AIBU to ask what you think of a candle making business?

[Miajk]

Not sure if it's just me but have seen many Facebook friends recently getting into making candles and wax melts and selling on depop/Facebook.

It made we wonder if one was to start a full on candle making business, do you think the market is saturated? Yankee Candle etc.

When you buy candles, how important is price, whether they're vegan, range of scents etc?

I always wanted to start a business, currently won't be able to but just wanted to see your thoughts. If I had the time/money i'd love to set one up!

They've got into MLMs.

Stay well clear.

Saturated market imv.

I wouldn’t bother I know 2 people doing this and they don’t make much cash.

Use loads of candles and make my own. Put my own energy into them. Loads already on the market

Far too many already doing it.

Reminds me of Jan in the American Office

Do you mean making the candle and wax melts yourself? There is local business to me that makes their own wax melts, they now do loads of other things like shower gel, shampoo, soap, hand cream and they are really popular and sell loads. They now have 2 shops they sell from as they are good quality so lots of regular customers. They started to make hand sanitizer recently and it has been selling out quick, they deliver it or post it at the moment. They must have made a fortune in the past few weeks as its not cheap sanitizer. So could be done if done well, also depends who else is doing it in your area.

Home bargains and Aldi/Lidl have plenty of candles and wax melts that smell nice and are cheap and cheerful. Price is my first criteria and then smell. As long as they arent offensive and cheap enough to buy more if I like them then thats all good to me.

Thank you for all the responses so far! Just to make it clear I do mean an actual private label, fulfilled by manufacturer and sold on a website/Amazon, not a Facebook business or MLM or Etsy etc.

A family friend takes up this sort of thing and drops it as she realises there are too many sellers already doing the same, or her prices will have to be high to cover costs and most people aren't willing to pay it (me included). Loads and loads of people makes candles, I'm sure it's a nice hobby if you're into that sort of thing, but I wouldn't consider it as a business.

It's a nice hobby, but if you make only a small loss you'll be lucky. Market is saturated at every level and most people aren't interested in paying high prices unless it's for an established, high-end brand.

Why on earth would you be in a position to compete & make actual money doing this? Analyse it as a business, properly.

Barriers to entry - low. Anyone can buy candles from a manufacturer and sell on, you don't need any unusual expensive equipment etc.

Innovative/unique product - nope. There are a billion candles out there. It's one of the oldest human inventions still in use today.

Brand - you don't have one yet.

All these things mean you will be competing heavily on price & margins will be wafer thin, therefore the chance you will make reasonable profit are low.

If you have friends claiming to make a lot, ignore them, its MLM.

Candles are heavy to post. If you're buying in stock and selling on Amazon you may not have any margin.

So you are not going to make them, just buy and label?

Who is your target audience? Large candles like Yankee jars or small tea lights? Artisan or mass produced?

My dsis did it for a short time realised it was an mlm and quit. Market is saturated and no one can tell quality plus soy melts arent good for the planet really.

You'd struggle to make a profit as the market is saturated, people keep waxing lyrical about it and it really gets on my wick.

I make my own and have small business that has been placed on hold due to my day job taking over.
I've done quite well, but you have to have a unique selling point in my opinion. My products are not catered for the Mrs hinch fans filled with harmful glitter costing an arm and a leg. My prices are low, to be an affordable treat for everyone - they might not look as fancy but they are cheap and smell lovely. All made in my tiny kitchen.
I think if they're being manufactured and just sold on, people won't be interested. You land in neither market - those interested in mass produced brands eg Yankee candle, or small business handmade ones.

My cousin does it, it was originally just him but after a few years he managed to hire a small team under him. They have a decent customer base built up now and are known locally - and a large chunk of their sales come from corporate clients who will get bespoke candles made for events, or huge orders to give to their staff at Xmas etc.

I don’t know much about the production side but he has a workshop space hired at an industrial site, he started in his kitchen.

However just to flag he works very hard, very long hours - it took a lot of work to build up the business and very long days and even now he needs to work hard to sustain it even though he’s doing well. There is a lot of competition, a lot of small businesses online as well as the fact people can buy a decent candle at the supermarket now for a bargain. His candles and bespoke, quite high end, and that seems to be his USP but I understand it’s hard to stand out. He uses Instagram for a lot of his marketing too.

He started out selling them at market stalls and craft fairs and built from there. I say go for it if you have the drive, but anticipate it will be hard work if you want to pursue it full time and make a profit.