How To Start a Candle Business in 2025 (Guide and Examples)

In this guide, learn how the candle business works, from developing products to selling online and everything in between.

Eager to burn the midnight oil with a new business idea? Consider selling homemade candles.

Learning to make candles is a practical skill that’s accessible even for beginners. If you’re interested in starting a candle business, here’s how you can make money online with this trending product.

Ready to start your business? Create your website today or learn more about Shopify’s tools for selling online and in person.

Why start a candle business?

Candles are an essential décor item. The candle industry is set to reach $10 billion in global sales by 2032, according to Expert Market Research.

Commercial use of candles continues to grow, with spas using them for aromatherapy and restaurants creating ambient environments. The National Candle Association reports that consumers primarily buy candles for home décor and relaxation.

Google Trends data shows consistent global interest in homemade candles, particularly in North America, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa—valuable market information for new candle makers.

Searches for “homemade candles” have been consistent for the past five years.

Starting a candle business offers several benefits:

• Low startup costs: While some varieties need higher-quality materials, you can start with minimal upfront investment.
• Flexible selling options:Sell your crafts both online and at craft fairs or local markets.
• Simple to learn: The basic process is straightforward for both beginners and experienced crafters. 
• Customizable products: Create unique products to differentiate your business.

Types of homemade candles to sell

One key advantage of starting a candle business is the variety of products you can create. Once you’ve learned the basic candle-making process, you can explore different types to find what appeals to your target customers and matches your business goals. Here are the most popular varieties to consider for your product line:

Soy candles

Soy candles use wax derived from soybeans, offering an alternative to traditional oil- or paraffin-based candles. Made from a renewable resource, they burn cleanly and last longer, providing better value for customers.

New York City soy candle by homesick.

Scented or aromatherapy candles

These popular candles come in a range of scents for customers looking to spruce up their homes. They serve multiple purposes, from creating pleasant atmospheres to offering aromatherapy benefits.

KUSH scented candle by Boy Smells.

Aromatherapy candles incorporate essential oils chosen for specific wellness benefits. For example, lavender scents are often used to promote relaxation.

Vegan candles

As more customers seek products without animal ingredients, vegan candles offer an alternative to traditional beeswax varieties. These candles use plant-based ingredients like soy wax, natural wax, and fragrance oils.

Vegan candle by Brooklyn Candle Studio.

Decorative candles

Decorative candles focus on visual appeal through unique shapes, colors, and designs. While they may not be scented, they serve as distinctive home décor pieces that add character to any space.

Decorative Candle by Amara

How to start your own candle business

1. Do market research
2. Build your brand identity
3. Create a candle business name
4. Write a business plan
5. Register your candle business
6. Calculate your market price
7. Make candles to sell
8. Build your online store
9. Create a marketing plan

1. Do market research

Your target market—the buyers who will be most interested in your products and most likely to convert to customers—will guide your business decisions, from product development to marketing. The candle industry has three main market segments:

• Prestige candles ($30–$100): A fast-growing luxury segment known for premium packaging, fragrances, and brand storytelling. 
• Mid-market candles ($10): Broad-appeal products with unique scents like rosewater or grapefruit, often found in retail outlets like Target. 
• Mass market candles ($5–$8): Affordable options with standard scents like vanilla or ocean breeze, dominated by brands like Yankee Candle and Bed Bath and Beyond. 

Choose your target market based on your goals. If you want to sell in retail stores like Home Goods or Macy’s, consider mid-market products. For online boutiques and direct sales, prestige candles might be a better fit. 

Your choice will shape everything from sourcing materials to building your brand and packaging. 

2. Build your brand identity

Building a strong brand helps you build an audience, guide marketing efforts, and create better products for your customers. A strong brand strategy is especially crucial in the candle industry, which has grown significantly over the past decade.

Create a compelling brand story: A brand story helps you connect with buyers quickly. It’s the narrative that shapes your brand and becomes the foundation for your mission, message, and voice. Brand stories in the candle business should be captivating, human, and honest. They should make people feel something, which drives them to take action—whether it’s signing up, making a purchase, or making a donation. 

Take Keap Candles’ story, for example. The founders, Harry Doull and Stephen Tracy, were unhappy with their jobs in tech. They wanted to do something more meaningful and inspiring with their work and turned to candle making. 

To find your story, ask yourself:

• Why am I making candles?
• Who am I making candles for?
• What impact do I want to have on customers?
• What impact do I want to make on the world?

Visual identity: Your visual identity—including your logo, photography, website, social media, and packaging—directly influences how people feel about your home-based candle business. Since customers use your candles for both scent and décor, design products that match your audience’s aesthetic.

