Can I make candles for other brands?
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Yes. No candle license exists for making candles under another company's label, but you take on a manufacturer's position for a product someone else sells. The label must name the brand correctly and show how it relates to the candle; if the candle uses a metal-cored wick, federal rules make the brand the certifier unless you issue the certificate; Proposition 65 places warning duties on manufacturers first; and the brand will expect you to stand behind the burn. Price the work to cover setup, label handling and minimums as well as wax and jars. This page defines the arrangements, sets out who is responsible for what, and shows how small studios publish their private label pricing.
What the buyer is asking for
The terms come from trade usage, have no legal definitions, and buyers use them differently. Settle which one you are agreeing to.
- White label: your existing candle and scents, with the buyer's label. Little effort per order, little control for the buyer.
- Private label: a candle made for one brand, often with a scent, vessel or label exclusive to it. One studio, Prosperity Candle, treats "private label (white label)" as one service covering custom-branded candles, melts, diffusers, room sprays and incense [1].
- Contract manufacturing: the brand's own tested formula, made by you to its specification.
The first is the easiest place to start, because the candle is already tested in your hands. The last puts the most risk on you, because you are making something you did not develop.
Who is responsible for what
| Duty | Usually falls on | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name and place of business on the label | The label names the manufacturer, packer or distributor, with street address, city, state and ZIP (the street address may be left off if it is listed in a publicly available directory, database or website). If the brand is named and did not make the candle, its name is qualified by wording such as "Manufactured for ______" or "Distributed by ______" | 16 CFR 500.5 [2] |
| Net quantity accuracy | You fill the jar, so you control the weight. NIST says the average net quantity of a lot must at least equal the label, and individual packages short by more than the Maximum Allowable Variation are unreasonable errors [3] | Agree the fill tolerance in writing |
| General Certificate of Conformity (metal-cored wicks only) | For a domestically made private label product, "the private labeler is the finished product certifier," unless the manufacturer issues the certificate [4]. CPSC requires no certificate for nonmetal-cored wicks [5] | Agree who issues it; you hold the wick documentation either way |
| Lead statement on shipping cartons (metal-cored wicks only) | Whoever packs the shipments. "Conforms to 16 CFR 1500.17(a)(13)" goes on the shipping carton, never the candle label, and the box a candle sits in on the shelf is exempt unless it is also the only box it ships in [5] | Lead in wicks |
| Proposition 65 warnings for sales into California | OEHHA places primary responsibility for warnings on product manufacturers and others upstream of the retailer. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees, counting full-time and part-time staff, are exempt from the warning requirement, but may still have contractual or indemnification obligations [6] | Have counsel settle which of you is the "manufacturer" and whose headcount applies |
| Burn testing | No federal rule requires it. In practice you test the build you make, and the brand may require its own buyer's protocol | How to burn test a candle |
| Fragrance documents | You hold the SDS and IFRA certificate for every oil you pour, and pass copies to the brand | IFRA certificates and fragrance limits |
| Claims and marketing | The brand, for what it says about the candle. Refuse to print claims you cannot support | What you can claim about your candle |
| Reporting a hazard to CPSC | Manufacturers, distributors and retailers can each have a duty | If a candle you sold causes a fire |
Federal law does not require the ASTM F2058 warning label, but a buyer or its retailer may; agree whether it goes on every candle and who supplies the artwork. The candle warning label describes what it contains.
Taking a private label order step by step
- Agree the product. Your stock candle, or a specification you write together. Do not accept a scent, vessel or wick change without testing it first.
- Make an approval sample and have the brand sign it off in writing. Keep a matching sample yourself.
- Proof the label. Check the brand's name, qualifying phrase, address and net weight against what a candle label has to say before it prints. Decide who pays if labels arrive wrong.
- Settle the documents. GCC if a metal-cored wick is used, SDS and IFRA certificates, your burn test record for the build.
- Check insurance. Tell your insurer you are making products for others; ask whether the brand wants to be named as an additional insured and whether you need to be named on theirs.
- Sign a written agreement covering specification, testing, labeling, insurance, formula ownership and payment; co-packing contracts lists the clauses from the brand's side, and every one applies to you as well.
- Take a deposit before you buy materials or labels specific to that brand.
- Record every batch with the brand's order number, so a complaint can be traced to the lot.
Pricing private label work
Three small U.S. studios publish parts of their private label pricing, as read on October 22, 2026. They show what buyers will see when they compare you.
| Studio | Minimum | What is published |
|---|---|---|
| Little White Shed (New Jersey) [7] | 15 candles | Vessels $11 to $28 at retail; 25 percent off retail for 15 to 24 candles, 30 percent for 25 to 34, 35 percent for 35 or more; custom labels add $0.50 per candle; custom scent for an extra fee; about 2 weeks lead time |
| Sweet Water Decor [8] | 70 units | $95 design fee; no unit prices |
| Prosperity Candle (Massachusetts) [1] | 250 candles in up to 5 scents, 50 per scent | No prices; typical first-order lead time 3 weeks; no added fees on reorders; customers may supply their own fragrance, labels, packaging and vessels |
Build your own price from your costs, then compare it with those published structures:
- Cost per candle. Wax, fragrance, wick, vessel, lid, label stock, box and labor, from your own records, as built on how to price a candle.
- Per-order costs. Label design or setup, sampling, extra burn tests for a new scent, and your time on proofs and calls. Charge these as a setup fee, as Sweet Water Decor does with its design fee [8], or spread them over the minimum order.
- Per-candle extras. Applying someone else's labels, special packing, inserts. Little White Shed prices custom labels separately per candle [7].
- Your margin, set by you. No published source sets a standard private label markup.
- Volume breaks that still cover steps 1 to 3 at the lowest tier.
Worked with illustrative numbers only: a candle that costs you $6.40 to make, plus $0.50 to apply the brand's label, is $6.90 before margin. A 70 candle order carries $95 of setup if you charge it as a fee, or adds about $1.36 a candle if you spread it ($95 ÷ 70). The candle price calculator runs the same sum with your figures.
If the brand supplies its own vessels, labels or fragrance, as Prosperity Candle allows [1], price for the receiving, checking and storage of those materials, and say in writing that a supplied material which fails your burn test is the brand's cost to replace.
When the brand sells to a large retailer
If your customer sells your candles to a big chain, that chain's vendor protocol reaches back to you: its labeling details, burn limits and sample requirements become your production requirements. What larger retailers require walks through one published protocol so you know what to ask for before you quote.
References
- Prosperity Candle, Private Label / White Label Candles, undated (© 2026), read October 22, 2026. https://www.prosperitycandle.com/pages/private-label-candles-white-label-candles
- 16 CFR 500.5, Name and place of business of manufacturer, packer or distributor (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School), read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/500.5
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Office of Weights and Measures, Net Contents of Packaged Goods FAQs, last updated August 24, 2026. https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/faqs/net-contents-packaged-goods-faqs
- 16 CFR 1110.7, Who must certify finished products, as revised at 90 FR 1843, January 8, 2025 (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School); wording confirmed on the eCFR reproduction at CustomsMobile, read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/1110.7
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Candles Business Guidance, undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Candles
- California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Frequently Asked Questions for Businesses (Proposition 65), undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/businesses/frequently-asked-questions-businesses
- Little White Shed, Private Labels, undated (© 2026), read October 22, 2026. https://www.littlewhiteshed.com/pages/private-labels
- Sweet Water Decor, Create Your Own Signature Candle, undated (© 2026), read October 22, 2026. https://www.sweetwaterdecor.com/pages/custom-candles
