If you’re looking for a way to make some extra money, or simply a way to express your creativity, you might be thinking about starting a candle-making business.
Candles have become in-demand items across UK homes, with companies big and small setting out to create the best ones. In fact, according to Kantar, between March 2021 and 2022, UK consumers spent £418m on scented candles.
From beautifully decorated pieces to those that smell unique – all you need to do is simply get started. If you’re wondering how, we break it down step by step to help you kick off your successful candle-making business.
Step 1: Market Research
Before starting any kind of business, it’s important to conduct some market research. In this stage, you’ll want to look at your competitors to find out what products are already on the market, what the latest trends are and how you can make yourself stand out from the crowd.
For example, if there is a particular trend towards organic or chemical-free candles, you might be thinking this is a good USP for your company.
If people are going more for coloured long candles than plain coloured short ones, that might be a sign of the aesthetic you should create.
Likewise, if you see a gap in the market – for example for candles with more of a male focus – this might inform your product line up and your target audience.
Step 2: Create A Business Plan For Your Candle-Making Business
Once you’ve worked out the type of products you want to make and the type of brand you want to build, it’s time to think about the practicalities.
Your business plan will outline everything, from how you plan to grow, to who your target market is, where you plan to sell and how you plan to fund your business.
It will also list any directors in the company, so make sure you think about who you want involved.
If you plan to self-fund, it’s also worth working out how quickly you want to (and will be able to) become profitable, as well as any loans or business grants available to help support your set up.
You should think about:
- The cost of setting up the business
- The company name
- The cost of materials
- Labour costs
- What products you want to create
- How much these products should cost
- Any spaces you may need to rent to store inventory
- How and where you plan to sell the products (online, through retailers or through independent shops).
- How you plan to accept payments
- The road to profitability
Depending on whether you want to register the business at the start, you can do so at Companies House for £50. Once you have this set up and approved, you can function as a business from day 1.
Step 3: Source The Materials
Now that you have your plan, it’s time to start executing it. Any candle-making business needs high-quality materials to produce the candles.
You’ll need things like:
- Wax
- Wicks
- Moulds
- Containers
- Fragrance oils
- Packaging
- A business card, logo or sticker
If you plan to decorate the candles you might also need
Make sure you do your research to find the best materials at the best prices, this will help you maximise profitability from day 1.
Step 4: Product Development
You’re not going to get your candles right the first time you try to make them, so give yourself some time to throw yourself into product development.
You’ll want to experiment with things like wax consistency, candle shape, the scent and how it burns. For example, a candle that only burns with a strong scent for an hour is unlikely to be hailed as a high-quality product.
Spend some time getting the product perfect before launching to market.
Make sure you are happy with how the materials interact, how the product looks and the pricing before moving onto the next stage.
Step 5: Find A Place To Sell Your Candles
Next, you’ll want to start setting up your sales process.
Are you launching an online shop? In that case, it’s probably best to design an e-commerce website that allows you to sell. Think about getting to grips with platforms like Shopify that are built to boost ecommerce brands.
Or, if you plan to use marketplaces like Etsy, get your profile set up and take some high-quality product pictures to help with the sales process.
If you plan to sell in retailers, start approaching them. Think about all the places you might be able to sell. For example, if your candles are for male audiences, why not approach barber shops?
If your candles focus on homely smells, what about coffee shops? Bakeries? Independent boutiques?
Start putting the work in early to spread the word. That way, you can get selling as soon as possible.
Step 6: Find Customers and Take Orders
If you plan to sell through a retailer, getting people to buy your products for the first time is the hardest part.
Start by thinking about any offers you can give them, or free samples to create to draw them in. Handing these out can help people see the value of your product from the start.
You can also look for local events like fairs, markets or local shops to help spread samples.
If you are driving people to a shop online, think about marketing tactics here too. Do you want to pay for your listing to be at the top? Do you want to work with influencers to show them off? A mix of marketing tactics will help you spread the word quickly about your new venture.
Top tip: Keep track of all orders and use the email addresses or details to inform further marketing strategies. See what works, what doesn’t and adapt from there.
It’s also worth making sure that any money generated from the business is put aside in a special business bank account. This will help you when it comes to annual accounting and keeping track of profits.
Step 7: Keep Developing New Ideas
Once you’ve launched your business, you might think it’s time to take your foot off the pedal. But the truth is, this is where the hard work starts!
To stay relevant, it’s important to keep evolving, adapting and creating new products. Start thinking about where else you might be able to sell them and start expanding.
Before you know it, you can have a candle empire!
