Are you wanting to start your very own candle-making business? Want to turn your passion into a profitable business? In this article, you will be guided step by step toward making your dream a reality.
Starting your candle-making business involves knowing how to make great candles, having a business plan, creating your products, and selling them through the way you market and advertise your candle business.
There are many aspects to a candle-making business that you need to consider before starting, so let’s explore what you need to know, including the creating and branding part and also the more financial and business aspects of the business.
A Step By Step Guide For Starting Your Candle-Making Business
If you make amazing candles and love doing it, then starting your own candle business can be an exciting next step if you want to earn a living from doing it. Having a home-based candle business can be a fantastic opportunity to work from home and do what you love.
You may just want your candle-making business to be a part-time job that you do on the side or you may want to grow it into a full-time business doing what you love. Candle making can take time and trial and error to master but the basic methods can be easy to learn and understand.
Let’s break down what you need to know about starting your own candle-making business step by step so you can ensure that you are on the right track. Take your time with each of these steps and don’t rush through it. Creating a strong and clear foundation for your candle-making business is important so you can succeed in the long run.
Step 1: Learn How To Make Great Candles
Know what formula or recipes to follow to create amazing candles. You want each of your candles to turn out the same in scent and quality. Make adjustments to your candle recipe and methods from the feedback you receive from friends and family until you are happy with the product you have created.
You may want your candles to be unique and not like any others that are available on the market. You may have a personal reason for the fragrances you use or the shapes of the candles or the decorations you put in your candles. You may decide to create more affordable and simple candles or high-end, luxury candles. It will totally be up to you.
You may have just one candle type or you may have a variety of different candles that you want to create and sell. Once you are happy with the strength of the scent, the burn time, the texture of the wax, and the presentation of the candle in its jar and box.
Having the perfect method and recipe for your candles is imperative before you start selling them to customers. This is to avoid negative feedback and dissatisfied customers, which could ruin your business’ reputation. Only start when you feel you have mastered the candle-making craft.
Step 2: Have A Business Plan
Writing a business plan is an important part of first getting your ideas and plans for your candle business onto paper and being able to see a roadmap for the development of your business. It will support you in moving forward and feeling focused and creative within your candle business.
In this step, we will go through some different aspects of the business plan that you need to take a look at and implement for your candle-making business.
Choose A Business Name And Entity
Coming up with a business name is a fun part of the process. Pick a business name that you like and is suitable for the candle brand that you want to create.
You may think about the purpose behind the business or how you want people to feel when they use your candles. It can be as long or as short as you like. Just make sure it works with the brand you want to create.
Ensure there are no other businesses with your business name. You could do a Google search and social media search to check that your business name idea is available. You can also check through business names that have been trademarked or copyrighted.
If the name you like is already taken, don’t give up. There will be another great name you can use that will be great. If the business name you wanted is available and you are certain that that is the name that you want, you can register it, create a website domain name for it and create social media handles for it so you can secure it.
You will need to decide what kind of entity you want your candle business to be. Such as a sole proprietorship, company, partnership, or corporation. You will then want to register your business.
During this process, you may want to seek help from a business expert to give you some ideas about what may be the best option for you.
Create A Business Bank Account
You will need to set up a business bank account where all the money from your business will be going into. You want to keep this separate from your personal account so you can keep track of everything. Y
ou may want a card for this account as well, so you can use it to make business purchases. You will also need to consider how you will do your accounting.
Decide On Contact Methods
How do you want your customers to be able to get in touch with you? You may decide to get your customers to email you, call you up, reach out on social media, or pop into the store to chat. If you want people to call you, then you may decide to have a different phone to use for business purposes and therefore have a different phone number.
You will need to set this up. You can easily create an email address online so people can send you a quick email if they have a question and would prefer not to call.
You can decide what methods you want and go from there and then put all these details on your website, on online directories, and on your business cards.
The Products That You Will Sell
Get clear on what exactly it is that you want to sell in your candle business. Do you just want to focus on producing and selling small tea-light candles? Or do you want to have a range of different types of candles?
Do you want to solely make candles or do you want to create other products such as bath melts, reed diffusers, and more? Think about what products you want to sell in your candle business.
