The Aroma Labs: Blending Connection, Creativity, and Growth from Kalamazoo to Detroit
When Tanya Thompson lost her husband in 2009, she was left grieving and raising two young daughters on her own. She didn’t have a plan, but she had her hands.
“To get out of my head, I got into my hands,” Tanya says. “We started making things — lotions, scrubs, bath bombs. And my daughters could do it with me.”
She gave away her creations to teachers, bus drivers, and friends. The reactions were strong and encouraging. People loved them. So she invited them over. “We’d make stuff together in my kitchen. I love what happens between humans when they make something together,” she says. “It’s a transaction you can’t take back.”
From that basement hobby and healing ritual, The Aroma Labs was born. Today, the business has expanded far beyond Kalamazoo, with locations in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Chicago, and mobile or pop-up experiences in Columbus, Indianapolis, and Nashville.
And yet, Tanya’s “why” has never changed.
Fragrance as a Form of Connection
Walk into any Aroma Labs location and you’ll find white walls, wood accents, blue trim — and a deeply inclusive, calming atmosphere. It’s gender-neutral by design, welcoming everyone to create a signature scent that reflects their unique identity.
“Fragrance is just the medium,” Tanya says. “What we’re really doing is offering people a chance to connect — with themselves, with others, and with a moment in time.”
Guests start by picking their notes, naming their blend, and choosing their product — whether it’s perfume, body oil, scrub, or lotion. Everything is stored digitally, so guests can reorder later or remix a new seasonal scent. “We’ve learned to stay close to the customer,” Tanya says. “It’s about making it easy, personal, and meaningful.”
From Pop-Ups to Pure Michigan
What Tanya started in her basement in 2019 soon moved to a shared studio space in Kalamazoo’s Park Trades Center. Pop-ups followed, then a full retail location downtown. Her Grand Rapids location opened just six months later.
“Detroit kept showing up for me,” she says. “People would visit Kalamazoo and say, ‘We need this in Detroit!’ So I listened.”
In 2024, Tanya opened her Detroit store in a Shinola-owned space, followed by a Chicago location that fall. By summer, her mobile experience was rolling through Nashville — and she was actively negotiating new storefronts in other cities and a larger Detroit space.
One of her proudest milestones? A partnership with Pure Michigan. Together, they created seasonal room sprays inspired by state travel itineraries and sent scratch-and-sniff versions to national media.
How MWF Helped
When Tanya saw an opportunity to open her first Detroit location, she had already invested heavily in her mobile experience and was navigating limited resources. That’s when she turned to MWF.
“I found a way to make it work, and MWF was there to support me,” Tanya says. “That loan helped me get the Detroit location off the ground, and that store has been extremely successful. I’m really grateful for the partnership.”
Building a Team — and Giving Back
The Aroma Labs now employs around 20 people. Each location has a lead and co-lead, who report to district managers. There’s a fulfillment team handling inventory and logistics, a brand scenting specialist (who started with Tanya in her basement), and a corporate mini experience team that brings portable scent-making to conferences and company events.
Tanya also launched a philanthropic effort called the Lab Grown Grant Fund, which uses a portion of proceeds from city-specific scents—like the 269 (Kalamazoo), 313 (Detroit), and 616 (Grand Rapids)—to support women entrepreneurs at the earliest stages.
“You don’t have to wait until you’ve ‘made it’ to give,” Tanya says. “Give along the way. That’s how we build the table, not just talk about the lack of seats.”
What Growth Smells Like
Today, Tanya’s brand generates more than $1 million in annual revenue. But she’s still in it — driving the truck, setting up activations, developing new scents.
When asked how she keeps expanding, she credits staying connected to both her team and her mission. “Love is genuine concern for another,” she says. “That’s how we train, that’s how we lead, and that’s what people feel when they come through our doors.”
And the most popular scent? Oud, a warm, woodsy Middle Eastern fragrance that blends beautifully with almost anything.
“Fragrance is my second favorite F-word,” she jokes.
A Word of Advice
Tanya has learned plenty — like how to lead individuals from wherever they are (not where you are), and how to bounce back after a branding cease-and-desist from Chanel forced her to redesign every sign, label, and bottle across multiple stores.
But her advice to other entrepreneurs is simple: “Run from fire to fire without losing your enthusiasm. Stay gritty. Solve the problems. And never forget why you started.”
Get the support you need to scale your business. Learn about MWF’s microloans for entrepreneurs.
