Starting a candle business is one of the most rewarding and satisfying ventures one can embark on. Take it from me, a candle–enthusiast turned entrepreneur, I believe with the right guidance anyone can turn their hobby into a side hustle. So, This is what this blog intends to do, walk you through the key steps to get started.
Why make candles in the first place?
Everyone who decides to make candles isn’t going to want to create a candle business. Of course. Some of you may just want to craft candles as gifts to your loved ones or simply do this as a relaxing hobby.
I was once that person, it felt good knowing the gifts I was giving had a personal touch to them. Beyond gift-giving, making your candles has several benefits:
- Creative expression – there are so many scents, moods, wax types and colours you can experiment with.
- Therapeutic and relaxing – at first it’s going to be a bit confusing, but once you get the hang of it, it can help you to wind down.
- Cost-effective – making your candles is so much cheaper than constantly buying new ones from the store. Once you have your making tools, it’s so much better to just fire up the wax melter and create your personalised candle.
This blog, however, is particularly geared towards those like me, who want to turn their passion into business. That’s exactly what this guide is for.
i particularly want this first blog to just be a sort of introduction. Nothing too detailed as i want the more detailed blogs to be specific, for example, a blog titled ‘How to mix your candles’ or ‘What to buy to make candles’.
Why start a candle business? (A little about me)
A mistake I made when I was first starting was I never had a blog like this that could act as a sort of guidance and biting off more than I can chew is something I regularly did.
Is making and selling candles as hard as some people think?
What do I need to begin?
In the glorious age of the internet and online commerce, it’s never been easier to start your own thing. Statistics show that the candle market is expected to reach US$ 15.11 billion by 2030. If you’re a lover of candles, then this is the perfect combination of opportunity and passion to get your products out there.
Having a side gig alongside your daily job is a fabulous idea and it’s also very possible in this day and age. Luckily, candle businesses are the ultimate side gig.
What are the costs?
Starting a candle business is on the cheaper end relative to starting other kinds of businesses. However, unlike some businesses, you can start small, allowing for a gradual investment in materials and supplies as you gain experience. This means that individuals with limited budgets can still enter the market and explore their creativity. By beginning with a few basic candle-making supplies, such as wax, wicks, and fragrance oils, aspiring entrepreneurs can test out different techniques and scents, refining their products before scaling up. Additionally, the candle market is diverse, with plenty of opportunities to specialize.
i suggest starting by simply testing your mixtures and methods. For example, how much fragrance to use per 100ml of wax. Also, your wick sizes will depend on the size of your containers.These things are important as it affects the burn of your candles. I’ll cover the science stuff in the next blog.
Also, many of the tools required to make candles can be bought locally and for a fraction of the price of other materials. Things like wax, wicks, wick holders and scents are fairly cheap. I managed to pick up a heat gun (used to melt candle surfaces) for just £20 from a store. Fantastic!
Also, costs can be kept low by starting small. That’s how it happened to me. I went from just making one or two whenever I wanted a new scent, to making 100s (my business is not that big yet). The good thing is that the same tools you use to make one can be used to make 1000s, you just need more of them. There’s nothing better than making money from your hobby.
However, starting a business requires strategy – especially in a market filled with competition. That’s why choosing a niche is so important.
What is a niche and why it’s important?
A niche is a specialised segment of the market that caters to a specific group of people. Take shoes for example, are you selling orthopaedic shoes for people with lower limb conditions or barefoot shoes for people who want to fix their foot structure? Essentially, a niche is when you target a particular type of buyer.
In terms of a candle business, you can target a certain group of people to try and capture a space in the market. I’m going to be honest, there are a lot of candle makers out there, so finding your niche can separate you from the pack. I believe there’s space for a lot more of us.
Common candle niches:
- High-end and luxury – premium candles with luxury scents and packaging.
- Health-focused – think aromatherapy, sleep etc
- Handmade and artisanal – small and hand-crafted.
- Eco-friendly and sustainable – sustainable ingredients, non-toxic.
- Religious and spiritual – candles with a spiritual purpose, think Diwali.
- Personalised – your name?
- Food scented – think coffee, birthday cake, fruits.
I call these the top-of-the-branch niches. Let’s dig deeper into niches to make your brand more unique.
Going deeper into your niche
- Religious – for example, Christmas candles. These candles can be marketed as spiritual scents inspired by the nativity story. Think of scents like frankincense and myrrh.
