dressing rather than the usual vanilla or pine. The concept alone was enough to spark curiosity, with shoppers posting videos of themselves hunting down the candle and daring friends to take a whiff.
That curiosity quickly turned into a full-blown online spectacle as people filmed their first impressions, often gagging or recoiling on camera. Clips of shoppers smelling the Pizza & Ranch candle at Bath & Body Works counters circulated widely, turning the product into a kind of olfactory challenge rather than a straightforward home fragrance. The brand’s decision to push into this territory followed earlier experiments with other bold food scents, as seen in coverage of its broader line of “unexpected” candles that leaned heavily on snack flavors and novelty appeal.
How shoppers actually rated Pizza & Ranch
Despite the flood of disgusted reactions, the Pizza & Ranch candle did not flop outright with everyone who bought it. On the Bath & Body Works website, the product drew 96 posted reviews and landed at an overall 4.1 star rating, a score that would be respectable for any mainstream fragrance. That split suggests a polarizing product rather than a universally hated one, with some customers apparently embracing the oddball mix while others felt physically ill.
The written feedback captured that divide in stark terms. Some reviewers described the scent as “not for everyone but definitely for me,” praising what one YouTube reviewer called “oddball scent creativity” in a market crowded with florals. Others were far less charitable, labeling the candle “gross” and insisting that, while someone clearly liked it, they never wanted to smell it again. The numerical rating, hovering in the low fours, reflects that tension between novelty seekers and traditional fragrance fans who felt the brand had gone too far.
From shelves to sold out, then gone for good
Whatever shoppers thought of the smell, the Pizza & Ranch candle did what limited-edition products are designed to do: it sold out. Coverage of the rollout notes that the candle disappeared from the Bath & Body Works website after its initial run, with no option to add it to cart once the first wave of inventory was snapped up. The scarcity only fueled more social media chatter, as people who had mocked the scent now scrambled to find it in stores or begged friends to track one down before it vanished.
Behind the scenes, the company was already treating Pizza & Ranch as a one-time experiment rather than a permanent addition to its core line. In a statement shared with shoppers asking, “Will Bath & Body Works restock its Pizza & Ranch candle?”, the brand made clear that there were no plans to bring it back. Reporting on the product’s lifecycle notes that the Pizza & Ranch candle will not be restocked, with a company statement obtained by Greta Cross at USA TODAY confirming that the limited run was over even as the online debate raged on.
“You deserve to smell it”: social media disgust goes viral
The most vivid reactions to Pizza & Ranch played out on TikTok and Instagram, where users treated the candle like a dare. In one widely shared clip, a worker explains that a colleague brought the pizza and ranch Bath and Body Works candle into the office so everyone could experience it, declaring that viewers “deserve to smell it” too as they react in horror to the scent. That video, posted as an Instagram reel, captures the mix of fascination and revulsion that turned the candle into a workplace sideshow rather than a cozy home accessory.
Other posts were even more blunt. One Instagram user warned followers that if they wanted to experience “the absolute most disgusting odor ever,” they should rush to Bath and Body Works and smell this Pizza candle, framing the trip as a kind of masochistic field test. Another creator filmed themselves gagging after a friend named Sophia insisted they smell the candle at Bath and Body Works, with their eyes watering on camera as they begged viewers not to repeat the experiment. The tone across these clips was consistent: the candle had become less a product to enjoy and more a punchline to share.
Fans, haters and the split verdict on “oddball” scents
For all the disgust, Pizza & Ranch did find defenders who saw it as a bold creative swing. In a detailed video review, one candle enthusiast described the scent as part of a broader wave of Bath & Body Works Holiday experimentation, calling it “not for everyone but definitely for me” and praising the brand for trying something beyond its usual florals. That perspective framed the candle as a collectible oddity, the kind of thing a dedicated fan might burn once for the novelty and then keep on a shelf as a conversation starter.
Yet even some seasoned shoppers who normally embrace offbeat fragrances drew the line at this particular blend. One Instagram reviewer admitted they were surprised the candle had not sold out during a major promotion, explaining in a short reel that they simply “did not like it yall” despite expecting demand to be higher. On Reddit, one shopper went further, titling a post “Pizza & Ranch is a HATE CRIME” and writing that the candle was “Absolutely dreadful” after watching another customer recoil in the store. The split verdict underscores how polarizing food-forward scents can be when they lean too literally into their inspiration.
