Kay P Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Hi I’m about to launch my luxury candle business and I’m worried I’m above the price range of most 7oz candles on the market, and make so little profit. With packaging I wanted to start out with luxurious packaging but I realized that it will double my costs so I changed my box to a plain box so people are able to reuse it. I am using coconut apricot creme wax and wooden wick while trying to be as eco-friendly as I can. I have not included my thank you card, candle care card, and label costs yet and I’m spending $30 per candle without the luxury packaging that I initially wanted. So I was planning on just launching at $45 and at only 50% profit. :’( Would anyone buy it when you can get candles for a lot cheaper? I also have concrete jars that I will launch in the future since it will cost $70+ for 50% at least. I’m starting to lose hope in this but I’m really passionate and I want people to have a great experience with it. I don’t know how a lot of candle makers are able to deliver at a much lower cost but unfortunately I can’t and I might just lose thousands of dollars if I don’t decide to launch at all. 😩 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 There’s a customer for everyone. It all comes down to marketing. Who is your ideal customer? Your target market? what, exactly, motivates them to buy a candle? as for cost containment, are you buying in sufficient quantity to reach economies of scale? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay P Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 49 minutes ago, TallTayl said: There’s a customer for everyone. It all comes down to marketing. Who is your ideal customer? Your target market? what, exactly, motivates them to buy a candle? as for cost containment, are you buying in sufficient quantity to reach economies of scale? Hi thank you for your response, i highly appreciate it! My ideal customers would be people who love luxury products and candle lovers who wants high quality clean burning candles. My target market would be people who wouldn’t mind splurging on candles like me and i love a good unboxing experience too. I have bought in bulk and currently have 200+ vessels of 2 types luxury concrete that im holding off on since i do not want to launch at $75 for 50% profit and I have bought enough supplies to make 400 candles but im afraid since im starting out as a new brand people would have negative views about my pricing if only they knew how much it costed me and only making 50% profit not the cost x4 calculation since I know that will bring up my price to $100. I want to put my name out there so I am willing to make 50% profit for each but I don’t think it makes up for the time i spend on each with putting mold embellishments on top and dusting them with shine after. I know I shouldn’t feel bad for wanting to make profit but I also don’t want to overwhelm people as I launch. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Let’s be even more specific with your target market. What age group? men or women? What income level? Where do those people shop? Once you identify those points, you can place your product more effectively. The old model of the four P’s of marketing come in really handy here. Product, price, place, promotion. You have the first two. You just need the last two. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 A popular perfumer in LA sells their typical straight sided white glass 9 oz jar candle for over $100. What is special is her perfumery fragrance. Her perfume sells for close to $300 a bottle, so to her customers a $100 candle is very affordable way of experiencing her perfume. your story and your brand sell the candle (and anything else you sell). I saw new chandlers on Facebook groups that started quick candle brands early in lockdown. They sold typical 9 oz lug top candles for anywhere from $45-75. People identified with them. perhaps identify your target, and work with brands or stores that cater to that market to feature your candles. Hit up Instagram for influencers to feature your candles. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay P Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 44 minutes ago, TallTayl said: A popular perfumer in LA sells their typical straight sided white glass 9 oz jar candle for over $100. What is special is her perfumery fragrance. Her perfume sells for close to $300 a bottle, so to her customers a $100 candle is very affordable way of experiencing her perfume. your story and your brand sell the candle (and anything else you sell). I saw new chandlers on Facebook groups that started quick candle brands early in lockdown. They sold typical 9 oz lug top candles for anywhere from $45-75. People identified with them. perhaps identify your target, and work with brands or stores that cater to that market to feature your candles. Hit up Instagram for influencers to feature your candles. Thank you so much you just lifted my spirits after a year and a half of testing and striving to get my formulas right. the four Ps are so helpful. Women are my target market and hopefully sell wholesale to boutiques here in Southern California. For age group I’m looking into appealing to 18-40 since my fragrances are inspired by favourite scents that came out and this age group loved and as do I. I’m going to push through it and i want to give people luxurious minimalistic design and thank you for your advice! | (• ◡•)| 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyBee Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Price should not be a concern in luxury product market especially in Los Angeles or New York City. As a matter fact, the higher the price the better it will do. What is your definition of luxury candle? To me, luxury product is a brand recognition not a product itself. You have to realize that no one makes luxury candle. No superior quality, high pricing nor fancy packaging will ever make you as a luxury brand. It's people's recognition of your brand that makes you as a luxury brand. And it would take years of marketing effort and budget with a great company story to build a brand recognition. That is the reason why TallTayl is recommending you to work with a well established brands or store to piggy back on their brand recognition since none of start up candle maker has that brand recognition from the start. Try to collaborate with well known perfumer, artist, hair salon, skin care salon, interior designer, famous celebrity, etc. from the start since they have brand recognitions. If