CandleScience and the Science of Candle Making
Behind the scenes of a candle-making powerhouse
If you’ve ever poured a candle with dreams of turning it into a business, you know there’s more to it than wax and fragrance. Behind many growing candle brands is a reliable supplier that helps makers get the science right from day one.
CandleScience has spent years supporting DIYers, hobbyists, and small businesses with thoroughly tested fragrance oils, containers, and educational resources. For makers selling on Etsy, Shopify, at markets, or in retail shops, having a dependable supply partner makes scaling possible.
We connected with the team at CandleScience to learn how they approach safety, testing, branding, and growth—and what today’s candle entrepreneurs can learn from their process.
The candle industry continues to grow
The candle industry continues to grow, fueled by creative entrepreneurs and increasing demand for handcrafted home products. With e-commerce platforms and local markets more accessible than ever, there is real opportunity for makers who are ready to build a brand.
And that is in part due to companies like CandleScience that focus on helping crafters and start-ups learn the art and science of candle making. With ever-growing demand and e-commerce sites like Etsy and Shopify, there is a big opportunity for candle makers.
Supporting candle makers at every stage
Avery is very excited to partner with CandleScience because of its commitment to DIYers, hobbyists, and small candle and soap businesses. Like Avery, CandleScience provides thoroughly tested, high-quality products and resources that empower users to achieve their goals.
For example, this candle label was designed for CandleScience tumbler containers, demonstrating how branding and packaging work together. Explore our candle label designs to find ready-made styles you can personalize for your own line.
Just getting started? Dive into these helpful resources for your candle business.
How did CandleScience get started?
CandleScience began in 2004, when our two founders, who are brothers, wanted to start an e-commerce business together. Their father worked as a chemist in the candle science industry and suggested they start an online candle supply business.
There were lots of people selling candle-making supplies at the time, many of whom were candlemakers themselves. The brothers saw an opportunity to step in as a fast, reliable wholesale source—something that wasn’t available at the time. Together, they invested in a modest product line and have steadily grown the business into what it is today. CandleScience has locations in Durham, NC, and Reno, NV, with over 100 employees.
Product development and fragrance testing
How does CandleScience come up with new oil fragrances?
The fragrance is what everyone gets the most excited about. Both ourselves and our customers. We’ll happily talk about all things fragrance for hours. And we always obsess over the strength and character of each new CandleScience fragrance oils launch.
What’s less known is that we’re equally obsessed, maybe more, about the safety of the fragrance oils we bring to the market and into people’s homes. The products we sell are ones we use ourselves, in our homes, and around our own families.
Many people may not be aware of how much testing we do at CandleScience before a fragrance makes our product line. Our commitment to testing and quality is one reason why we don’t carry a staggering number of fragrances like many other candle suppliers.
Last summer we proudly introduced CandleScience Clean Scents™, which was a big achievement for our company. The goal of all this work is simple: peace of mind when using CandleScience fragrance oils in your homes, around your families, and in your business. All CandleScience Clean Scents™ exclude all known carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins, organ toxins, and acute toxins.
Striking a balance between safety and performance requires an ongoing monitoring program to make sure we stay up to date with the most recent data and research. As regulations evolve and new research becomes available CandleScience Clean Scents will evolve, too.
How does CandleScience use customer feedback?
The most important voice, however, comes from our customers. We track every piece of feedback we receive about our fragrance oils. In addition to every search on our website and every request for new fragrance oil scents. We often find common threads between their feedback and the list of potential scents we’ve already compiled.
Everyone’s involved in evaluating new fragrances at CandleScience, from tech to marketing. Usually, we spend a couple of months testing multiple revisions of a single scent.
Other fragrances can take an even longer time, sometimes years, before we find a formulation that meets our requirements. And we have continued to update and expand our processes to include development for bath and body applications and industry-leading safety regulations and guidelines as well.
As CandleScience has grown, one thing has remained consistent: supporting makers beyond just supplies. That includes helping them understand how branding and labeling play a critical role in turning a hobby into a business.
