How to Start a Candle Making Business with a Shoestring Budget?

Are you planning to commence a Candle making business with a limited budget? Are you enthusiastic about wicks, the captivating aroma, and soy blends? If your answer is yes, candle making business is a perfect business venture for you. Initiating this form of business requires you to invest a lot of effort, but you must know that you can reap fruitful outcomes. It all depends upon the sincerity and patience you invest along with the efforts.

Even today, in order to decorate houses in rural as well as urban areas, people prefer to light candles at birthday parties and other functions as well. A small-scale candle manufacturing business is an excellent way through which budding entrepreneurs can mint huge incomes in no time. The requirements concerning this form of business are significantly less, and thus, this business can be easily kick-started and managed. Acquiring legal, financial, as well as marketing ducks in a row will be helpful in writing a better future for your candle making business.

Synopsis

1.       How to Start a Candle Making Business with a Shoestring Budget?

2.       Guidelines to Follow for Starting a Candle Making Business

3.       Master your Craft

4.       Formulate an Effective Business Plan

5.       Candle Making Business: Opt for a Catchy Business Name

6.       Pick a Legal Structure

7.       Candle Making Business: Define your Products as well as Services

8.       Investment Needed to Commence Candle Making Business in India

9.       Mandatory License & Registrations

10.   Raw Materials Required for Candle Making Business in India

11.   Manufacturing Process

12.   Candle Making Business in India: Candle Making Machine

13.   Safety Guide concerning Candle Making Business

14.   Target Consumers

15.   To Wrap Up

Guidelines to Follow for Starting a Candle Making Business

Master your Craft

• Mastering your craft concerning candle making business is the first and foremost step for you to initiate your candle making journey. 
• A good and attractive candle can add a decorative flair and will be helpful in enlightening your mood.
• However, a bad candle can give you unhappy and disastrous moments in different ways.
• If a candle is too smoky or its smell is unbearable, then the customer may feel like throwing it in the dustbin, and he is not going to use the same candle again in the future course of time.
• Before going through the process of starting a candle manufacturing business in India, you must work on the basics of how to manufacture a good candle and create some captivating signature scents.
• In addition to this, you must ensure a great burn time in terms of duration, how to spread fragrance in the entire room by making an aromatic scent, and how to win people’s hearts by creating a scent that becomes everyone’s favourite.
• You need to define and be crystal clear with those requirements that may enhance the value of your candle and how it will be different from those manufactured by the competitors.
• Will each candle be motivated by a different exotic spot?
• Will you use novel glassware in order to house your candles?
• Will you have humorous as well as amusing names that make your candles ideal for the purpose of gifting?
• A good scent, as well as a keenly-priced strategy, will take you into a win-win situation, but you’ll also need to ensure that there is a way for your candle brand to work well in a very soaked market.

Formulate an Effective Business Plan

• Candle making is viewed as a creative process.
• Your experimental mindset will work in your favour at the time of creating an engaging candle making business plan.
• However, framing a perfect candle making business plan is a big challenge.
• Besides being challenging, it is analytical as well.
• You need to apply both sides of your brain to function properly because the process of devising a systematic business plan will turn out to be crucial to you throughout the life of your candle making business.
• An excellent business plan comprises numerous sections that can assist in keeping your business on the right track and exhibit your importance to the potential investors and lenders.
• The ideal time to do this step is before initiating your candle making business, but you can do it even later.
• Marching forward with an effective business plan will simplify the process of enhancing your business and will be helpful in introducing the necessary details of your candle business to others.
• In case you are facing issues in preparing a business plan from the ground level, you can consider taking the help of business plan software or a business plan template that can make your further journey easier.

