Homemade candles are relatively easy to create and a popular must-have for shoppers. Naturally, this makes them an excellent choice for Etsy shops looking for an undemanding side income.

From birthday candle gifts to self-care candle sets, they rank among the simplest products to craft and sell online.

If you’re looking for illumination into this market, this post is for you.

Below, we dissect the market and reveal key insights that will help you make a successful entrance into this space.

How big is the market for homemade candles?

Before you decide to penetrate a market, it’s worth considering its size and scale. This will enable you to make an informed decision and invest your time and effort into a rewarding venture.

A quick search on Etsy uncovers more than 20,000 listings that rank for “homemade candles”.

Surprised by the low quantity, we refined our search and browsed for “handmade candles”. In return, Etsy displayed more than 288,000+ products, which appears to be more realistic.

To make certain we’re on the right track, we also looked at the general keyword “candles”. This broad category consists of a total of 886,243 listings.

In a nutshell, there is a well-established domain for this product type on Etsy.

The core focus of our research, however, is “homemade candles”.

In the next section, we will look at this seed keyword’s search volume and related phrases. We’ll also explore popular tags used by sellers to rank higher.

Search volume

Our analysis using Sale Samurai revealed that the search volume for “homemade candles” is modest, but not insignificant.

In fact, given the listings count (20,000), the monthly searches can be considered fair.

The results are as follows:

• “Mindfully homemade candles”: search volume – 610
• “Homemade candles pumpkin”: search volume – 253
• “Homemade candles in glass”: search volume – 252

This data exposes three main homemade candle categories that Etsy buyers are looking for – mindfully homemade, pumpkin-flavored, and candles made in glass.

Now, let’s examine how well sellers are meeting these specific search demands.

Tags

Tags are an inevitable part of product optimization. They live in the back end of your listings and serve as keywords for higher rankings.

According to Sale Samurai, the top 10 tags in the homemade candle category are:

• “Gift for her”: search volume – 209,132
• “Gifts for her”: search volume – 208,928
• “Hostess gift”: search volume – 208,700
• “Candles”: search volume – 208,580
• “Candle”: search volume – 208,497
• “Handmade gift”: search volume – 205,144
• “Home decor”: search volume – 205,041
• “Bergamot candle”: search volume – 4,732
• “Best friend gifts”: search volume – 3,620
• “Friendship gift”: search volume – 3,498

This list offers a few useful insights.

For starters, most of the candles on Etsy are targeted at females. This is well illustrated by the “gift for her” keyword which has a significantly high search volume.

Homemade candles are also purchased as gifts and home decor.

Finally, flavors, aromas, and humorous styles also dominate the scene.

Having access to this data empowers merchants to create appealing candles but also form the perfect listing title, description, and tag variety.

How are sellers pricing their handmade candles?

Becoming a success in the homemade candle niche requires a strategic pricing approach.

The best way to set competitive prices is to understand what other merchants are doing.

Here are the rates you need to know:

• Lowest price: $1.62
• Highest price: $1,499.00
• Average price: $35.49

Instantly, it becomes apparent that homemade candle prices can be quite hefty (reaching $1,500 per item). However, the average price is affordable, making these items accessible to most.

It’s worth noting that oftentimes, a higher listing price indicates better returns. Of course, this depends on your expenses for manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and storage.

What are the best-selling merchants doing right?

Next, we analyze some of the chart-toppers on Etsy.

A deeper look into successful listings’ titles, prices, photos, and reviews will help you gain an overview of the effective strategies in the niche. From there, it’s a piece of pie to incorporate these techniques into your own Etsy portfolio.

Using Sale Samurai, we identified some of the wave-creating homemade candles on the marketplace:

Seller 1

• Title: Pyramid Candle with Crystal, Spiritual candle with Crystals, Crystal Hidden Inside Pyramid candle, Homemade candles
• Seller: DiPrana
• Price: $39.56

Seller 2

• Title: Candle Gift Box, Big Hugs, Homemade Candles – GBC901-Big Hugs
• Seller: foxygiftbox
• Price: $43.19

Now, let’s dissect both listings.

Keyword use

Earlier, we noted that most artisans market their homemade candles as gifts for women. However, it becomes evident that the first seller doesn’t follow this game plan.

Instead, they apply a more esoteric keyword approach, featuring words like “spiritual”, “crystals”, and “pyramid”. At the same time, the product images demonstrate that this item is mainly intended as a gift.

Seller two, on the other hand, positions their candle in the gift category via words like “candle gift box” in their listing title.

From these findings, we can conclude that two very different keyword tactics lead to equally rewarding results.

Pricing strategy

From a price perspective, both sellers position their homemade candles very close to the average in this niche ($35.58).

This approach is advantageous as it prevents them from alienating a significant portion of their potential customers by keeping their products affordable.

What’s interesting here is that the two listings cost slightly more than the average ($39.56 and $43.19).

One explanation for this could be that these candle-creators are experienced on the platform and have established trust among consumers. This allows room for a price increase without risking sales.

Images

Finally, it’s essential to acknowledge the visual representation of these bestsellers.

Images are not only key for presenting your products in the best possible light. They’re also a ranking factor on Etsy. Uploading quality photos can make your items more visible and easily discoverable.

Both sellers make full use of the available 10 image slots per listing on Etsy. This allows buyers to view the product from different angles and also sends strong relevancy signals to the marketplace.

Our tip list for sellers seeking to enter this niche

Based on all of the findings above, we’ve summarized a practical and easy-to-use tip list for entering the homemade candle domain.

Keywords

Our research confirms that it’s best to position your candles as a gift for women. This will double your chances of reaching the most popular audience and landing more sales.

We strongly recommend being as descriptive as possible in your titles. Mention what type of candle you are selling (include keywords related to aromas, flavors, styles, themes, and shapes).

Before you make keyword selections, research the niche in-depth and extract the phrases with the highest search volume and lowest competition.

Prices

We rarely recommend pricing at any other level than the average in the market. The homemade candle space isn’t an exception.

Both sellers that we examined price around the medium. They stick to this unwritten rule to ensure that they remain competitive and attractive to buyers.

For new market entrants, we advise asking for a price that is slightly below the average in the niche (in this case, anything between $30 and $35).

Images

As a last comment, it’s vital to use up the real estate space that Etsy allocates per listing.

This means uploading 10 high-quality, diverse images and, where possible, one video. The combination of these visuals is a driving factor for many buyers to choose your product.

Don’t forget to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. Display your product in a real-life setting, take shots from different angles, and create a sense of the atmosphere your candles promise.

Final thoughts

At first glance, the homemade candle market might not seem like a high-volume, scalable venture. Yet, a closer look makes its potential evident, particularly given its status as one of Etsy’s less crowded niches.

To skyrocket your sales in this category, you’ll need smart tools to help you optimize and sell like a market leader.

That’s where Sale Samurai shines.

This unparalleled platform for deep insights costs only $9.99 per month. It’s a negligible amount that can help boost your Etsy sales in remarkable ways.