Hello there everyone! I’m back.
I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but you know, life get’s busy, especially as a work at home mom of 3 crazy boys! So
I had this question posed to me as I was thinking about what to write about next on here. There are so many topics to cover and questions to answer when you’re talking about making soy candles, or starting a candle business that it’s hard to know what to address next. So here we go!
How To Price Soy Candles
Pricing your soy candles isn’t too difficult if you know the general formula, but it can take some time and math to figure up exactly how much each candle is costing you in order to determine how much to sell them for so that you can make a profit and ensure that your time and effort in making them, is being paid for.
Many times, and myself included, we think that we need to compete with other soy candle companies and in order to do that , we reason, is to make sure our price is lower than theirs. Well, I’m here to tell ya, that’s not a good way to do business in reality. I know from experience, that it takes time and money to make soy candles and I tried pricing my candles at what I thought was a “reasonable price” and It didn’t end up paying for my time and effort that I put into making the candles and preparing them for packaging and shipping and all the work that goes into it.
People Will Pay The Price For Quality Soy Candles
They will! Believe it or not, and that is why you see some of the bigger name soy candle companies out there still in business and seemingly doing well! I know, I know, I’ve looked at the competition and my jaw dropped at some of the prices, but once I really dug into the business of soy candle making, I understood why they charge so much. Your business has to be able to pay you, or you won’t stick with it. You’ll get discouraged and give up because at the end of the day (or year) you find that you only made enough to cover your cost and some expenses including the extra on the electric bill that comes with using the stove so much……(didn’t think about that one did you? 😉
So you have to realize that there is a reason these other companies are able to grow their customer base while having seemingly high prices (if compared to regular candles anyway). It’s because people LOVE their candles and keep coming back for more. It’s worth it to those people. And it is. I mean don’t you have certain candle fragrances that you just LOVE and maybe only one or two companies carry that fragrance? Candles are addictive, and if you have a quality product and maybe a few unique fragrances, people will buy them even if you think you’re charging too much….which you aren’t when you consider all the costs of soy candle making.
How To Find the Cost of Each Soy Candle
We are going to use a soy jar candle for this example and I’m going to list each and every item used in making soy jar candles so you know what you need to figure out how much each candle is costing you.
8oz Soy Jar Candle Breakdown:
- 8oz of soy container wax (Find cost for 1oz x 8)
- Jar (usually you buy these by the dozen, so cost per dozen divided by 12= cost per jar)
- Candle Wick (Divide cost per package of wicks by amount of wicks, example: $3 for package of 10 wicks= $3/10= $.30 per wick)
- Fragrance Oil (1lb of fragrance oil is approx. $16+ so that’s $1 per oz, with 1/2oz per 8oz candle = $.50 per 8oz candle)
- Dye (I used liquid dye with a dropper, and the company I bought it from actually gave a number on their website of aprox how many drops a container, so I was able to figure up the cost per drop, but you may need to just use a scale and figure up how much a few drops weigh and go from there)
- Wick Stickers (just divide the cost per package by the amount in the package like we did with the wicks)
- Lids (find the cost of each individual lid)
- Ribbon or other decorative items (Just measure how much you use. Take the total length of the spool of ribbon divided by the length you use for a candle=amount per spool, and then take the cost per spool divided by the amount per spool= cost per candle
- Tags and warning labels (Same as wicks and wick stickers, just divide cost per package by the amount per package(or roll)
So that’s your cost per candle as far as supplies go.
How Much Are YOU Getting Paid For Your Time?
Now you need to figure out how long it takes you to make a batch of candles so you can decide how much it’s going to cost you per hour (how much you’d like to get paid!). Now obviously it will be much better for you to be able to make larger batches of candles at one time than to only make candles to order. So you have to decide, are you willing to take the extra time to many times only make one candle at a time because someone only ordered one candle or 6 candles, each a different fragrance? Or would you rather make batches at a time and have them already stocked in order to save you time and money? (remember that electric bill?) It’s something to seriously consider before you jump into business.
So I’m going to stop there for tonight, but I’ll try and finish up part 2 tomorrow.
I really hope this helps you out, and as always, please ask any questions you may have and I’ll try to answer them as best I can!
Up Next
How to Price Soy Candles Part 2
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Thank You! I am trying to start a candle business and the information you gave is very helpful. Starting a business can be overwhelming, so its nice to have help from someone who has done this before.