You may want to use natural, plant-based waxes and avoid unnatural waxes like paraffin and gel in your candles. You may want to use wood wicks instead of zinc wicks. Really think about the details of your candles too that are unique to your candle range.
Pricing Of Your Products
You also want to think about what price point you want your candles to be at. You want to earn a profit and you may have a certain mark up in mind. You will need to take into consideration the costs of your candle-making equipment and supplies that you will need to package and ship the candles in.
Consider if you want your candle business to be a more expensive, luxury brand of candles or affordable and simple as that will affect the price point and the ingredients you will use in your candles and the type of packaging that you will use.
Supplies That You Will Need
You will need to know where you can source all of your candle-making and packaging supplies from. This will include the candle wax, wicks, wick tabs, containers, fragrance oils, and the boxes and labels for the presentation of the candles.
You want the packaging to be consistent and you will most likely want to buy in bulk to save costs. You will also need to think about how your candles will get delivered, what courier company can you use to ship globally, or whether will you do the deliveries within the local community.
By asking yourself these practical questions, you can start to figure out how everything can work together in a practical way and avoid any mistakes down the road.
Do You Need Staff Or Is It Just You
Are you the sole person in the business who will be doing all the sourcing, producing, marketing, accounting, and more? Or do you plan on having staff dedicated to doing certain jobs? This is something to consider to ensure the business runs smoothly and efficiently.
Starting out, you may decide to do everything on your own to keep costs low while you build up the business and then look at calling in staff when you can afford to do so. Or it may be a family business where you all work together on the business.
Consider what your strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to business and find the help that you need or learn as much as you can.
Do A Market Analysis
Market analysis is all about looking at the candle industry and identifying all the opportunities, threats, strengths, weaknesses, volume, value, buying patterns, customer segments, other businesses in the industry, and more.
This is important to look at in order to come up with a strategy that can help you stand out in the crowd and know what your customers are looking for, who your target market may be, what price point you may want to go for, and more.
You can learn a lot about the candle industry if you haven’t looked at this information before and you can set yourself up in a good position and know how to market your newly established candle business.
The table below shows an example of what you may come up with when taking a look at the candle industry and doing your market analysis
Candle Market Segmentation Analysis
| By Product | By Wax | By Geography | Key Players |
| Pillars | Soy Wax | Europe | Jo Malone |
| Votive | Paraffin Wax | North America | Yankee Candles |
| Tapers | Palm Wax | Asia Pacific | Thymes |
| Container | Beeswax | Rest Of The World | White Barn Candles |
From this table, you can see that different products, waxes, locations, and key players in the candle industry have been identified so you can move forward with an understanding of how the industry is looking at the moment and what you want to focus on in your unique candle making business.
Future Financial Projections
As your candle business is no longer a hobby, but becoming a business, it is important to have a financial projection in mind as to how and when you will be earning a certain amount of income from your business. It needs to be profitable to thrive and continue, so coming up with a plan for this is vital.
You may look at the potential income and expenses in the future for certain time periods so you can keep track of how you are doing as you move forward.
Funding For Your Business
You may have money saved up and ready to invest in your business or you may look to get a business loan if you require more money upfront to get your business on its feet. There are different types of funding you can get for your business depending on where you are in the world and what support your country offers.
You may choose to get a loan from a bank, get government grants, get investors, use your savings, or more. Do your own research about what is available for you and what may be required to move forward with certain funding if you require it.
Step 3: Get Required Licenses Or Insurance
Depending on what country and state you live in, you may need a permit or license to sell your candles or in terms of starting a business. You may have to follow regulations when it comes to the safety and labeling of your product.
There are candle label requirements for candles that you are selling, especially in the United States of America, as candle makers need to adhere to the Fair Packaging And Labeling Act when selling candles to consumers.
The labels required are:
- Outer Container
- Primary Label: Must include a statement of identity, name, place where it came from, and net weight.
- Safety Label: Must include signal word WARNING, statement of principal hazard, cautionary material, and instructions for use
There are also certain sized fonts that must be used on these labels on your candle depending on the size of your candle.
| Display Pane Size (inch²) | Minimum Font Size (inch) |
| Less than or equal to 5 inch² | 1 / 16 ” |
| 5 inch² – 25 inch² | 1 / 8 “ |
| 25 inch² – 100 inch² | 3 / 16 “ |
| 100 inch² -400 inch² | 1 / 4 “ |
| Greater than 400 inch² | 1 / 2 “ |
There are also voluntary standards for the candle industry that candle makers are advised to follow.
