How to Start a Candle Business Online

Starting a candle business online takes four things: a tested formula, a compliant safety label, a price that covers materials and platform fees, and packaging that gets glass and wax to the buyer intact. The materials are cheap. At CandleScience prices checked today, a 10 lb bag of soy wax costs $28.93 ($2.89 per lb), so the wax, fragrance oil and jar for one 8 oz candle come to roughly $3. The real work is in testing and labelling, because a candle is an open flame sold to strangers, and the rules differ between the US and the UK and EU.

Key facts

• A 10 lb bag of SimplySoy wax is listed at $28.93, falling to $2.18 per lb in a 45 lb case (CandleScience).
• Metal-cored wicks sold in the US must not contain more than 0.06% lead by weight (CPSC).
• ASTM F2058, the US candle fire safety labelling standard, has been in effect since 2000 (National Candle Association).
• In the UK, a candle with more than 0.1% of a sensitising fragrance ingredient needs an allergy statement, and more than 1% in total needs a pictogram and the word WARNING (HSENI).
• About 35% of US candle sales happen in the Christmas and holiday season (National Candle Association).
• Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee and, in the US, 3% + $0.25 for payment processing (Etsy Help).

What does it cost to make one candle?

Material costs depend mostly on how much you buy at once. The table below uses one supplier's list prices for a common soy wax, a fragrance oil and an 8 oz jar, so you can see how the per unit cost moves with order size.

Item (CandleScience, checked 2026-11-13)	Pack size	Price	Unit cost
SimplySoy wax	1 lb bag	$4.79	$4.79 per lb
SimplySoy wax	10 lb bag	$28.93	$2.89 per lb
SimplySoy wax	45 lb case	$98.14	$2.18 per lb
Amber Element fragrance oil	4 oz bottle	$12.29	$3.07 per oz
Amber Element fragrance oil	16 oz bottle	$31.47	$1.97 per oz
8 oz mason jar	12 piece case	$9.06	$0.76 per jar

As a worked example, assume a candle uses 6.5 oz of wax and 0.6 oz of fragrance oil. From a 10 lb bag and a 16 oz bottle, that is about $1.18 of wax, $1.18 of fragrance and $0.76 for the jar, or $3.12 in total. Buying wax by the 45 lb case cuts the wax to about $0.89. These are assumptions for illustration; your own fill weight and fragrance load come from your testing, and the fragrance supplier's IFRA certificate sets the maximum usage level.

Add the items the table leaves out: wicks, wick stickers, lids, warning labels, boxes, void fill, a thermometer, a scale and a pouring pitcher. The SBA startup cost guide suggests listing every expense before launch so you can run a break even analysis.

Which safety labels does a candle need in the US?

The CPSC sets a few mandatory rules and points to voluntary standards for the rest:

• Lead in wicks. Metal-cored wicks and candles that use them must not contain lead in the metal core above 0.06% by weight. This applies to products made or imported on or after October 15, 2003. Candles with metal-cored wicks need a General Certificate of Compliance; there is no certification requirement for candles with nonmetal-cored wicks.
• Hazardous substances. Candles that contain a hazardous substance as defined under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act must carry cautionary labelling.
• Voluntary standards. The CPSC lists ASTM F2058 for candle fire safety labelling, ASTM F2179 for glass candle containers and ASTM F2601 for candle accessories.

The National Candle Association explains that F2058 specifies a warning label telling buyers to always burn a candle within sight, keep it away from things that can catch fire and keep it out of reach of children. A related standard, ASTM F2417, covers flame height, tip over and end of life behavior. The NCA also offers three standard icons for those messages: Burn Within Sight, Keep Away from Combustibles and Keep Away from Children.

Many makers also print burning instructions. The NCA's consumer safety tips include trimming the wick to ¼ inch before each use, keeping candles at least 12 inches from flammable items and stopping when ½ inch of wax remains.

What changes when selling to the UK or EU?

In Great Britain and Northern Ireland, candles count as mixtures on a carrier (the wick), so the CLP labelling rules apply. The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland sets out the thresholds:

• More than 0.1% of any sensitising fragrance ingredient: the label must say "Contains (name of fragrance). May produce an allergic reaction."
• More than 1% total sensitising ingredients: add the exclamation point pictogram, the signal word WARNING and "May cause an allergic skin reaction".
• Even below classification, the EUH208 statement can apply at 0.1% for a subcategory 1B sensitiser or 0.01% for subcategory 1A.

The data you need is in the safety data sheet from your fragrance and dye suppliers. The more fragrance a candle holds, the more likely it is to cross the 1% line, so check the figures for each scent at your chosen fragrance load.

Business Companion, the trading standards guidance service, adds that the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 apply in Great Britain and names three designated standards: BS EN 15426 for sooting, BS EN 15493 for fire safety and BS EN 15494 for warning labels. Following them helps a seller show due diligence. It also advises marking each product with a code or batch reference so an unsafe batch can be traced.

How should you test a candle before selling it?

Every combination of wax, fragrance, fragrance load, dye, wick and container burns differently, and CandleScience recommends burn testing each formula before selling. Its method:

1. Let the candle cure for at least 24 hours.
2. Trim the wick to ¼ inch (6 mm) and record the wax, fragrance, load, dye, wick and container diameter.
3. Burn for up to four hours, then extinguish and let it cool for at least five hours.
4. Repeat until ¼ inch of wax remains, checking the melt pool, soot and flame size each cycle.

