Candle Businesses Face Hurdles With Fragrance Price-Fixing Cases

Several American candle makers face rigorous legal standards as they try to seize on the regulatory troubles of global fragrance suppliers by filing their own follow-on lawsuits.

European authorities are investigating four of the largest suppliers of scents and ingredients—Givaudan SA, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), Symrise AG, and Firmenich International SA—to see if they colluded on prices. The investigations, which also involve US authorities, have prompted the candle businesses to file lawsuits with claims that they were forced to pay artificially high prices for fragrances used in their products.

But lawsuits that follow investigations without ...