How to Start Candles Business & Sell it on Shopify

Categories: Sell online Shopify store

Sam Thomas Updated: June 01, 2023

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If you’re an entrepreneur looking for a new business venture, I have potential retail or online business idea for you: homemade candles. When it comes to creating a product that is both practical and hot (literally and figuratively), learning how to make candles is a skillet that is useful even for the hesitant DIYer.

So, if you’re curious about homemade candles, varieties such as soy candles, and how to make candles, then let’s dive deeper into this product. In this article, I will explain to you how to start a candle business and start selling it on Shopify. Let’s jump right in!

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Why should you start a candles business?

Who’s not in love with candles? Homemade candles have become a key home decor item — an industry that is projected to produce $664 billion by 2020, according to a recent Allied Market Research study.

In addition to candles emerging as a primary category in the home decor industry, consumers are increasingly interested in trends such as aromatherapy and transforming their homes with home flavors. Candles (homemade or otherwise) have brought about an affordable way for shoppers to purchase this hot decor item and to buy different candle variations in their lifestyle. And the increasing interest in candles is quantifiable. Taking a fast spin on Google Trends shows us that searches for homemade candles are steady:

And while candles can be used for different purposes around the globe, most of the searches for handmade candles are focused around North America and Western Europe. This is great intel for candlesticks trying to find a market for their DIY products:

As you can see, Google Trends shows a great deal of interest in different forms of candles — from scented to soya, and all in between. Shoppers’ interest in the candles is not just solid; they run the gamut. And, when an aspiring entrepreneur decides what kind of items to make, this data is a valuable insight to help you develop a range that resonates with potential customers.

Besides the popularity of this hot product, candles offer business owners a number of other benefits, including:

Candles cost very little to make. Some homemade candle varieties, admittedly, require more valuable materials than others, but in general, candlemakers can make their wares with very little cash in front of them.
Candles are hot items when they’re sold in person. Do you want to sell your home decor items at craft fairs and local markets? Homemade candles are lightweight so you can move them easily, and you can sell them online and offline.
Even novice craftsmen can make homemade candles. If you’re a DIY master or a crafty newbie, the simple candle recipe is easy to follow. As you will notice from our handy infographic below, the formula is simple.
A lot of varieties make it easy to create unique candles. With many types of candles, it’s easy to customize your products and distinguish yourself from direct competitors.

From the point of view of DIY (Do It Yourself), learning how to make candles is an ability that can be turned into a viable revenue stream. But before we get how to make your own handmade candles, let’s take a look at the common types that attract shoppers.

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What are the types of homemade candles you can sell?

One of the major benefits when learning how to make candles to sell on Shopify is the variety — there’s definitely a sort of candle out there that will catch the attention of potential customers. Not sure where to get started? Here are some of the most popular types of homemade candles you can explore while constructing your homemade candle business strategy.

Soy Candles

As one of the most popular candle varieties on the market today, soy candles are made from a foundation of soy wax. This wax is extracted from soybeans and is therefore made from vegetables grown directly from the soil (as opposed to standard varieties of oil or paraffin).

Not only are soy candles made from renewable resources, but they also burn cleanly and for longer periods of time. This way, consumers get more use on their bucks when it comes to buying a longer-lasting candle.

Scented/Aromatherapy Candles

It’s one of the most growing types of candles. Scented or aromatherapy candles provide a wide variety of scents for consumers looking to spic their homes with good smells.

If it’s intended to disguise a normal household stench or actually produce a special fragrance, the fragrance of candles comes in hundreds of flavors — so there’s a scent that appeals to almost all. Aromatherapy candles manufacturers market their goods as providing unique benefits that correspond to those scents. In general, these candles have essential oils in their recipes to enhance physical or mental well-being. Lavender scents, for instance, are also associated with relaxation.

Vegan Candles

There is a growing segment of shoppers concerned with materials used by businesses to produce their products — especially any animal ingredients. Basic candles also contain animal products such as beeswax, which are not suitable for certain consumers. But here comes the vegan candles for rescue! Vegan candles use adapted formulations using ingredients such as soy wax, plant-based waxes, essential oils and natural fragrances.

Decorative Candles

You’ve already seen candles come in several colors, shapes, and sizes when you visit a homeware shop. Many candles are made solely for decorative purposes — they are not usually scented and are not made from special ingredients. They’re just adding something to the room in your house. Decorative candles also come in complicated shapes, feature attachments, and use complicated designs.

Step-by-step guide on how to make candles

As I have described, there are many styles of candles you can make in your own kitchen. Here, we ‘re going to show you how to make a simple soy candle. You may take the same basic ingredients, tweak them slightly, and make your own personalized recipe.

Gather Your Ingredients

For this homemade soy candle recipe, you’ll need:

Soy wax
Superglue
Wicks (preferably cotton)
Essential oil of your choice
Double boiler
Spatula
Thermometer
Pen
Mason jar

While you’re likely to have some of these things sitting around your home, you can easily get the others without busting your budget. You will find soya wax in bulk at places like AliExpress or Wholesale Apothecary for around $4 per pound.

Merchants searching for source jars or other glass containers should look at AliExpress for a range of bulk-purchasing choices, or search their local thrift store or dollar store for cheap products. Essential oils are available at your local craft store, Etsy or Amazon. The rest of the ingredients can be found in almost any grocery store. Some of the choices for your jar and glass container include:

Prep Your Wax and Container

Now, let’s prepare the materials to make your candle wax ready. Take your soy wax and place it in your double boiler on your kitchen stove to melt. Fill the bottom pot with water and the top with the soy wax and turn the burner to medium heat. Stir the wax with your spatula, make sure you break up any pieces. When the wax is cooling, take your wick and add it to the bottom of your glass bottle. Enable the glue to dry, which will hold your wick in place while your wax pours.