Candle Making Business: Opt for a Catchy Business Name

• If you haven’t decided on a perfect business name for your business, you need to leave everything for a moment and decide on a business name that resonates with the theme of your business.
• You need to ascertain a catchy candle making business name that will remain in the minds of your customers for a long time while also elaborating what form of business you are engaged in.
• There is nothing awkward with double-checking the name you’ve chosen, and after rechecking it, you can move forward with it.
• Validate your aspired name’s availability with your concerned secretary of state’s website in order to verify whether your chosen business name is in use or not.
• Performing a simple Google as well as trademark search can also be effective.
• If the name that you want to get for your business is free and open, you need to reserve your domain name as well as social media handles before someone else seizes them.

Pick a Legal Structure

Another merit of writing a business plan is that it will motivate you to opt for a legal structure for your candle manufacturing business. Picking the right business entity is crucial, and a decision concerning the same must not be taken lightly. 

Some common forms of business entities are mentioned below-  

• General Partnership
• Limited Liability Company
• Sole Proprietorship
• Corporation

You need to consult a tax specialist in case you are facing difficulty in deciding what type of business/legal structure you need for your small-scale business venture. The additional expense may preserve you a lot of pressure down the line, as the model of business structure you decide will transform your taxes, uncertainty level, and other essential factors. 

Candle Making Business: Define your Products as well as Services

Are you striving to sell candles? Are you willing to take custom candle orders? There is a requirement for you to define the types of products as well as services your business will be offering.

 Given below are the questions you need to ask yourself in order to get a better understanding of your products and services.

• What form of scent-based products will you be manufacturing and selling?
• How much are you going to charge for them?
• Where will you buy your candle supplies?
• How much will production cost?
• What amount do you need to pay for purchasing supplies?

Now, as you have armed yourself with a business plan, you can utilize it in moving forward to help steer your candle making business in India.

Investment Needed to Commence Candle Making Business in India

The parameter to measure the investment amount in the candle making business is the scale of operation. For instance, if you are willing to initiate your candle making business at home or within a limited capital, an investment between Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 2.5 Lakh will be sufficient.

Furthermore, if you are willing to kick-start your business venture for a larger commercial operation, your needed investment will be to the tune of around Rs. 10 Lakh.  The cost entails automatic candle making machinery capable of delivering about 500 kg/day candle output.

Mandatory License & Registrations

1- If you are endeavouring to drive a candle making business in India, getting a trade license from the local authority will be enough to initiate with.

2- However, if your eyes are set on starting a commercial candle manufacturing business, there are several legal requirements to keep in mind.

3- You would have to leap forward with registering your business.

4- As per your requirement, you can form an LLP, sole proprietorship, OPC, or Private limited company.

5- Furthermore, you must apply for your business Pan Card. Thereafter, you need to acquire Trade License for your candle business from your local authority.

6- In addition to this, you can start a current Bank Account. Also, you may apply for a loan for meeting your working capital requirements and a loan for purchasing machinery. Get your small-scale business registered as an SSI Unit. You can apply for GST registration in order to gear up for your candle making business.

7- Go for Trade Mark registration and secure the name of your brand.

Raw Materials Required for Candle Making Business in India  

The significant two raw materials needed in the making candles are mentioned below- 

• Wick 
• Paraffin Wax

Besides the significant raw materials, you need to gather different colours, yarn, decorative items, molds, as well as fragrances. You need to lend distinct attention to packaging for decorative candles as well as gifts. 

After arranging raw materials, you should manage to get some equipment for candle making. 

Equipment required in the candle making process are mentioned below- 

• Thermometer    
• Pour Pot
• Hammer
• Weighing Scale
• An Oven in order to melt the Wax 

Manufacturing Process

• The candle manufacturing process is not a big deal.
• Nevertheless, the operating procedure of several candle making machines is likely to differ very little.
• You would have to put the thread in the suggested places.
• After that, you need to spread the melted paraffin wax on it.
• In case if you are using wax of average quality, then you would have to add stearic acid.
• Nonetheless, for the high standard and better quality, there is no need to add acid.
• The wax will be coagulated within a time frame of few minutes.
• Packaging is the ultimate step.
• You must create a blend of fragrance and colour for colourful, decorative, as well as scented candles.