Some different types of insurance you may look at may include:
- HomeOwners Insurance: In case you are making your candles from home and have an accident.
- Renters Insurance: If you are candle-making in a rental property, you will need to get the homeowner’s permission as well.
- Product Insurance: To cover product liability.
No matter what insurance you do have, you want to follow safe manufacturing practices such as:
- Have a smoke alarm in the area where you are candle making
- Having a fire extinguisher handy in case of a fire and you know how to use it correctly
- Do not use extension cords as they can overheat. Plug things in directly to the source.
- Dress for candle making, e.g. tie your hair up, wear shoes, and wear long pants.
- Have a first aid kit handy for accidents, especially the right things for burns
- Have a spill kit so if something does spill you can quickly clean it up right away
- Have safety gear such as gloves, safety glasses, and anything else you would like to protect yourself with when handling hot candle wax.
You may need to register for GST or have a business identification number. Insurance may be something that you are interested in getting too.
As rules vary so much, you will need to find out what is required in your location to operate your business legally and smoothly. Get set up correctly to avoid any complications down the road.
Step 4: Create Your Candle Brand
Have fun creating your candle brand. Get a logo designed and create cool phrases or tag lines that suit your candle business. Enjoy creating your brand and start sharing it with the world through social media and other means.
Make up some business cards and create a website in your brand design and show off what you have to offer. Think about what colors would suit your brand, what kind of font would be best, and the tone of voice you want to speak when it comes to expressing your candles.
Create a brand story so you can let your customers know more about you and the business. Having a great brand story can help customers connect with you more because they understand your mission and message. It will be authentic and honest and reflect the essence of your candle-making business.
You could ask yourself:
- Why am I making candles?
- Who are these candles for?
- What impact do I want to make with these candles on my customers and in the world at large?
Step 5: Produce Your Products
Doing the hands-on production of candle making may be your favorite part of your candle-making business. You can start producing your candles when you have all your supplies and are ready to make candles to sell to customers.
You may want to create them in small batches that you do each week or in larger batches. Know what works best for you and your business and with the time you have available to produce them.
You can start off with one or two types of candles and get them sold before you start producing all the candles that you had envisioned too. Don’t rush the process. Allow yourself to ensure the initial candles you produce are perfect and take notes of any changes you would make as you do it.
Step 6: Decide How You Want To Sell
You can sell your candles online, in-store, or both. You can create your own website where customers place orders and you get their candles shipped. You may create a page on Etsy or list products on Amazon to sell.
You can also provide your products for wholesale purchase if another business wants to stock your candles and sell them to their customers.
In addition to having an online candle shop, you may want to set up a brick-and-mortar store in your community where you can stock and sell your candles. You may want to set up a stall on the weekends at the local markets. The possibilities of how you want to sell your candles are endless and you can do one method or many.
Step 7: Marketing And Advertising
Marketing and advertising are a huge part of getting your candle business up and running. Know who your business target audience is and share your candles and business with them. You can use social media, email newsletters, flyers, online business listings, and more to start to get your business known by people.
Users can initially use forms of free advertising or you can dive straight into paid, targeted advertising. This will most likely be dependent upon the funds you have available and, over time, you can invest more money into marketing and advertising when you start generating sales.
Some free social media sites and other marketing options that you can utilize to get your business out there include:
- Pinterest: People who want home decor inspiration and looking on here for some ideas so by having pictures of your stunning candles in a living room or in a bathroom can lead to candle sales.
- Instagram: You can share images of your candles and of your overall brand to create a feed that attracts customers and shows off your product. You can easily lead customers from Instagram to your website or you can even list your products directly on the app under the shop tab.
- Facebook: You can create a Facebook business page for your candles where you can post pictures of your candles as well as share updates with your community. You can list your website and other contact details so it is easy for customers to get in touch with or even message you directly through the Facebook Messenger App.
