Selling and marketing candles (part 1)

Selling and Marketing Candles (Part 1)

These days candle makers are faced with a myriad of factors in producing candles in a production environment. These factors apply to any type of burning candle including paraffin wax, gels and natural waxes. The purpose of this article is to examine this in three distinct processes or channels. This should not be viewed as a business plan or model, but more from the perspective of guidance on producing candles that are high quality and safe.

The first issue you face is with the raw materials, ensuring that the cost, quality and availability of the materials used to make your candle are consistent. The second issue is the capability of selling the finished product at a competitive price and how to select your proper market. The final step–which is the topic of this first article–is consumer acceptance and safe use of your candle.

For many reasons, it is critical that we not assume candle users know the proper way to burn a candle. It is critical that each and every candle that you sell has a set of burning instructions on the candle. This is viewed as so important that the National Candle Association and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are in the process of developing standards which all candle burning instructions must meet.

The candle burning instructions must have critical performance information such as the “wick must be trimmed to 1/4,” “never leave debris in the candle” and “burn time associated with each candle” (generally this is four hours). The candle burning instructions must also identify safety measures such as “never leave a burning candle unattended,” “candle must be placed on heat resistant surface” and “keep young children and pets away from burning candles.” The candle burning instructions must also be placed in an area where they may be read very easily by the consumer. The most common method is placing the candle burning instructions on the bottom of the candle. Any unique feature which encourages the consumer to read the instructions for burning the candle is recommended.

However, even the best candle burning instructions will not assist if the candle is not produced using the correct components and products. While there are a plethora of issues here, you can start by ensuring that you are using

1. the proper wick size for each application,
2. the correct sustainer base (jars, containers and tins), if applicable,
3. the proper combination of waxes (including gel and natural) with fragrances, and
4. no flammable products in the burning area of the candle.

After this, you will want to ensure that you have a detailed knowledge of how your candle will perform under different scenarios.

It is imperative that every candle you manufacture meets all of the safety criteria you have developed. If you require any assistance on this please do not hesitate to contact any of our Representatives. Remember safety must always come first.