At three to four hours, the melt pool should reach within ¼ inch of the container edge. A pool that stops well short usually calls for a larger wick, while a tall, sooty flame usually calls for a smaller one. Test the finished candle in the exact jar you will sell, and retest whenever a supplier changes a wax or wick.

How do you price handmade candles?

Build the price from the bottom up: materials, packaging, your labor per candle, a share of overhead (testing stock, labels, insurance, software), platform fees and shipping, then a margin. Seasonality matters. The National Candle Association estimates that about 35% of candle sales happen in the Christmas and holiday season, and 76% of candle buyers see candles as a suitable holiday gift, so stock and cash flow need to be ready by autumn.

Platform fees can take a larger share than materials. Here is what Etsy charges on a $30 order (a $24 candle plus $6 shipping), using its published US rates and excluding sales tax:

Etsy fee (US seller)	Rate	On a $30 order
Listing fee	$0.20 per listing	$0.20
Transaction fee	6.5% of item, shipping and gift wrap	$1.95
Payment processing	3% + $0.25	$1.15
Subtotal		$3.30
Offsite Ads (if the sale came from one)	15%, or 12% above $10,000 a year	$4.50
Total with Offsite Ads		$7.80

Etsy caps the Offsite Ads fee at $100 per order. For your own store, compare the subscription and card rates on the platform's pricing page in your currency.

Which platform should you sell on first?

A marketplace such as Etsy brings traffic but charges per sale, as the table shows. Your own store on a hosted platform costs a monthly fee instead, keeps customer email addresses and makes repeat orders and scent subscriptions easier, but you have to bring the visitors yourself. A common path is to launch on a marketplace, collect reviews and learn which scents sell, then open your own store once repeat buyers make up a steady share of orders.

How should you photograph candles?

Buyers cannot smell a candle online, so images and scent descriptions carry the sale. In Baymard Institute usability testing, 56% of users began by exploring product images when they reached a product page, yet 25% of ecommerce sites lacked images with enough resolution or zoom. Baymard found that 93% of desktop sites let users zoom product images, so buyers expect it.

Shoot each candle in natural side light against a plain background, then add a lit shot, a top view of the melt pool, a photo of the label, a hand or common object for scale, and the jar with its lid. Describe the scent with top, middle and base notes, and state the wax type, net weight and the burn time you measured in testing.

How do you ship candles without damage?

Candles fail in transit in two ways: glass breaks and wax softens in heat. Wrap each jar so it cannot touch another, fill empty space in the box, and use a lid to keep dust and leaked oil in. In summer, avoid sending parcels late in the week so they do not sit in a hot depot over a weekend, and tell buyers in the listing when you pause shipping in hot weather.

In the US, USPS Ground Advantage accepts packages up to 70 lbs with expected delivery in 2 to 5 days, and packages over 15.999 oz are priced by the pound. Weigh packed orders of one, two and three candles before setting shipping rates.

Do you need insurance for a candle business?

Insurance is not always legally required, but a candle is a product that can cause a fire. The SBA describes product liability insurance as coverage for businesses that manufacture, wholesale, distribute or retail a product, protecting against financial loss when a defective product causes injury or bodily harm. General liability covers bodily injury and property damage claims more broadly. Ask any craft fair or wholesale buyer whether they require proof of cover, and keep your burn test records and batch codes on file, since they help show due care if a claim arises.

Launch checklist

• Choose one wax, one wick series and one jar, and test before adding more.
• Burn test every scent and wick pairing to ¼ inch of wax and keep written records.
• Confirm wicks meet the CPSC 0.06% lead limit, or use nonmetal-cored wicks.
• Print the ASTM F2058 warnings or NCA icons on every candle.
• For UK or EU buyers, check each fragrance SDS and add CLP statements and pictograms where needed.
• Add a batch code to every candle.
• Price from a full cost sheet including platform fees and shipping.
• Photograph each candle unlit, lit, from above, with scale and with the label.
• Arrange product liability insurance before your first market or wholesale order.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to start a candle business?

The materials for a test batch are modest. At CandleScience prices, a 10 lb bag of soy wax is $28.93 and a 12 piece case of 8 oz jars is $9.06, so wax, fragrance and jars for one candle cost about $3.12. Add wicks, labels, tools, packaging, insurance and test stock to estimate the total.

Is ASTM F2058 mandatory?

The CPSC lists ASTM F2058 as a voluntary consensus standard. The mandatory federal rules cover lead in metal-cored wicks (0.06% by weight) and cautionary labelling for candles that contain a hazardous substance. Following F2058 is still the simplest way to give buyers the three core fire safety warnings.

Do candles sold in the UK need a CLP label?

Often, yes. HSENI guidance says a candle with more than 0.1% of a sensitising fragrance ingredient needs an allergy statement, and more than 1% in total needs the exclamation pictogram, the word WARNING and "May cause an allergic skin reaction". Business Companion also points to BS EN 15494 for the warning label format.

What fees does Etsy charge on a candle sale?

Etsy charges $0.20 per listing, a 6.5% transaction fee on the item, shipping and gift wrap, and, in the US, 3% + $0.25 for payment processing. On a $30 order that is about $3.30. Sales from Offsite Ads add 15%, or 12% for shops above $10,000 in yearly sales.