Pizza & Ranch and the snack-scent trend
The controversy around Pizza & Ranch did not emerge in a vacuum. Bath & Body Works has been steadily expanding its lineup of food-inspired candles, courting snack lovers with fragrances that read more like menu items than traditional perfume notes. Coverage of the brand’s seasonal launches highlights a trio of bold offerings that sparked a wider scent debate, with Bath & Body Works promoting candles that smelled like everything from savory appetizers to sugary desserts.
Critics argue that the company has pushed the concept too far, especially when savory notes dominate. One analysis of the trend points to the Chips & Salsa candle, which, according to the Bath & Body Works website, features fragrance notes of “bottomless tortilla chips and fresh salsa”. The commentary notes that while those descriptions sound tasty on a plate, they can be jarring when pumped into a living room for hours at a time. Pizza & Ranch, with its mix of tomato, cheese and creamy dressing, became the lightning rod for that broader unease about turning snack foods into ambient air.
“Whomstsoever created the pizza and ranch Candle…”: the meme-ification
As the backlash intensified, the language around Pizza & Ranch grew more theatrical. One Instagram post, reacting to the viral scent, declared that “Whomstsoever created the pizza and ranch Candle at Bath & Body works needs professional help and should be tranquilized”, a hyperbolic line that was quickly screenshotted and shared across platforms. The exaggerated phrasing turned the product into a meme, with users riffing on the idea that the candle was not just a bad smell but an almost criminal offense against noses everywhere.
Other creators leaned into the dare aspect, filming themselves marching into stores and announcing, “I finally did it,” before smelling the Bath & Body Works Pizza & Ranch candle and immediately regretting it. The repetition of these formats, from “you deserve to smell it” to “I finally did it,” shows how the candle became a shared cultural script. People were not just reacting to a product, they were participating in a collective bit, using the same beats and punchlines to signal that they were in on the joke.
From store shelves to resale listings
Once Bath & Body Works confirmed that Pizza & Ranch would not return, the secondary market stepped in. Collectors and curious shoppers who missed the initial run began scouring resale platforms for remaining stock, treating the candle as a limited artifact of a very specific moment in scent culture. Listings appeared on marketplaces like eBay, where one Pizza & Ranch candle was offered to buyers willing to pay a premium for the chance to own, or simply smell, the notorious blend.
This pattern is familiar to longtime fans of the brand, who have watched other controversial or short-lived products gain a second life online. A separate incident involving a different Bath & Body Works candle, Snowed In, showed how quickly pulled items can migrate to resale sites. After concerns that the Snowed In design resembled a KKK hood, the company removed it from stores, yet Despite pulling the Snowed In candle off the market, some online orders were still filled and the product surfaced on eBay at prices far above the usual cost for the retailer’s three-wick candles. Pizza & Ranch, while controversial for its smell rather than its appearance, is now following a similar trajectory as a niche collectible.
What Pizza & Ranch reveals about Bath & Body Works’ risk-taking
The saga of Pizza & Ranch highlights the tightrope Bath & Body Works walks as it tries to keep longtime fans engaged while chasing viral moments. On one hand, the candle delivered exactly what a stunt product is supposed to: massive online attention, a flurry of in-store visits and a sold-out run that will be remembered long after more conventional scents fade from memory. On the other, the intensity of the disgust, from shoppers calling it the “absolute most disgusting odor ever” to Reddit users labeling it “Absolutely dreadful,” raises questions about how much brand equity a company should risk for a few weeks of meme-driven buzz.
For now, the official line is clear. Reporting on the product’s fate notes that the Pizza & Ranch candle will not be restocked, with a company statement confirming that the experiment has run its course even as social media continues to chew over the fallout. The episode sits alongside other recent controversies, from the Snowed In design to the broader debate over snack-scented candles like Chips & Salsa, as a reminder that not every clever idea on paper translates into something people want to smell in their homes. For a brand built on comfort and nostalgia, the Pizza & Ranch candle shows just how quickly a playful experiment can curdle into a cautionary tale.
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