not, then start build one. Do I have candles that perform and have appearance of luxury candle? Yes I do! But I know that I am far from being a luxury brand yet. *For give me, if you are already well known famous person and has that brand recognition from many people. I have another question for you. Why does it cost so much to produce a candle in your case? How much are you paying for your containers? Unless you figure out how to reduce your material costs, you are going to have hard time succeed in this business. Locating the best & unique ingredients & parts at lowest price possible would be a key to success in our business. Set your target price and divide that amount by 6 when you are small operation not by 4. That should be your targeted material cost budget in order to be stay open as profitable business. Figure out the costs in bulk(pallet pricing ) and small quantities in few boxes direct from manufacturers(both American & foreign) and wholesalers including shipping costs. If you want to do cement or ceramic containers, then you might want to looking into make your own containers. Many other candle makers make their own great unique containers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay P Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 19 minutes ago, BusyBee said: Price should not be a concern in luxury product market especially in Los Angeles or New York City. As a matter fact, the higher the price the better it will do. What is your definition of luxury candle? To me, luxury product is a brand recognition not a product itself. You have to realize that no one makes luxury candle. No superior quality, high pricing nor fancy packaging will ever make you as a luxury brand. It's people's recognition of your brand that makes you as a luxury brand. And it would take years of marketing effort and budget with a great company story to build a brand recognition. That is the reason why TallTayl is recommending you to work with a well established brands or store to piggy back on their brand recognition since none of start up candle maker has that brand recognition from the start. Try to collaborate with well known perfumer, artist, hair salon, skin care salon, interior designer, famous celebrity, etc. from the start since they have brand recognitions. If not, then start build one. Do I have candles that perform and have appearance of luxury candle? Yes I do! But I know that I am far from being a luxury brand yet. *For give me, if you are already well known famous person and has that brand recognition from many people. I have another question for you. Why does it cost so much to produce a candle in your case? How much are you paying for your containers? Unless you figure out how to reduce your material costs, you are going to have hard time succeed in this business. Locating the best & unique ingredients & parts at lowest price possible would be a key to success in our business. Set your target price and divide that amount by 6 when you are small operation not by 4. That should be your targeted material cost budget in order to be stay open as profitable business. Figure out the costs in bulk(pallet pricing ) and small quantities in few boxes direct from manufacturers(both American & foreign) and wholesalers including shipping costs. If you want to do cement or ceramic containers, then you might want to looking into make your own containers. Many other candle makers make their own great unique containers. Hi thank you for your response. Exactly what I was worried about. I have a following however definitely not enough to establish myself as one although I started out candle making as a hobby, I jumped into it without enough research regarding my vessels and wax and bought from suppliers near me to cut down on shipping costs yet the cost without packaging is $12 and with my vessel would be $18. I’m torn since I do not want to price at $100 with my packaging and I’ve already bought the supplies and I’m trying to cut down on my costs now as much as I can without sacrificing the experience I want my customers to have yet it has been very hard. I’ve been looking into working with different retailers however I need to establish myself enough for them to want to buy wholesale. I’ve bought $1500 worth of vessels I am unable to launch with due to the price being too high. I can no longer return the vessels and my heart was set on it but I’m trying my best to price at what the market sells that is affordable however I’m afraid rebranding my initial idea would even cost me more for now. :’( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay P Posted September 6, 2021 Author Share Posted September 6, 2021 28 minutes ago, Kay P said: Hi thank you for your response. Exactly what I was worried about. I have a following however definitely not enough to establish myself as one although I started out candle making as a hobby, I jumped into it without enough research regarding my vessels and wax and bought from suppliers near me to cut down on shipping costs yet the cost without packaging is $12 and with my vessel would be $18. I’m torn since I do not want to price at $100 with my packaging and I’ve already bought the supplies and I’m trying to cut down on my costs now as much as I can without sacrificing the experience I want my customers to have yet it has been very hard. I’ve been looking into working with different retailers however I need to establish myself enough for them to want to buy wholesale. I’ve bought $1500 worth of vessels I am unable to launch with due to the price being too high. I can no longer return the vessels and my heart was set on it but I’m trying my best to price at what the market sells that is affordable however I’m afraid rebranding my initial idea would even cost me more for now. :’( I don’t know if i should just sell my initial vessels and lose some of my initial investment. :’( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay P Posted September 6, 2021 Author Share Posted September 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Kay P said: I don’t know if i should just sell my initial vessels and lose some of my initial investment. :’( Hi so breakdown without packaging was wrong it takes $9 to make a 7oz candle for me without packaging. I’m going to go for lower cost packaging to make it work thank you for all your help!! ♥︎♡︎ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyBee Posted September 6, 2021 Share Posted September 6, 2021 5 hours ago, Kay P said: Hi so breakdown without packaging was wrong it takes $9 to make a 7oz candle for me without