“My outlook on the whole brand was just to have fun. All of these experiences we’re trying to highlight are fun experiences,” says Erica Werber, founder of Literie Candles. “Being in Central Park for someone’s birthday or going to a bottomless brunch with your best friends, it’s supposed to feel good and lighthearted, and I think that’s what we accomplish with the packaging.”

Literie Candles’ packaging describes the experience someone will feel when lighting the candle.

3. Create a candle business name

Keep your candle business name short and simple—this makes it memorable and easy for buyers to pronounce. If customers can’t remember your name easily, you’ll miss opportunities for word-of-mouth marketing. 

Need help brainstorming? Try Shopify’s business name generator to stir up fresh ideas. Just enter a keyword, click Generate Names, and browse thousands of auto-generated name ideas for your company.

4. Write a business plan

A business plan defines your strategy, reveals potential challenges, identifies what resources you need, and helps analyze your business idea before launch. Consider key questions like: 

• What is the end goal for your brand? 
• Who are your direct competitors? 
• Will you sell in retail outlets like Target or Nordstrom? 
• Will you start an ecommerce store and sell directly to customers?

Keep these business goals in mind as you build your candle making brand.

5. Register your candle business

Registering your business provides legal protection and adds credibility with customers. Here’s how to register your business:

1. Choose a business structure: While sole proprietorship is simplest, a limited liability company (LLC) offers greater legal protection by separating business and personal assets.
2. Get an employer identification number (EIN): This protects your social security number and gives your business its own tax reference.
3. Register for taxes: Check local sales tax requirements—Shopify can help you manage online sales tax. Verify if you need a business license in your state.
4. Open a business bank account: Keep personal and business transactions separate for easier tax management.
5. Consider intellectual property (IP) protection: Protect unique ideas with trademarks, copyrights, or business name patents.

6. Calculate your market price

How much will you charge for your candles? Your pricing strategy depends on product quality, brand positioning, market, and competition. Luxury candles, for example, can sell for over $100. Find the right price for your market with these steps:

• Calculate cost of goods: Add up the cost of candle making supplies, production time, and equipment costs.
• Include operating expenses: Factor in office supplies, legal fees, insurance, utilities, and marketing.
• Set a profit margin: Use our free profit margin calculator to determine your target profit after materials and expenses.

Note: Prices for selling wholesale will be lower but offer higher transaction volumes than direct-to-customer sales.

7. Make candles to sell

As we’ve shown, you can create many types of candles in your own kitchen. Here’s how to make soy candles—you can adapt this basic recipe to create your own unique products.

Gather your materials: For homemade soy candles, you’ll need:

• Soy wax
• Cotton wicks
• Super glue
• Essential oil
• Spatula
• Double boiler
• Thermometer
• Mason jar
• Pen or pencil
• Candle molds

Things you’ll need to start a candle business.

Find soy wax in bulk on wholesale candle sites like AliExpress or Bulk Apothecary for around $10 per pound. Source glass jars and containers from AliExpress, thrift stores, or dollar stores. (See our guide on AliExpress!) The remainder of the ingredients can be found at almost any grocery store.

Essential oils are available at your local craft store or on Etsy or Amazon. Fragrance is the most important buying factor, according to the National Candle Association. Stand out by developing new and interesting blends. Rather than offering standard floral and woodsy scents, create complex combinations that evoke nostalgic memories or intrigue.

Literie Candles’ packaging plays on locations and scents infamous with the Big Apple.

Prep your wax and container: Take your soy wax and melt it in a double boiler on medium heat (or use a glass bowl on top of a larger pot). Stir with your spatula to break up chunks.

Here’s how to prep your candle making supplies.

While the wax melts, glue the wick to the bottom of your glass container and let it dry to keep the wick in place.

Customize your candle mixture: Once melted, add essential oil at a ratio of one ounce per pound of wax. For colored candles, stir in non-toxic crayon pieces. Let the mixture cool to 130°F to 140°F, checking with your thermometer.

Customize your candles at this stage.

Prep your pour: Hold the wick upright and pour the cooled mixture into your jar, filling it three-quarters full. Tie the wick end to the pen and set it across the jar opening to keep it straight.

Get ready to pour your candle wax.

Finish your candle: Let the wax firm up—you may see a small sinkhole around the wick, which is normal. Pour the remaining wax to fill the jar. Once completely set, trim the excess wick. Your candle is ready to burn!

Add the finishing touches.

8. Build your online store

Your own ecommerce store is more profitable and gives you better brand control than online marketplaces like Amazon, which take a large cut of your profits. While creating an online store might seem daunting, Shopify makes it simple to start without coding or a huge budget. 