Candle Making Business in India: Candle Making Machine

Numerous types of candle making machines are available in the market. Picking the right machinery is a crucial issue in starting the business in a proper way. The improper selection of machines may lead the project to loss-making or limited profit.

On a broad level, candle making machines are segregated into three different types. The three types of candle making machines are Semi-Automatic, Fully-Automatic candle making machines, and Manual Machines. In terms of production quality, costs, and production capacity, all machines are different.

Semi-Automatic Candle Making Machines

• Numerous semi-automatic candle-making machines are easily available in the Indian market that is convenient to operate, adjustable settings, and are known for their speedy cooling systems with well-organized water circulation.
• Semi-automatic candle making machines are primarily user-friendly.
• Furthermore, these are deemed as technically advanced ones as compared to a manual machine.
• You are likely to ascertain more precise dimensions from these special machines.
• These machines render a water circulation method for swift cooling.
• The value of a semi-automatic candle making machine will be about Rs. 40000 if you are striving to purchase it from India.

Fully-Automatic Candle Making Machines

Fully automatic candle-making machines are usually designed with the help of the supreme quality mild steel, CRC pipes and brass pipes to get a longer as well as hassle-free operational life.

Basic, square, circular, radial, colourful, scented birthday types, tea light candles can be built from these machines with compelling production output. You will be obtaining around 240 pieces of production output in a minute. These are also length adaptable and have a water circulation mode.

Manual Candle Making Machines

• Numerous handy, operator supportive candle making machines, as well as molds, are available.
• You would have to opt for the right one of the basis of production output criteria.
• These machines perform their tasks in an efficient way by solidifying the melted wax in cavities present with a wick already inserted in the center of the cavity.
• You need to gather the finished candles from these machines.
• Several production outputs like 300, 550, 950, 1200, as well as 1800 pieces per hour, are available in manual machines.
• These machines are known for making standard lighting candles used on a daily basis, extruded cylindrical candles.
• In India, the price of a top-notch quality manual candle making machine rate begins from Rs. 20000.

You are likely to get a different designer mold for classy as well as attractive decor candles apart from these three types of machines.  You can create several types of decorative candles like T candles, soy candles, designer birthday candles, numeric candles by using these molds. In India, the price of an automatic candle making machine of standard quality initiates from Rs. 60000.

Safety Guide concerning Candle Making Business

As wax have a flashpoint and is likely to blast into flame without showcasing any warning sign once it touches that point, you shouldn’t melt wax on or in anything that lacks a similar form of temperature control.  The flashpoint migrates in the range of 290-380 degrees on the basis of wax condition. At the time of manufacturing candles, you must follow the safety norms.

Target Consumers

• Candles are required in religious places such as churches, mosques, as well as temples.
• It’s not wrong to say that candles are the ray of light for the successful accomplishing of religious festivals, events, and other celebrations.
• Many beauty-conscious folks utilize candles as a part of their daily bathing requirements.
• Bridal showers, birthdays, as well as anniversaries can’t be a great show without candles. Isn’t it?
• At meditation and retreat centers, candles are required to meet therapeutic and meditative needs.
• The pleasant fragrance of aroma candles is a major requirement to accomplish Aromatherapy.
• Antique stores need to maintain their lamps and lanterns, and for that purpose, they need candles.
• The condiments in villages as well as rural areas demand candles as an alternative to electricity in order to spread light in their rooms or their houses.  

To Wrap Up

Candle making business in India is a small-scale business venture that can be commenced with a shoestring budget. The exceptional profit margin and immense scope to grow has increased the popularity of this form of business among budding entrepreneurs. Through this write-up, we have covered most of the essential subjects concerning the candle manufacturing business. At Aatmnirbhar Sena, we are increasing awareness among the masses with respect to candle making business in India, and we hope that business enthusiasts may understand the worth of this business.

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