Is candle making a profitable way to spend some of your spare time? The appeal of using the unique artistry inherent in candle-making, combined with the opportunity to make a few dollars doing that, has always been apparent. People love this idea, but they also want to know if it can actually work as an example of successful part-time businesses.
In answer to your main question, yes, candle-making is profitable. The initial investment is low, the work involved is minimal (and enjoyable), and the profits can be immediate. Furthermore, profit margins for a candle-making business, even a very small one, is impressively close to one hundred percent.
Let’s take a closer look at how you can start a candle-making business. This will include a look at how much candlemakers can make right away, or even over the course of a year. We’re also going to show you how to be as successful as possible right out of the gate.
Is Starting a Candle Business Profitable?
As previously mentioned, yes, starting a candle business can be highly profitable. All you need is a little time, the right materials, some fun ideas, and an understanding of the process of how to make candles in your home.
A Closer Look at the Candle-Making Industry
How much do people love buying candles? By 2026, this industry is expected to generate $5 billion dollars. That’s a lot of candles. More importantly, this also translates into what we’ve been talking about so far. Candles are relatively simple to make, the initial financial investment on your end is low, and you can begin realizing profits almost at once.
How Much Money Do You Make Selling Candles?
One thing to keep in mind with making candles for profit is that those profits can vary wildly from one business or individual to the next. Some part-timers start out making hundreds almost immediately. Some even make several thousand in the first year, which far outpaces how much time, money, and material you will need to produce.
What can you expect to make in a week? A year?
How Much Does a Candle Maker Make a Year?
Some people can make upwards of $50, 000-$60, 000. It is even possible to achieve such figures in your first year!
However, such success is naturally dependent upon the work involved. If you’re planning a small, part-time investment, you probably won’t make quite that much. Understand at the beginning what you want to achieve with a candle business, and how much you can put into the venture.
What Do I Need to Start a Candle Business?
Let’s quickly cover the essentials of starting your own candle making business:
- Perform some market research. Which candle makers are similar to what you want to do? What kind of competition should you expect?
- Build a brand. Think about what you want people to take away from a first impression with your candle business.
- Come up with a name for your business. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering. Check out vendors at sites like Etsy to get some inspiration!
- Write up your business plan. What are your goals? What resources can you bring to the launch? Craft a step-by-step plan that takes you from conception to launch.
- Start making candles! We’re going to cover this in a little more detail shortly, including a basic look at the materials and terms to keep in mind.
- Set up your shop: You can set up an online shop, do something on a local scale, or even a combination of the two. Somewhere along the path to this step, you’ve probably figured out what you want to do on this front.
- Marketing your business is really the last step. We’ll touch on this, as well.
If you love candles, crafts, and working with your hands, you’re ready to get started. This is true even if candles didn’t occur to you as a business venture until recently.
For the best candle making experience possible, we recommend using a candle making kit like this one. It has everything you need to get started in candle making and is perfect for beginners and veterans alike.
How Do I Get Started With My Candle Business?
The first thing you’re going to need to do is decide if this really is a good business idea for your particular lifestyle and background. You should start out by understanding that making candles is an artform. There are tons of color options, design ideas, printing overlays, scents, and even color combinations.
While making candles is pretty easy, it still requires a certain measure of skill. You can build on that skill by using candle-making kits to make candles in your spare time. Give these away as you see fit, gauge responses, and above all else, keep working on creating the best candles you possibly can. This stage assumes you have never made a candle before.
As you get better and better, you can begin to think about the steps involved in starting a business.
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Candle Business?
To reiterate an earlier point: The potential profits behind starting your own candle business are helped considerably by the fact that you don’t have to spend a lot of money at the start of things.
Having said that, you will still probably need at least $1000 to start a legitimate candle making business.
What Do I Need to Actually Start a Business?
Your next step is to start thinking about the resources you will need to launch a part-time or full-time candle making business.
Even if you are ready to start your actual business, it stands to reason that you are probably going to start small. The same candle making kits you were using to gauge your talent and practice can still be useful at this stage.
On average, you’re going to be spending at least $3.50 on your first candles. This includes the cost of the kit, perfumes, optional coloring choices, and the jars needed to house them safely and even aesthetically. You may have to pay more, depending on what you decide you want to create.
And what is available to you on that particular end?
What Materials Do I Need to Start My Candle Making Business?