packaging. I’m going to go for lower cost packaging to make it work thank you for all your help!! ♥︎♡︎ That sounds more reasonable. But it might be better if you can find something with better price. Check out Jar Store for customized glass vessels. Good luck with your venture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted September 6, 2021 Share Posted September 6, 2021 14 hours ago, Kay P said: I don’t know if i should just sell my initial vessels and lose some of my initial investment. :’( Why give up at this point? another tactic I’ve seen work is to introduce and even more expensive option so the one you want to sell looks more reasonable. The approach changed everything at my summer shoppe. create some amazing layouts for your online photos. get in touch with realtors in your area for closing gifts. Send some to affluent businesses for unique (and expensive) corporate gifts and carve out your market niche for the holidays. Plenty of people will be online for th holiday season again this year. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlesinflorida Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 On 9/5/2021 at 7:15 PM, BusyBee said: Price should not be a concern in luxury product market especially in Los Angeles or New York City. As a matter fact, the higher the price the better it will do. What is your definition of luxury candle? To me, luxury product is a brand recognition not a product itself. You have to realize that no one makes luxury candle. No superior quality, high pricing nor fancy packaging will ever make you as a luxury brand. It's people's recognition of your brand that makes you as a luxury brand. And it would take years of marketing effort and budget with a great company story to build a brand recognition. That is the reason why TallTayl is recommending you to work with a well established brands or store to piggy back on their brand recognition since none of start up candle maker has that brand recognition from the start. Try to collaborate with well known perfumer, artist, hair salon, skin care salon, interior designer, famous celebrity, etc. from the start since they have brand recognitions. If not, then start build one. Do I have candles that perform and have appearance of luxury candle? Yes I do! But I know that I am far from being a luxury brand yet. *For give me, if you are already well known famous person and has that brand recognition from many people. I have another question for you. Why does it cost so much to produce a candle in your case? How much are you paying for your containers? Unless you figure out how to reduce your material costs, you are going to have hard time succeed in this business. Locating the best & unique ingredients & parts at lowest price possible would be a key to success in our business. Set your target price and divide that amount by 6 when you are small operation not by 4. That should be your targeted material cost budget in order to be stay open as profitable business. Figure out the costs in bulk(pallet pricing ) and small quantities in few boxes direct from manufacturers(both American & foreign) and wholesalers including shipping costs. If you want to do cement or ceramic containers, then you might want to looking into make your own containers. Many other candle makers make their own great unique containers. This is terrific advice-I am just wondering if there are some particular things that must necessarily go into a luxury candle. I mean, if we buy cheap fragrance oils at a discount store, thin glass, and low-quality wax, we would not have a luxury candle. So, aren't there some things that are necessary for a high-end candle (in addition to marketing/design)? Or are you saying that basically the quality of good materials doesn't differ from one to the other so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyBee Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 1 hour ago, candlesinflorida said: This is terrific advice-I am just wondering if there are some particular things that must necessarily go into a luxury candle. I mean, if we buy cheap fragrance oils at a discount store, thin glass, and low-quality wax, we would not have a luxury candle. So, aren't there some things that are necessary for a high-end candle (in addition to marketing/design)? Or are you saying that basically the quality of good materials doesn't differ from one to the other so much. We have ability to tell good materials from bad one, and we are using high quality materials to create as good as or if not better candles than many luxury brand candles. But the big problem is that majority of consumers don't have ability to know which is better. Many of us complain that most consumers don't know how to burn candle properly, and I don't think they ever will recognize better candles. They just want that certain brand name thinking they are the best. We all got into this industry dreaming of making tons of money and becoming one of well known brands. Do we want to become a general well known brand like Yankee or BBW or do we want to become one of below luxury brands? I guess it all depends on how we want to build our empire. How much do you think it is going to cost to make below candles? What could they have used in there that can justify that retail price? I believe it is all about marketing budget and endorsements. What could make us become as one of them? To me, it is "One of kind unique scents and great story to be recognized as a luxury brand!". Many of these luxury candle brands are already well known luxury brands before being candle makers. So, we have more creative marketing work to do for being just candle makers. "If you build a story, then they will come!" BusyBee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay P Posted September 19, 2021 Author Share Posted September 19, 2021 Thank you for all the help I'm currently working on cutting down my costs and getting different people to try them out and researching more into my target market you guys are so awesome thank you for all the advice! 🥰 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 Just curious if your original expensive container is reusable? So many people will pay up & go for the niche of returning a container to get a break on the next candle. With glass it's not a great idea as you run the risk of glass breaking on a customer after multiple uses. I have purchased concrete container candles that were reusable as they were completely sealed inside. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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