Shopify handles:

• Website design
• Product listings
• Inventory management
• Payment processing
• Marketing automation
• International shipping labels and tracking
• Multiple sales channels—including Instagram, TikTok, Amazon, and Walmart

… leaving you with more time to do what you do best: make candles.

9. Create a marketing plan 

Here’s how to sell your homemade candles across different channels:

Online marketing: One of the most effective ways to sell candles is online. Use multiple digital platforms to reach potential customers worldwide.

These platforms and tactics tend to work well for candle makers:

• Instagram: Many lifestyle brands find success through Instagram marketing. Curate beautiful product images, show behind-the-scenes content, and connect with micro-influencers.
• Pinterest: Home décor is a major category for Pinterest users looking for brands and products. Make Pinterest marketing a key part of your strategy.
• Snapchat: As another visual platform with more than 200 million users, you can use Snapchat marketing to reach a growing audience.
• Email marketing: Deliver promotions and brand updates directly to customers’ inboxes. Use apps like Shopify Forms to collect visitor emails for future marketing.
• Giveaways: Use product giveaways and contests to build brand awareness and demonstrate your products.

Offline marketing: While selling online is valuable, don’t overlook in-person sales. Candles are compact and travel well—perfect for craft shows and pop-up shops. Selling in-person offers several benefits:

• Direct feedback: Meet customers face-to-face to understand their needs and improve your products.
• Wholesale opportunities: Looking to explore selling B2B? Connect with potential wholesale buyers at markets and fairs.
• Build your online following: Grow your social media audience and build your email list at in-person events.
• Network and learn:Connect with fellow makers and entrepreneurs for inspiration and problem-solving.

Physical sales require more effort than sitting at your desk, but the right tools simplify sales. A mobile point-of-sale system like Shopify POS helps to handle transactions smoothly at markets, fairs, and pop-up shops.

Candle business tips

Whether you’re starting a side hustle or full-time business, keep these tips in mind:

Take amazing product photos 

Great product photography helps sell your candles. Show clear images of shapes and labels. Try staging candles in home settings so shoppers can envision them in their space. You can hire a professional photographer or take high-quality photos with a smartphone.

📌 Pro tip: Use Shopify Collabs to find creators who can produce content for you. Find, vet, and approve influencers, then send them free candles directly from your Shopify admin.

Create more selling opportunities 

Focus on getting repeat customers—it’s more profitable than constantly finding new ones. Try:

• Cross-selling travel-sized versions of popular candles
• Offer limited-edition scents
• Creating subscription boxes, like Frostbeard Studio’s Candle of the Month Club 

Expand your product line 

Experiment with different fragrance blends for varied preferences. Consider expanding into other handmade goods like soaps, shampoos, or perfumes using your signature scents, like Tofino Soap Company. You can upsell customers based on scents they buy often, create scent-centric care packages, and reach new audiences.

Focus on holiday sales

The National Candle Association reports 35% of candle sales happen during Christmas, with 76% of buyers seeing candles as good gifts. Prepare holiday campaigns with special promotions and targeted ads.

Stay current with trends

Use resources like Meta Foresight, Think with Google, and Nielsen to track consumer trends and pain points. Apply these insights to new products and marketing campaigns.

Use social media effectively

Build your audience and connect with potential customers through short-form video content. Try:

• Showing your candle-making process
• Sharing your business story
• Recording evening routines featuring your candles
• Demonstrating candle comparisons
• Documenting challenges and solutions

“We’re not just taking static product photography—we’re really showing you how it’s gonna live in your space,” says Kristen Pumphrey, P.F. Candle Co. owner. “It’s kind of sending the message: if you get this candle, this is how your space is gonna feel.”

Start your candle making business today

With the right tools, recipes, and marketing strategies, you have everything you need to turn your candle-making passion into a thriving business. Whether you start with simple soy candles or develop unique fragrance blends, your journey from DIY enthusiast to successful business owner starts here.

Candle business FAQ

Is candle making a good business?

Yes—it requires minimal equipment or technical knowledge, has low startup costs, and you can work from home.

How much does it cost to start a candle business?

Plan to spend about $1,000 to start a small home candle business, covering equipment like double-boilers, pouring pots, and containers.

Is candle making profitable?

Yes. With low startup costs and an industry expected to reach nearly $5 billion by 2026, there’s strong potential for profit.

What are the best scents for candles?

Essential oils work best, falling into four categories: floral, fresh, woody, and oriental.

Do I need a license to sell candles?

While no specific candle-making license is required, consider forming an LLC or S corporation for legal protection. Check local requirements for sales tax permits and business insurance.