- Snapchat and TikTok: These apps are short, quick videos that you can do for your product to attract customers, especially the younger generation.
- Email: Email marketing allows you to email your past customers directly to their inbox by sending regular emails with discounts, promotions, or new products. You can include links directly to your website that create a smooth transition to finalizing a sale.
- Giveaways Or Contests: You can set up giveaways or contests to spread the word about your business and get more awareness of your brand and also show off your candles.
Step 8: Grow Your Business Over Time
As you get started with your candle-making business, you will see what may need adjusting or changing as you go along. This is all part of the process. You may come up with new ideas, want to collaborate with other businesses or people, and really start to put your candle business out there.
There is no limit to how small or big your business should be, just ensure you are enjoying the journey. You can be a successful candle maker if you know how to produce and sell amazing candles that people want to buy for themselves or for others as gifts. The sky’s the limit.
The Growth Within The Candle Making Industry
Now more than ever is a great opportunity to start your own candle-making business. Candles sales have increased and remained consistent over the years, both for in-home decor use and in commercial use by spas to create a luxurious and soothing atmosphere as well as in restaurants to create an aromatic space for their customers to dine in.
Candles are not only popular but also easy to sell in all kinds of places such as online, at markets, and in retail stores, you can learn how to do candle making online from the comfort of your own home, it is easy to create candles that will stand out from others that are out there and you do not need a huge amount of cash upfront to start.
Homemade candles are sold worldwide, but data shows that there are significant online searches for homemade candles from Australia, the United Kingdom, and North America. Candles are a definitely viable income stream for you if you put your focus and energy into it.
Candle Business Tips
- Excellent Presentation: Take great photos of stunning candles that you have created
- Aim For Repeat Customers: You could set up loyalty points for whenever a customer buys a candle and then they get a free candle or a discount when they reach a certain limit. You could set up a subscription so a customer gets a new candle every month, for example. Have a think about how you can create recurring income.
- Expand Your Product Options: You may start off producing candles and then decide to expand your range into other similar products to increase sales or make gift packs with a bunch of your different products.
- Make The Most Of Holidays: People love to get a bargain and there are certain times of the year when people expect and are looking for sales in the product they want. Candles are great gifts for holidays such as Christmas, so doing a special Christmas promotion may be a way to increase sales.
- Take Note Of Consumer Trends: You always want to stay true to your own candle brand, but that doesn’t mean that it is not a good idea to keep up with consumer trends in the candle-making industry. You could get inspiration for your next candle creation.
What A Typical Day May Look Like In Your Candle-Making Business
To give you some insight into what a normal day may look like for you when you begin your candle-making business, here are some tasks that may be done.
- Producing candles to have stock available to customers to purchase
- Fulfilling online orders or orders in-store. You may pack them and book a courier to collect them and deliver them, or you may support a customer in person with their purchase.
- Promoting your business on social media by taking photos or sharing new updates
- Ordering supplies that you may be running low on, so they arrive before you run out of stock
- Setting up online advertising or networking in person to spread the word about your candle business
- Coming up with a new product or business idea to try
- Updating your website if stock levels need to be manually changed or something needs to be edited
- Taking note of the money coming in and going out
- Listening to customer feedback and taking it on board, moving forward
Frequently Asked Questions
How Profitable Is Candle Making?
Candle making can be a very profitable business if you have a great business and happy customers. The candle-making industry is estimated to reach five billion dollars by the year 2026. Embrace your craft and earn a great profit from your candle-making skills.
What Is The Most Popular Candle Scent?
The most popular candle scent that people buy is vanilla, therefore, it can be a great idea to start your candle-making business off with a vanilla-scented candle to attract new customers. You can then create different or more unique scented candles once you have the standard scents that you know people want to buy.
What Makes Candles High-End?
A high-end, luxury candle will most likely include natural waxes, and gorgeous fragrances, and have a long-lasting burn. It will be a great quality candle and the presentation of the candle jar and its boxing will look elegant and luxurious.
Final Words
This step-by-step guide will support you through each stage of planning your candle-making business. There are many aspects of the business to think about, such as the products, your brand, the business plan, financial projections, funding, marketing, and more, so follow this guide and move forward, turning your candle-making skills into a profitable business.
