A jar candle is packaged to keep the wax clean and the jar whole. At a market, a lid with a clear dust cover and a label on the base is enough: customers want to lift the lid and smell it. A shrink band over the lid shows a shop's customer that nobody has opened it. A kraft gift box with a corrugated insert protects the jar for gift shops and online orders, and costs more than everything else combined. A wholesale order travels in a 12-count shipper with dividers, so jars don't touch. Every candle carries the label the packaging law requires, its name, net weight and your name and place, and shops often ask for the industry's fire safety label on the base. In the example below, an Oʻahu candle maker prices four options: 7 cents to $1.01 a jar. Below are the options, the label, the example, and a free cost calculator.
The short version
- Markets: a lid with a clear dust cover, so customers can smell it.
- Shops: a shrink band over the lid shows it hasn't been opened.
- Gifts and online orders: a kraft box with an insert.
- Wholesale orders: 12-count shippers with dividers.
- Label the name, net weight and your name and place.
- Shops often ask for a fire safety label on the base; it's voluntary but expected.
- Count the package in the cost; a gift box is worth it only where the price covers it.
- TaroStack keeps each pour's lot, the packaging in its cost, and where every case went. More below.
The options
| Option | Keeps wax clean | Protects the jar | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dust cover and fire safety label | Yes | No | Market tables |
| Shrink band over the lid | Yes | No | Shop shelves |
| Kraft gift box with insert | Yes | Yes | Gift shops, online gifts |
| 12-count shipper with dividers | Yes | Yes, in transit | Wholesale orders |
The label
A candle is a consumer commodity under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, so its label shows what it is, the net quantity, and the name and place of business; fire safety labels come from a voluntary industry standard that shops often ask for. How those rules work is in candle regulations in the US, and keeping jars whole in summer shipping in how to ship candles in hot weather.
An example: four options for a candle maker
Lehua Glow, the made-up candle maker on Oʻahu I use in these examples, pours 9 oz soy candles in 14 scents, about 250 a week, for markets, online and gift shops:
| Option | Parts | Per jar | 250 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dust cover and fire safety label | Cover 2¢, base label | $0.07 | $16.32 |
| Shrink band over the lid | Band 3¢, base label | $0.07 | $18.00 |
| Kraft gift box with insert | Box 85¢, insert, base label | $1.01 | $252.45 |
| 12-count shipper, per candle | Shipper $3.20, label, base label | $0.32 | $78.97 |
Market candles get dust covers; shop candles get shrink bands and travel in shippers; online gifts and the gift shops that ask get boxes. On a candle that costs $6.41 and sells wholesale for $13, a $1.01 box would take about a sixth of what's left, so boxed candles carry a boxed price. How candles are priced is in how to price homemade candles, and selling to shops in how to sell candles wholesale.
Get the calculator
Download the candle packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a jar uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per jar and per week at your volume, with notes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Fourteen scents, a market, online orders and a dozen shops, each wanting a different package: a cost sheet doesn't say how many boxes are left, or which pour of a scent went to which shop.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each pour's lot, the packaging in its cost, and where every case went.
Each pour a batch. A pour of a scent is a batch that records the wax and fragrance lots it used, automatically, gets its own lot, and lot labels print for the jars.
Packaging in the recipe. The jar, lid, cover, box and labels are items in each candle's recipe, so every pour uses them up at the price you paid.
Where it went. Each shop's order records the lots it got, so a fragrance supplier's recall leads to every shop that got that pour.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which fragrance lot is in a candle | Not recorded | Lots recorded on the pour |
| Gift boxes left | Counted when you run out | Used by every pour |
| Which shops got a pour | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, batches, recipes and true cost are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.