How to Start & Grow A Candle Business (2024)

FAQs

Is it worth starting a candle business? ›

A candle-making business can be highly profitable. Not only is there a low-cost barrier to entry, but the candle-making industry is expected to reach nearly $5 billion by 2026. People love candles, and they're most likely going to continue buying candles for a long time.

​As you have seen making candles at home can be more than just a hobby to occupy your free time and help you unwind; it can also be a profitable business.

Enter: The 84 Candle Rule.

Before you even begin to sell candles, create 84 of them and give almost all of them away. There's a lot underneath this simple rule.

How Much Does it Cost to Start a Candle Making Business? The average cost to start a candle business ranges from $9,500 to $78,000, with an average around $44,000. As a small business startup, candle making doesn't take a huge hit on your personal finances.

You can sell your homemade candles almost anywhere, from online selling sites to your own online store. Renting a stall at the local crafts fair? Homemade candles travel well, so you can sell them both offline and online.

Paraffin wax—a very inexpensive wax—is most widely used across candle brands, says Fitchl, because it can hold a high amount of fragrance and color. It also comes in various melt points, making it suitable for making many different types of candles, from containers to pillars.

Typically Rose fragrances have more pungent, and penetrating notes, while Honeysuckle is a sweeter, blossoming type. If you were to say which is stronger, most would choose the Rose.

What is the most sold candle scent? ›

Vanilla just so happens to be America's most popular flavor, so it makes sense as to why this scent is so high up on the list.

Best overall candle

At the top is cannabis leaf, lemon peel, and rhubarb — which you smell immediately. Then there's almond, tulip, sage, and eucalyptus. Finally, when you blow it out or let it burn for a while, you start to smell the suede, musk, and amber.

The answer to this question is positive as well! You do need insurance to sell candles or wax melts online from home, or at your shop. There are some risks involved with candle businesses that might become very costly if you don't have basic insurance for selling candles that will cover you.

Average Salary for a Candle Maker

Candle Makers in America make an average salary of $52,472 per year or $25 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $113,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $24,000 per year.

Ensuring your wick is trimmed to at least half an inch before each burn time is vital for the candle to produce a strong enough scent. If the wick is too long, then the flame will be too large and burn the melted wax at a faster rate – giving the scent less time to evaporate and fill a room.

Selling your candles and other handmade products online is a great way to reach new customers and spread awareness of your brand. Maintaining a website for your small business is always beneficial—we go over the basics of choosing a platform for your online store here.

Candle making is one of the best small businesses you can start. It has low startup costs, doesn't require much equipment, and can be done right from home. Before you launch a business, hone your craft and get comfortable with the candle making process. Always plan ahead.

If planned properly, a candle-making business can be a profitable venture. Unlike other business ideas, like launching a bakery, candle-making offers great profit margins. The cost of making candles is low, and it's easy to get started without any major capital investment.

What age group buys the most candles? ›

In terms of customer demographics by age, Danziger's research indicates that the biggest buyers of candles are under 25 or over 55.

These products, including scented candles, laundry detergents, and household cleaners, fall outside the scope of FDA regulation based on their intended use and are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Your company name, logo and contact information. The name and place of your business are U.S. candle label requirements, according to the Fair Packaging and Labeling guidelines. Make sure you include them somewhere on the label.

Yankee candles are made from paraffin wax, as well as essential oils for fragrance and cotton for the wicks.

Beeswax candles are the healthiest choice in candles. Made from the caps of bee honeycombs, beeswax candles burn clean, are very long-burning, and give off a pleasant natural fragrance as they burn. Beeswax candles are dripless when burned properly, and release negative ions which help clean the air in a room.

If you decide that you want a clean-burning candle that will give you the strongest scent throw you can get, you might choose paraffin. If you want a wax that is clean-burning, comes from a renewable source, has a great scent throw, and burns longer, soy might be the way to go.

The best quality candles will have a wick that is the right size and construction for the candle. You can tell your candle has a good wick if it burns cleanly, evenly, and creates a pool of liquid wax all the way across the surface of the candle within 2 to 4 hours.

The first step is understanding the wax. This is where soy reigns supreme. Paraffin wax tends to be cheaper, and burns at a much faster rate than soy wax. In comparing two candles of the same size, a paraffin candle will usually have a lifespan of 35 to 40 hours whereas a soy candle can burn for 50 to nearly 80 hours.