Traci
You’re very welcome! Good luck with your new business, and if you have any questions just let me know 🙂
What is your calculations for candles wax? I have all the supplies but I am trying to find out how much a 8 oz, 16 oz, and 22oz cost.
How much does 8 oz homemade soy candle.
I was wondering what site you used in order to find out how many drops of coloring per lb of candle wax?
CandleSoylutions breaks it down at the top of their liquid dyes page: http://candlesoylutions.com/thumbnail.asp?offset=0&deep=2&cid=54
Hi! Thank you for posting. I am learning so much by reading your blog posts, as well as your book. Will you be writing a book on ‘starting a business’ anytime soon?
You are very welcome! I do have plans to write a book on starting a business eventually. I am, however, going to be expanding on more business posts for the website in the meantime. I am also planning on more videos on getting a website set up for business as well 🙂
Very helpful!!!
Thank you ..I have no idea what im doing and rubbish with maths, im in the uk and the oils are like £5 for 30grams , I make melts and really upset that they cost so much to make , even at £1 each I still wont make a profit and other melt makers can sell them so cheap? how though? I hope you can email me with some much needed help ..Thank you for doing this page
Are the other melt makers using soy wax? Maybe they are making more in bulk? It’s hard to say without knowing the market there.
Very informative, although my problem is trying to figure out the cost per 8oz candles that I am making of my shipping cost that I pay to get my supplies. It’s really confusing cause there are items that come in 100 pcs, others in 12 pcs, and other in lbs and ozs… lol it’s so frustrating, it might just be that I am tired.
Take each thing that you bought and the price. Break it down into ONE candle. That will give you the price of a single candle. You get just over 4 candles per pound of wax. Lets call it 4. If 2 pounds of wax is 9.99, then 9.99 divide by 8 is $1.24 per candle just for the wax. I get the 10 pound from amazon for 24.00 so the cost is cheaper. Break it down like that for everything. That’s what i did. As far as the shipping, If you want to charge 10.00 per candle. You are going to eat the shipping. Just add shipping into cost and factor into price. I sell for 15.95 free shipping and 17.95 for a 10 ounce. And I still take a small hit on it. 15.95 and 17.95 are not high for soy candles. People will pay for it because its worth it. Hope this makes sense!
This was very informative, I’m a beginner at this soy wax candle making. My first one came out ok, but eventually I want to perfect them and start my own business. I’m still figuring out how much would I sell my 8oz, and 16oz. For
I have enjoyed reading your emails and your information. thank you 🙂 I will continue to read what you have to say, as the information is very helpful. Do you have anymore blogs? websites? I am just starting out for fun and gifts, if it leads to something more.. well, that would be neat! in the mean time, I want to learn as much as possible.
I’m a candle maker from the past 2005-2010
I have just in the last 6 months have started back up again. I was using soy 464 and i have to tell you i never had issues at all. always perfect candles. however, i joined a candle join on FB and EVERYONE using soy 464 is having issues. Awful tops…and the SINK HOLES are crazy. LOTS
I’m scared to start back with Soy 464.
whats your thoughts? TIA
Do you figure the cost the same way with the clam shell tarts the same way
Great information, thanks. Where can I find part two of pricing the candles? Also, what soy is the best to use with no sink holes, smoke whatever?
Thak you,
Theresa
I need help in deciding on a business name. I want to use lavender and a picture of a pineapple. I do not live in Hawaii. Any idea on a business name that incorporates lavender and a pineapple?
Sweet Senstions
This really helped
Thanks
Hey I found your information very helpful! I’m starting my own candle business and I’m figuring out the math! 😩 maybe you can help me a little I will only be selling natural coconut blend and green tea soy candles I will have three sizes 3 liters 1.5 liters and 750 ml. I will start with 59 candles and sell to see it how it goes first how , where do I get wax, wick, and aromas?
Hi. I started my candle business and its a learning process. Lol i understand the formula for the 8oz. But what if i make one 2oz, 4oz, 6oz and 10 oz candle. Do i multiply by the amount of wax i bought, like the 20lb bag or lower. I may not understand at all really
Thank you I just started my candle line launching in February just in time for Valentine’s Day!! I didn’t take a lot into consideration other than the cost of the candles and when I did take everything into consideration I said besides the love and ideas created this business is worth every amount I retail my candles at!! And reading this is just another confirmation.