Beeswax candles

Why this works for beekeepers specifically

Beeswax candles sell on being beeswax. Paraffin is cheaper and behaves better and nobody is looking for it at a farmers market. Your wax came from your own hives, which is the whole story and it is the story the honey is already telling.

They also solve a seasonal problem. Honey sells in a rush and then does not. Candles sell from October onwards, which is exactly when the honey has gone.

The vessel is tooling before it is packaging

This is the part that catches people who have only ever bottled honey. Wax is poured hot and used as a solid. The container has to survive the pour, then survive being heated again every time the candle burns, for hours, with a flame inside it.

Wick to diameter is the whole craft

Wick size is chosen from the diameter of the vessel and the wax being used. Too small and the candle tunnels, burning a hole down the middle and wasting most of the wax. Too large and it smokes, soots the glass and runs hot.

Beeswax is denser and harder than soy or paraffin, so it generally needs a larger wick than a chart written for soy would suggest. Test burns are not optional, and every change of vessel diameter is a new test.

Container or pillar

• Container candles need a vessel, a wick and a wick sticker. Easiest to sell, easiest to ship, and the container is a cost per unit.
• Pillars and molds need no container at all, which is cheaper per candle and much harder to ship without damage.
• Tealights and votives use very little wax each and sell in multiples, which suits a first batch from a small amount of cappings.

What to sell first

Tealights, from clean cappings wax, in a multipack. Low wax per unit, no vessel cost, and they let you find out whether your market wants candles before you buy a case of jars.

References