Luxury candles tend to use higher-end alternatives to paraffin, such as coconut wax, beeswax, and soy wax. For example, our candles are made with natural soy wax, which burns less quickly than paraffin and allows you to savor the ambience and aroma up to 50% longer.

What country buys the most candles? ›

Exporters and Importers

In 2020, the top importers of Candles were United States ($711M), Germany ($448M), United Kingdom ($318M), Netherlands ($204M), and France ($124M).

Top of the list of most expensive fragrances is Shumukh, created by Nabeel. Launched in 2019, this musky scent made with rose and sandalwood costs more than €1.5 million euros.

Use perfume in place of fragrance oils: Just like crayons, perfume is NOT meant to burn like our fragrance oils are. It will not throw well and it could clog your wick. Always use fragrance oils that are designed for candle making. We have nearly 400 fragrances to choose from and we are adding more each year!

We recommend using 30 to 40 drops of essential oils for a single eight-ounce candle. Remember that soy and beeswax aren't known for their ability to throw scent. If you're concerned that your candle will be too strong, start with 30 drops.

ALLOW YOUR CANDLE TO CURE.

Candle curing is the process where the wax and fragrance bind into one and settle. The process can take up to a couple of weeks to actually cure. Curing is important because the longer the wax and fragrance get to bind, the stronger the scent can become. Think of it like spaghetti.

Safety Labeling: Not Required, but Expected

In 2007, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), ASTM International, and the National Candle Association (NCA) developed a voluntary labeling standard concerning candle warning labels.

Once the wax melts, remove from heat and carefully pour wax into candle jars. Right away, while the wax is still nice and warm, pour tons of glitter into each candle jar. The glitter is lighter than the candle wax and will sit right on top of it – but at the same time it will blend into the wax.

If you sell your candles for $20 each, that's a profit of $15 per candle (assuming a $5 cost). By selling 100 candles per month, you can make $1,500 from your candle making side hustle. Not bad! It's certainly possible to make over $200 per day selling candles.

The market size, measured by revenue, of the Candle Manufacturing industry is $2.3bn in 2022. What is the growth rate of the Candle Manufacturing industry in the US in 2022? The market size of the Candle Manufacturing industry is expected to decline -1.6% in 2022.

Candle making is a hobby that many people turn into a business. It starts as a side hustle to learn the fundamentals before evolving into a full-time small business. The National Candle Association estimates the candle industry is worth several billion dollars and popularity is on the rise among amateurs.

Where do candle makers get their scents? ›

Candle manufacturers can select from more than 2,000 aroma chemicals and essential oils to develop scents that are both pleasing to consumers and compatible with candle use. These fragrance materials are safe, high-quality ingredients that are also found in many perfumes, bath soaps, lotions and shampoos.

Did You Know? Did you know a candle maker is known as a "chandler"? The term is related to "chandelier", meaning an ornate, branched light fitting that held lot's of candles!

The candle market is saturated with competition, but this is not something to worry about. A saturated market means people are buying candles, and lots of them. Candles are not a product customers buy once and done.

Making homemade candles can become a profitable side hustle due to its simple yet effective business model. Transforming raw natural materials into a product that will sell for a price that includes its production, shipping and marketing costs makes it a perfect candidate for a side business to generate income.

The cost of making candles is not much. The profit margin is also better than a lot of other consumer products. One can easily make a profit percentage of more than 30% on selling candles. To achieve break-even it will take a minimum period of 4 months and the expected gross profit is 35 to 45 percent.

Making homemade candles can become a profitable side hustle due to its simple yet effective business model. Transforming raw natural materials into a product that will sell for a price that includes its production, shipping and marketing costs makes it a perfect candidate for a side business to generate income.

Primarily driven by rising demand for soy candles, the total Global Candle Market is estimated to reach USD 9.9 Billion by the year 2028. The Market stood at a revenue of USD 6.8 Billion in the year 2021, and expected to exhibit a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.5%.

Fees are relatively low. Etsy's listing fee is $0.20 per listing, which must be renewed every 4 months if the item listed is still for sale at that time. Other fees include a transaction fee, shipping transaction fee, and payment processing fee.

It's no secret that online marketplaces are a great way to sell candles. Amazon and Etsy are two of the most popular platforms for selling candles and for good reason.