Customize Your Candle Mixture

When your wax is melted, take your favorite essential oil and stir in the mixture at a rate of 1 oz per pound of wax. If you want to change the color of your candle wax, add in bits of non-toxic crayons.

After your ingredients have been melted and combined, let them cool down to 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit. Test the mixture with your thermometer to ensure that it reaches the appropriate temperature.

Prep Your Pour

When your wax mixture is cooled to the right temperature, it’s time to pour it into your glass. Keep the wick with one hand and drain the mixture out of the pan with the other. Fill three-fourth of the jar with a mixture of hot wax. To keep the wick upright, tie it to the end of the pen and set it through the opening of your jar.

Finishing Your Candle

Enable your wax to be hardened up before beginning the final pour. You’re going to see a tiny sinkhole in the wax around the wick — don’t worry, that’s usual. Here’s where we’re going to fix this problem. Take the remaining wax mixture and add the remaining one-fourth of the mixture into the container. Enable the rest of the wax to be fully placed. Once the wax is firm, take off the excess wick with a few scissors, and your candle is ready to burn!

Pricing your candles

Depending on the size of the jar and the cost of the goods, each candle can usually be priced between $10 and $25. Glass jars may break during shipping-so be sure to include special fragile packaging in your shipping costs to ensure that your business remains profitable.

How to sell your homemade candles online on Shopify

You’ve got a recipe for success — now it’s time to find out how to market your soy candles (or other homemade candles). Like other (B2C) business-to-consumer companies, one of the most lucrative ways of selling the goods is online. You may use digital channels, such as social media and your own e-commerce site, to attract potential customers around the world.

One of the best ways to sell your candles online is by building up a Shopify store. Luckily, we have all the resources that you need to learn how to build a Shopify store from scratch up.

This guide will teach you how to develop a Shopify store.
Before launching your candle store on Shopify, you can use this guide that contains a comprehensive checklist so that you won’t miss anything important.
Here are our recommendations for the best themes for candles stores on Shopify.

You won’t be able to have a well-functioning Shopify store without supporting apps that help you automate things and do repetitive tasks. Now let’s go through all of the must-have apps that every new store should have. All of these apps are available on the Shopify app market, and we provide them FOR FREE!

Pro Tips: Enhance your Shopify candles store with AVADA’s free apps

Having developed apps for eCommerce stores for several years, we, AVADA, have a deep understanding of what owners need to build up a well-functioning store. With that knowledge, we have put together a collection of apps that are must-have for every new Shopify store, whether you are in the fitness industry or any other industry.

On top of that, deposit knowing all the life-easing benefits that apps can bring, new store owners often have a budget constraint so they’d rather do things manually instead of paying for apps that get things done for them. We understand that too, but we also believe that if new stores can have access to necessary eCommerce apps, they will be able to grow their store faster, and as a result, have more budget for advanced apps later on.

This is why we have put together a collection of must-have apps that every new store should install, and all of them are FREE. These apps will make the development of your Shopify fitness store so much easier, and you will be able to run it more efficiently. All of these apps are available on the Shopify app marketplace, so after you create your store on Shopify, you can go and grab them immediately. Now, let’s go through what our apps can do for you.

AVADA SEO Suite

SEO Suite app helps you to build elements of your on-page SEO effortlessly. It will help you optimize website images and structure in a way that is most compatible with the Google Search algorithm.

Key benefits of AVADA SEO Suite

Improve website loading speed
Free
Faster Google index of websites images, content
Auto-complete Google structured data for your website
Increase click rate with standardized meta tags
Control all web issues by SEO checklist
No duplicate content
One-click auto-run, no technical skills required

Get SEO Suite app.

AVADA Social Proof

81% of global customers rank trust in a brand as their top buying consideration. Trust issues are one of the main problems that you need to solve when it comes to eCommerce. There are many ways to build up trust with website visitors. Displaying dynamic customer interactions on your website is one of the easiest ways. This is why we build Social Proof.

AVADA Social Proof will display visitors’ interactions with your website in the form of pop-ups. Don’t worry, these pop-ups are not the in-your-face type, but small ones that appear at the bottom left corner of your website. This design will prevent the feature from annoying your site visitors.

There are many types of pop-ups that AVADA Social Proof can display, and you can learn all about them in seconds.

Go check out and download it now.

AVADA Free Shipping Bar

Offering free shipping will help boost your sales and attract new customers. Free shipping is actually one of the strongest incentives that can encourage customers to make purchases.

With AVADA Free Shipping Bar, you can set up a banner on the homepage of your website so that visitors can notice your offer immediately. There are also many cool modifications that AVADA Free Shipping Bar can do to meet your needs.

Get Free Shipping Bar for free.

AVADA Size Chart

If you’re going to sell fitness clothes or shoes on your Shopify store, size charts are an absolute must-have so that your customers can choose the correct sizes for themselves.

AVADA Size Chart is very easy to use; it has 11 presets available to suit all kinds of fitness products such as Men’s Shoes, Women’s Shoes, Men’s Top, etc. All it takes is one-click to apply any preset instantly.

Get Size Chart now.

AVADA Discount Code Generator

Apart from free shipping, offering discounts is another way to boost your revenue. With the default feature of Shopify, setting up discounts is a little bit tricky. In Shopify, you can only have one single code for a discount. This can cause trouble when you want to have multiple different codes for the same discount so that you can send them to different customers. Using the AVADA Discount Code Generator, you will be able to generate a load of different codes for any predefined discount rule.

Get Discount Code Generator here.

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Final Words

It’s difficult to build up an eCommerce business from scratch, but not impossible. I hope this guide has given you valuable information about how to start a candle business on Shopify. Please feel free to leave comments below for further discussion on this topic. :-)