How to start a candle business, and when to hand the pouring to a factory

Pour it yourself or have it made

Hand-pouring is the cheapest way into a candle business: wax, wicks, jars and fragrance oil cost little, and you control every recipe. The limit is time. Each scent needs test burns, every batch needs curing space, and a wholesale order for a few hundred units of one scent can fill your kitchen for a week.

Having candles made means a factory pours to your spec: your fragrance, your vessel, your label. You can start from a factory's existing wax blends and fragrance library under a private label candle arrangement, or develop your own scents with it. Expect a minimum order per scent and per vessel, and ask for each one before you plan a range with a dozen fragrances.

You can also do both: small seasonal scents poured in-house, and the three or four bestsellers made by a factory in the volumes that bring the unit cost down.

The steps

1. Pick the format and the wax. Container candles, pillars, tapers and wax melts are made differently. The wax matters for burn and scent throw, and, if you import from China, for duty, as the China section below explains.
2. Develop and test the scents. Test burns show whether the wick size, fragrance amount and vessel work together: an even melt pool, a steady flame and no heavy soot. Keep written results for each scent and vessel size.
3. Choose vessels and lids. Glass, tins and ceramics each have their own heat behavior. Ask the factory what glass it uses and whether it meets the industry standard for candle containers named below.
4. Get quotes and minimums. Ask for the MOQ per scent and per vessel, the cost of fragrance development, and the lead time for samples and for production.
5. Approve a sample. Burn it all the way down and sign off the pre-production sample as the standard for the run.
6. Write the labels. Plan the fire safety warning, the net weight and your business name and address, as set out below.
7. Inspect, ship and price it landed. A quality inspection before shipment is where you catch cracked jars, sunken tops and wrong labels. Then work out the landed cost per candle, as in the example below, before you set a retail price.

Wicks and the lead rule

Metal-cored wicks, and candles that use them, must not contain lead in the metal core in excess of 0.06% by weight^[1]. The ban covers candles manufactured or imported on or after October 15, 2003^[2]. Bulk shipments of such wicks and candles must carry the statement “Conforms to 16 CFR 1500.17(a)(13)” on the shipping package or outer wrapping^[1], and their manufacturer or importer must issue a General Certificate of Compliance (GCC)^[1]. For a candle made outside the US, the importer, as defined in this part, is the finished product certifier^[3], so that certificate is the importer's job. The CPSC says there is no certification requirement for candlewicks that use nonmetal cores or candles that use nonmetal-cored wicks^[1], so a candle whose wick has no metal core, such as a coreless or paper-cored cotton wick or a wood wick, stays outside that paperwork. Put that wick in writing in the purchase order and check it at inspection: a cotton wick can still have a metal core, so name the core, not only the fiber.

Labels: warnings, weight and who you are

The CPSC points to several industry consensus standards for candles, including ASTM F2058^[1] on candle fire safety labeling, ASTM F2417^[1] on fire safety for candles and ASTM F2179^[1] on glass containers made for use as candle containers. They are voluntary, so ask your factory which ones it follows, ask any retailer you sell through which ones it expects, and put the fire safety warning on every candle. Separately, under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), candles that contain a hazardous substance as defined under the FHSA must bear cautionary labeling^[1], so ask whether any fragrance oil you use brings a candle into that rule.

The federal packaging and labeling rules also apply. Their definition of a consumer commodity takes in any retail product for personal or household use which usually is consumed or expended in the course of such consumption or use^[4], and a candle is used up as it burns. Net quantity is stated in terms of weight or mass if the commodity is solid, semi-solid, or viscous^[4], and wax is a solid, so a candle label gives its weight, in terms of both avoirdupois pound and ounce and SI metric kilograms, grams, or milligrams^[4]. The statement sits within the bottom 30 percent of the area of the label panel^[4] on the front. The label must also give the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor^[4], and if you did not make the candle, your name must be qualified by a phrase that reveals the connection^[4] you have with the candle, such as “Manufactured for” or “Distributed by”. Weigh the wax fill, not the jar, and have the factory print the same figure on every label.

Buying candles from China: the antidumping order

Commerce published an antidumping duty order on candles from China on August 28, 1986^[5], and it is still in force. The case number is A-570-504^[6]. It covers certain scented or unscented petroleum wax candles made from petroleum wax and having fiber or paper-cored wicks^[5]. The notice lists the products under subheading 3406.00.00^[5], but gives that code for convenience and customs purposes; the written description decides what is covered, so a candle entered under another code can still fall inside it.

After its previous five-year review, Commerce continued the order from October 29, 2021^[5], and CBP will continue to collect AD cash deposits at the rates in effect at the time of entry for all imports of subject merchandise^[5]. Commerce's August notice of orders open to administrative review still listed it, for the period it gives as 8/1/25-7/31/26^[6]. Commerce started the next five-year review on September 1, 2026^[7], so its outcome is worth watching.

In practice: if you want petroleum wax candles made in China, get your customs broker's view on the cash deposit before you compare quotes. If you plan a soy, coconut or blended wax, ask the broker whether the candle is inside the written scope, and keep the factory's wax specification on file to support the answer. Sourcing from another country takes this order out of the calculation, as long as the candle is genuinely made there.

What a first run costs, landed

A first run of 1,000 soy wax candles in 8 oz glass jars, made overseas outside China

Line	Amount
Factory price, 1,000 candles at $3.10, FOB the origin port	$3,100
Fragrance development and samples, paid to the factory, one time	$400
Ocean freight and insurance, shared container	$620
Duty, including the origin's additional duties, at 10% (assumed) of the factory price plus development	$350
Customs broker and entry fees	$250
Warning and net weight labels	$120
Delivery from the port to your warehouse	$300
Landed cost	$5,140
Landed cost per candle	$5.14

Illustrative figures, not a quote. Real prices depend on the spec, quantity and factory.

Candles are heavy for their value, so freight is a bigger share of the landed cost than for most small goods. Compare an overseas quote with a domestic one on this landed basis, not on the factory price. Leaving China out of the sourcing takes away the antidumping question, though the country you choose still has its own additional duties; use the import duty and landed cost guide to check the duty line for your origin.

Getting quotes

Send us the format, wax, wick, vessel, scents and label you have in mind, and we introduce you to candle makers that fit, overseas first, each one named; if none fits, we tell you. It is free for brands, and we are not a party to the sale: the makers quote you directly, and any order is between you and the maker you choose. Ask each quote to state its shipping terms, and ask for the same candle to be priced from more than one country.