Branding, labeling, and presentation
How important are candle labels?
For our customers, a product label is essential to convey their brand and product details. It helps their product stand out from others that may have a similar shape or size. For small candle businesses, labeling does more than identify a scent. It communicates professionalism, reinforces brand identity, and builds trust with buyers. Whether you’re selling at a local market or shipping nationwide, a clear, well-designed label helps your product stand out while also including essential safety information.
As your candle line grows, consistent labeling becomes part of your visual signature—something customers recognize and return for.
The proper branding and styling of a product label also help connect with the emotions of buyers. The branding and styling of a candle label also help the product appeal to potential buyers who connect with the aesthetic of the candle and how it will fit into their home.
Labels also include important safety information to cover the maker from liability, as well as to instruct the user in safe candle burning practices.
What are your bestselling candle containers?
Candle tins are the most popular of all our containers. They’re easy to work with and they can hide wax imperfections seen on the sides of clear glass candle jars. Plus, they’re not expensive and they’re fairly rugged, making them easy to transport or ship.
How important is digital imagery for your company?
Videos and images are extremely important to CandleScience. Not only do they show our products and how to use them, but they also help us interact and engage with our customers in a more personal way. Candle and soap makers are such a creative community, and using videos and images is an ideal way for us to communicate, teach, and engage with them.
Videos also help our brand be more discoverable for those searching online trying to get started with the science of candle or soap making. Creating more videos and other creative content is a strong focus for us lately. We’ve even added a community manager and a designer-photographer to help us create and distribute these assets.
Sustainability and responsibility
How does CandleScience approach sustainability?
When the company began, the founders were always conscious of the social and environmental impacts of the business. From the outset, we have worked to use packing supplies that are made from recyclable materials or are biodegradable.
We also participate in the UPS Carbon Neutral Shipping program. We purchase carbon credits to help offset carbon dioxide emissions generated by the transport of all our UPS ground shipments. These credits are used to fund projects that either prevent CO2 from being released or actively remove it from the atmosphere.
Advice for new candle makers
What suggestions do you have for beginning candle makers?
Get the right process and techniques down when you’re first starting out. Watch our beginner tutorials or start with one of our candle-making kits to learn how to get the best results from your finished candles. Also, keep things simple. This will help you when you’re crafting your products and also when you’re working on your branding, packaging, and labeling. It’s so much fun to experiment and test new scents and combinations and create your own candle science. Then you can create a candle that you and your friends will love.
What growing candle brands can learn from CandleScience
Treat labeling as part of the product.
While CandleScience operates at scale, many of their principles apply directly to small and mid-sized makers:
- Prioritize safety and testing. Strong products start with quality control and attention to detail.
- Keep your product line intentional. A focused selection can be more powerful than an overwhelming catalog.
- Listen to your customers. Feedback shapes better scents, better products, and stronger loyalty.
- Invest in imagery and education. Videos and tutorials don’t just teach—they build community.
- Treat labeling as part of the product. Professional labels reinforce your brand and help your candles compete on crowded shelves.
Building a successful candle business requires both creativity and consistency. From fragrance formulation to packaging and labeling, every detail contributes to how customers experience your brand.
If you’re ready to create professional labels for your candle line, you can order custom candle labels through the Avery professional printing service. Or choose blank candle labels by the sheet to print yourself. Pairing high-quality supplies with polished branding helps turn handcrafted candles into a cohesive, retail-ready product.
To explore candle-making supplies and education, visit CandleScience and continue learning from a team dedicated to the science behind the craft.
See how other candle brands built their businesses
Looking for inspiration from makers who’ve taken candle science and turned it into thriving brands? Explore how other candle entrepreneurs approached product development, branding, and growth:
Mad Candle Co. – Read how this creative candle brand built a distinctive aesthetic and loyal customer base.
Altadena Candle Co. – Discover how storytelling and intentional branding shaped their business journey.
Pacific Candle Company – See how thoughtful packaging and product strategy helped elevate their line.
Each spotlight offers a different perspective on turning handcrafted candles into a cohesive, market-ready brand.
