How to Start a Candle making Business

Any individual can initiate candle making business on a small-scale and part-time basis.

People lighten candle not only for religious purpose but also as a decor item. Apart from the traditional long white candle, there is also a very potential market for scented and decorative candles. Before we start detailing, let us inform you the main elements needed to manufacture candles. They are wax, wicks, Stearic acid, dyes, production machines, and packaging.

Let us walk you through the steps of starting a candle making business with very less capital

Why Candle Making Business?

Candle making is one of the most popular businesses for beginners as it is very easy to start. Broadly this is because of the following reasons.

Firstly, the investment required to start this business is much less.

Secondly, the process of manufacturing the item is simple. You do not require much machinery to manufacture candles. You need only wax and wick to start this business which is readily available in the market.

Thirdly, The demand for candles is there throughout the year.

The traditional candle demand comes from religious needs.  Candles are must for any religious ceremony.

Presently, the demand for aromatic and decorative candles is on the rise. These candles are being used by many households, restaurants, event parties in brightening up their interior.

Mainly two types of candles that you may plan to produce. One is a white color simple long candle with different height and size.

Another category is decorative candles like colorful, scented, spiral, birthday type, tapered, spiral, fluted, LED, pillar candles.

License & Registrations Required for Small Scale Candle Manufacturing Business

If you are planning to run a candle making business from home, a trade license from local authority will be enough to start with.

However, if are planning to start a commercial candle manufacturing, you need to consider the following.

You must register your business.  You can form a sole proprietorship, OPC, LLP or Pvt Ltd. company as per your requirement.

Apply for your business Pan Card. Obtain Trade License from your local authority.

In addition, open a current Bank Account. You can also apply for a loan for machinery and working capital. You can register your business as SSI Unit also.

Apply for Sales Tax Registration.

You can also protect your brand name by registering Trade Mark.

Raw Materials For Candle Making

The major two raw materials required in making candles are paraffin wax and wick.

You also need to have yarn, different colors, molds, decorative items, and fragrances. Pay special attention to packaging for the gift or decorative candles.

Other than raw materials you will need to have some equipment for candle making. These are melting pot, thermometer, pour pot, weighing scale, hammer and an oven to melt the wax.

Candle Making Machine Price & Types

Several different varieties of candle making machines are available in the market. Selecting the right machinery is an important issue in initiating the business properly. Wrong selection of machines can lead the project to a less profit or loss-making.

Broadly candle making machines can be segregated in 3 different types. Those are Manual, Semi-Automatic, and Fully-Automatic candle making machines. All machines are different by their production capacity, production quality, and costs.

Manual Candle Making Machines

Various handy, operator friendly, candle making machines, and molds are available. According to your production output criteria, you will need to choose the right one. These machines work efficiently by solidifying the melted wax in available cavities with Wick Pre-inserted in the center of the cavity.

From these machines, you need to collect the finished candles one by one by hand. Different production output such as 300, 550, 950, 1200 and 1800 pieces per hour available in manual machines.

These machines can make simple common daily lighting candle, extruded cylindrical candle.

Semi-Automatic Candle Making Machines

Various semi-automatic candle making machines that are easy to operate, adjustable settings and speedy cooling system with water circulation are available in the market.

These machines are more user-friendly. In addition, these are technically advanced than a manual machine. Here you can find more accurate dimensions from these machines.

These machines provide water circulation system for quick cooling.

The price of a semi-automatic candle making machine price will come around Rs. 40000 if you purchase from India.

Fully-Automatic Candle Making Machines

Fully-automatic candle making machines normally designed using the finest quality mild steel, brass pipes, and CRC pipes to get longer and hassle-free operational life.

Plain, square, round, spiral, colorful, scented birthday-types, tea light candles can be made from these machines with a very high production output. You will get 240 pieces production output per minute. These are also length adjustable and have water circulation system.

Apart from these three types of machines, you will find a different designer mold for creative decor candles. You can produce various types of decorative candles such as designer birthday candles, T candles, soy candles, numeric candles with these molds.

The price of an automatic candle making machine of good quality starts from Rs 60000 in India.

Candle Making Manufacturing Process

The manufacturing process is very simple. However, operating procedure of various candle making machines may differ very little. Normally you have to put the thread in the indicated places.

Then you need to pour the melted paraffin wax on it. If you are using average quality wax, then add stearic acid. However, for better quality, you might not need to add.

Within few minutes, the wax will be coagulated. The final step is packaging. For scented, colorful, decorative candles you will need to mix the color and fragrance accordingly.

Candle Making Safety Guide

Never melt wax on or in anything that does not have some form of temperature control because wax does have a flash point and will burst into flames without warning once it reaches that point. Depending on the wax the flash point may vary between 290 – 380 degrees. Always be safe when you make candles.

Market Manufactured Candles

There are mainly two ways of selling candles. One is physically distributing candles to your local retailers and distributors. The other one is selling online.

For physical distribution, you must contact retailers and local dealers and ask them to promote your brand of candles. Your pricing strategy will play a key role in providing them an interest in selling products.

Finally, if you are starting small with less capital investment, it is always advised to start with less manpower. You need to shoulder as much responsibility you can take. As you grow you candle making business and profits start rolling in, think of adding quality manpower.