Looking for unique business ideas to start? A candle-making business could be an excellent option.
Candle making is a fun and rewarding hobby, and you can easily turn it into a profitable business. You just need to have a solid plan, an established market, and a quality product.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about starting a candle-making business in South Africa.
Is Candle Making Profitable?
If planned properly, a candle-making business can be a profitable venture. Unlike other business ideas, like launching a bakery, candle-making offers great profit margins. The cost of making candles is low, and it’s easy to get started without any major capital investment.
To ensure your candle business is profitable you will need to establish a target market and make sure there is enough demand for your types of candles. While the margins are high, candles are still relatively low-ticket items, so you will probably have to sell a high volume to meet your profit goals.
How Do I Start a Candle-Making Business?
Starting a candle-making business is something you can easily do at home on a small scale, and then grow the business as demand increases.
Start by perfecting your craft at candle making. Establish what types of candles you will be making, know what is unique about them, and figure out who your target audience will be.
Next, create a business plan. This is where you plan out all your business operations and establish how you will sell the candles, who you will sell them to, what your operating costs will look like, what kind of revenue you need to generate, and so on.
Once you have established how your candle production will take place, you will need to figure out where you will sell your candles. You might sell them directly off your website, stock shops and retailers, sell them at markets or even start your own brick and mortar shop.
It’s important to have the right suppliers before you start a candle-making business. You will need to ensure you can get reliable, quality supplies, including your packaging, at a reasonable price.
You might need to access some funding to set up your candle business. This could be to cover start-up costs like equipment and stock or to kit out a workshop.
Once your candle business is ready to launch, you will need to establish a marketing strategy. Figure out how your customers will discover your candles and how you will get customers to purchase them.
Industry Overview
The candle-making industry is full of opportunities. While candles are no longer used as an important source of light, they are valued for their scents, shapes, colours, and ingredients. Candles can be sold as premium products, and there are many creative opportunities to make unique candles that appeal to different audiences.
People buy candles on impulse – they don’t need to think too much about purchasing one. This means there are plenty of opportunities to make fast sales, as long as you target the right audience.
Another highlight of starting a candle-making business is that candles are small and easy to package and ship. This means selling candles lends itself well to e-commerce – which is a key trend in the industry.
Laws and Regulations
Unlike starting a food business, there are no specific requirements or licenses for launching a candle-making business. However, you will need to follow general business license requirements.
You can sell candles as a sole proprietor, a partnership, a limited liability company (LLC), or even a corporation (if you run a large-scale candle-making business). Speak to a business accountant to help you with your business structure and taxes.
Tech Tools for a Candle-Making Business
A candle-making business is a relatively low-tech business idea. You don’t need much beyond the tools and equipment used for making candles.
You will likely need an e-commerce website, with software to accept and process payments. If you run a brick-and-mortar candle store, you will need a POS system. Some other tech solutions that can help you optimise your business include software for accounting, marketing, and inventory management software.
Conclusion
If you’re considering a relatively low-cost business idea with great profit potential, then a candle-making business could be a great idea. Just like starting a sneaker cleaning business, it won’t require much start-up capital, and you can easily scale your operations as demand rises.
As long as you make quality candles and find the right market for them, this can be a highly rewarding venture.