- Instead of just health-focused candles – You can go deeper here. Think candles for sleep, these candles can be lavender and jasmine scented and marketed to help ‘infuse your bedroom surroundings with relaxing vibes and promote a peaceful sleep‘.
- Morning candle – instead of just this, you can make an energising citrus or coffee-scented candle.
Are you getting it? I hope so. Essentially what I’m saying is a niche is vital in standing out and bringing a unique, personal vibe to the marketplace. Check out the blog on how to differentiate your brand with unique packaging.
Let’s summarise the main reasons for specialising your candle business:
- Less competition
- Stronger branding (we cover branding next)
- Higher customer loyalty ( it’s less likely someone else is selling it since it’s so specific)
The ultimate guide to branding your candle business
Many people assume branding is just the logo. Well, you can argue it’s the most important thing, but it’s so much bigger than just that. When you’ve decided to start a business and choose your niche, your next step is typically to shape your identity as a company.
Key branding elements
once you’ve got this stuff down you’ll have a much stronger brand than you did at the start. Luckily, I spent weeks crafting my brand portfolio and I’m going to help you out. After I curated a brand Identity, It was so easy to begin communicating with my customers since I knew my mission and values.
- Name: The most important, but don’t overthink it. It should be easily identifiable and easy to say/read. I recommend using chat GPT here and asking it to suggest prompts. Ask yourself if it fits. Are there others in this market with a similar name? Try and be unique or you may run into legal troubles. We’ll cover the legalities of starting a candle business in the next blog.
- Tagline – This is a short message that encapsulates your brand’s mission and/or values. E.g. ‘Candles for every need’. You can also ask ChatGPT here for prompts.
- Logo – Ahhh, the logo. The symbol that represents your whole brand. You may be like me and take weeks to settle on a logo. However, you again want to keep it simple. If you look out into the market today many businesses are beginning to simplify their logos (looking at you, JAGUAR). Remember, you are not your logo.
For instance, you can use AI tools like Canva’s (free version) logo generator or Photoroom (paid plan) to create amazing logos. Photoroom is my personal favourite when it comes to image creation, I made my blog logo with this amazing software as well. I simply describe my business to the AI and asked it to make me one.
Below are some logos Photoroom returned to me and the logo I ended up picking.
- Mission statement – once you create this, everything will fall into place. Your mission statement is your ‘why’. What do you do? Values? Who are you doing it for? Who are you? Have you noticed almost every website has an About Us page? Once you answer these questions you’re a step closer to solidifying your mission statement.
Let me write an example mission statement for a pretend business.
‘Our mission at [name] is to craft luxury candles using ethically sourced ingredients that help our customers unwind, connect with nature, and elevate their spaces’
Branding beyond basics
Once these core branding elements are done, naturally the next step is to consider:
- Packaging and presentation – click here and check out the blog on packaging!
- Colour palette and typography
- Brand voice / communication
These things I’ll cover in the next blog of this series where we take things to the next level.
I could write about branding all day however there’s simply not enough time in the world. What I plan to do going forward is to create small, quick-fire blogs where I’ll talk about specific things and how you should navigate them. I’ll essentially show you the process I take to build a brand from picking colours to drafting taglines.
But remember, branding plays an important role in customer trust and loyalty. Take your time in building an identity that aligns with your target audience.
What’s next?
Ok, now that you have:
chosen a niche
Picked a business name
written a tagline And made your logo.
highlighted your brand mission
what’s next?
…..Well, if you’ve done all that you’re ready for part 2 of this blog series. I’m going to cover:
- the tools and equipment needed to begin making candles
- all the legalities, like safety labels (which are vital) and how you can use AI to make life easier.
- Selling on sites like Amazon and Etsy.
How much did it cost to start my business?
For reference, I started my candle business in the testing phase for around £500, this is because all i needed was a few bits and bobs to test, test, test. Like, 20 containers, a few scents and wicks, wick holders and wax. This is still relatively low for a startup. However, as you grow so will your costs, so dont be afraid to invest in yourself.
In The Next blog i’m going to discuss marketing and where you can sell your candles (sprinkled with some personal insights just like this blog).
Final thoughts
Starting a candle business is exciting and rewarding, but having a clear niche and brand will set you apart from the pack.
I’m completely dedicated to providing the best candle-related blogs and giving my honest advice. As someone who’s started candle businesses, I believe I have some insights and can act as your guide throughout your journey. I learnt many lessons the hard way (I’ll blog about them), and I’m going to help you to avoid them.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, I hope these insights help inspire you as you begin your candle-making business. Stay tuned for more!
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