While we can’t cover absolutely everything you need to know about the different materials available to you as someone who makes candles to sell, we still want to give you some fundamentals, as you start fleshing out this idea in full.
Choosing the right supplies to make candles can involve some trial and error, but the basics of these materials can still be helpful to keep in mind.
The Basics of Candle Wax
Paraffin wax is considered to be the most common and popular type of wax currently on the market. It is nontoxic, FDA-approved, and is generally what professional candle making companies use to create their own products.
For those seeking something different, soy-based wax, palm wax, synthetic wax, and beeswax are all further options to explore. There are also a range of gels.
Which Wick Is Best for Making Candles?
From the size and shape of your candles, to the scents, fragrances, and even colors you want to use, there are a lot of things to consider with choosing the best wick for candle making.
For example, if you’re using a paraffin or soy-based wax, the cotton core and tension threading of round-direction wicks might be your best choice. Palm waxes on the other hand might better benefit from LX wicks.
Here are the different wicks to check out:
- Round-Direction
- High-Tension
- LX
- Zinc
Which Jars Are Best for Making and Selling Candles?
Mason jars, decorated jars, and even decorated tins are all examples of how your candles can be fixed into place and presented in a way your customers are going to love.
Chances are that your candles are going to be approximately 4 ounces each. Your jars need to be able to accommodate that comfortably, while also being extremely resistant to high temperatures. Cracking or even breaking jars from heat is not a complaint you want to hear from your customers!
You also don’t want jars that can leak. Remember, these jars also need to stand up to hot, melted wax.
Choosing Scents for Candles
Ensuring your candles are profitable obviously means making smart choices about the different materials and ingredients you are going to use. Picking the best scent or fragrance for your candle is very much part of that. Just keep in mind that you may have to practice a bit with the sheer volume of possibilities that are available to you!
If you look to the manufacturers, you will find they often use essential oils, or what are known as fragrance oils. A few popular scents include lavender, vanilla, apples, and flowers such as roses. There are also seasonal scents, products based on certain moods, or even ones built around a certain atmosphere.
Ultimately, using fragrances in your candle-making is entirely your choice. Just make sure the scent has been approved for use in candle-making to begin with.
A Few Final Tips On Starting Your Candle Business
At this point, not only do you know how much you can expect to make selling candles, but also what you’re going to need, and even a rough idea of how much you may have to spend.
Before we wrap things up, here are a few more things to keep in mind, as you begin to lay the groundwork for a candle business.
Start Simple
As appealing as this business venture can be, you don’t want to put the cart before the horse, as they say. Unless you’ve done significant due diligence, you shouldn’t set up yourself to believe you’re definitely going to make tens of thousands of dollars immediately.
Built some confidence in what you are planning to sell. You can achieve this by giving away candles to friends and family in the beginning. If you have an opportunity in your community to sell a few candles at a farmer’s market or craft fair, take advantage of the chance!
When you’re ready, start with a simple shop on Etsy or Amazon. At this point, you should have enough interest to know you can handle the various fees and challenges of working with a major online vendor to sell your candles.
Create a Variety
Particularly in the beginning, and only if you have the resources, it can be beneficial to experiment with different colors, fragrances, and other aspects of the creation process. Again, you’re probably going to fail a few times, but time and patient will create skill on par with your enthusiasm.
Creating a variety of different candles can also help you figure out which ones people like best. Use this early market research to help you create better products at the point where you are ready to present your candle making business to the world.
What About Marketing?
Don’t worry too much about marketing your business in the beginning. As time goes on, social media sites like Instagram, as well word of mouth and promoting your business on Facebook, are going to be invaluable components to marketing your business.
Which Seasons Are the Best for Candles?
Certain seasons lend themselves very well to candles. Fall and winter seem to be the favorites, but you can find popular scents for any season. Knowing which fragrances are the most popular can prove to be very helpful.
For example, during the spring season, people tend to love the smell of flowers. Autumn smells often evoke a certain smokiness. Winter scents are often associated with coziness.
Final Thoughts
With all of this information on hand, it should be easy to decide once and for all if starting your own candle making business is a good idea. Many find that given the low range of demands, it doesn’t hurt to at least try this venture out for yourself and decide if it’s worth moving forward.
Starting a candle making business could prove to be the part-time earner you’ve been looking for!
Just remember to have fun, remain patient, and maintain a willingness to explore, create, occasionally fail, but above all, enjoy your own wares!