How Do I Brand My Candle Business?

Develop Your Brand Story

Share your inspiration and motivation for starting the business. Convey your vision, mission, values and focus on what makes your brand unique.

For example, the founders of Wax Cabin Candle Co. shared that they were inspired to start their business after making candles as Christmas gifts and seeing how much joy they brought to friends and family. Their vision is to create natural, soy-based candles that remind people of cozy cabins and being in nature. They are motivated by their values of sustainability, authenticity, and community.

Or look at Keap Candles, who convey their brand story of repurposing beeswax and botanicals into candles with nature-inspired scents and zero-waste packaging. Their unique focus on sustainability makes their brand stand out.

Think about your own inspirations, passions and values. Craft a compelling brand story that highlights what makes your candle business one-of-a-kind.

Choose a Memorable Business Name

When choosing a name for your candle business, you’ll want to brainstorm creative but clear options that effectively communicate your brand identity. According to Wix, inspirational names like “Illuminate Your Path” or “Light of Hope Candles” make for great candle business names.

It’s also important to check domain availability as you ideate names, to ensure the .com is available for your top choices. Using a candle company name generator can provide inspiration, but be sure to verify trademarks to ensure your name is legally protectable.

Select a name that is unique, memorable, and evokes thefeeling you want your brand to emit. Just make sure it clearly communicates that you are a candle company and is available for trademark registration and as a domain name.

Create a Logo and Brand Identity

A logo is one of the most important aspects of your candle brand’s identity. It will represent your business on product packaging, marketing materials, social media, and more. When designing a logo, you want to pick something that symbolizes your brand’s personality and values.

Consider incorporating visuals that connect to candles and home fragrance, like flames, wax seals, flowers, or decorative patterns. Geometric shapes or abstract designs can also work well. Keep in mind the feeling you want to evoke – classic and elegant, or modern and minimalist? Your logo should align with your brand image.

Along with the logo design, establish cohesive branding with your color palette, typography, and imagery. Stay consistent in using the same 1-3 core brand colors and font styles across all platforms. Pick complementary or contrasting colors that reinforce your desired aesthetic. Ensure all visuals like product photos or lifestyle imagery align with your brand personality.

Your logo and branding elements should be distinctive but also easily recognizable. Customers should be able to identify your brand at a glance once they become familiar with it. Consistent, thoughtful branding will allow you to stand out in the candle market and develop an authentic identity that resonates with your audience. According to research from Logo Design Company, strong branding can increase brand recognition by 80%.

Build Your Brand Voice

Brand voice refers to the unique tone and style that represents your company. It’s the voice used across all your messaging and channels, from website copy to social media posts to packaging. For a new candle business, developing a brand voice can help you connect with customers and differentiate from competitors.

Determine what personality you want your brand to convey. Do you want a fun, playful tone or a calm, soothing voice? Brands like M&Ms and Old Spice have an energetic, humorous voice, while a candle brand may opt for something more zen.

Reflect your values in the language and words you use. For example, emphasize natural, eco-friendly ingredients or your commitment to handmade, quality products.

Write copy in a consistent voice, whether a social media caption or product description. Use the same style, tone and vocabulary to reinforce your brand identity everywhere.

Develop brand voice guidelines to document details like tone, point-of-view, audience and vocabulary. This helps ensure consistency as your business grows. Share examples of on-brand messaging to guide others.

Your brand voice should be true to who you are while resonating with your target audience. An authentic, memorable voice helps you stand out and form an emotional connection with customers.

Develop Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines are a set of rules document that outline how to use your brand assets and present your brand identity. They help maintain consistency across all brand communications and prevent improper use of your brand. Some key elements to include in your candle brand guidelines:

Logo Usage – Provide clear instructions for using your logo, such as minimum size, exclusion zone, approved colors, backgrounds, etc. Specify if the logo can be modified. (Behance)

Color Palette – List approved brand colors for both print and digital with hex codes and proper uses. (Dribbble)

Typography – Specify approved fonts for headlines, body copy, captions, etc. Include examples of ideal typographic hierarchy.

Voice & Tone – Provide guidance on your brand’s personality, style, and tone when communicating. Give examples.

Visuals – Show ideal photography styles, illustration usage, iconography, etc. that align with your brand identity.

Packaging – Provide specifications for product packaging like labels, seals, messaging, etc.

Give clear “dos and don’ts” for presenting your brand. Set restrictions to prevent improper use. Provide assets like logos and templates to facilitate easy, on-brand content creation. Distribute to internal teams and external partners to align messaging.

Design Product Packaging

Product packaging is a critical part of branding your candle business. The packaging should be visually engaging and reinforce your brand identity through elements like colors, fonts, and logos. According to Pinterest, popular packaging ideas include clean, minimalist designs as well as creative shapes like geometric boxes or containers that convey a theme.

When designing packaging, consider the materials from a sustainability perspective. Glass jars can be recycled and reused. Soy-based inks are an eco-friendly printing option. Kraft paper, jute, and other natural materials make earth-friendly packaging. Evaluate different materials to find an option that aligns with your brand values.

The packaging should ultimately create an unboxing experience that delights customers and makes them excited to try your candles. An aesthetically pleasing and purposeful design will reinforce your branding and identity.

Create a Media Kit

A media kit is an essential part of promoting your brand and products. It allows you to clearly communicate who you are, what you offer, and your brand story to potential partners, press, bloggers, and influencers. Your media kit should include the following:

Your brand story – Share the origins of your business, why you started, what makes your products special, and what your brand stands for. Express your brand identity and values.

Product photos – Include high quality images of your candles, packaging, and lifestyle shots showing your products in use. Photos bring your brand to life visually.

Logos – Provide logo files in multiple formats like PNG, JPG, EPS so partners can easily access your brand assets.

Fact sheets – Create one-pagers with key information about your company, products, and services.

Press releases – Share announcements about new products, milestones, awards, etc. to pitch your news.

Company contacts – List names, emails, and phone numbers so interested parties can get in touch.

By preparing a professional, comprehensive media kit, you’ll have materials ready to share when opportunities arise to get the word out about your brand (source). Whether reaching out to gain press coverage or partner with retailers, your media kit acts as a sales pitch highlighting why your brand deserves attention.

Leverage Social Media

Social media is an excellent way to promote your candle brand and share your story with potential customers. To leverage social media effectively:

Share high-quality photos and videos of your products on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Engaging visual content will draw attention to your brand and products. Use captions to share your brand story and product details. Consider running social media contests or giveaways to increase engagement. According to an article on candlescience.com, “Social media is an important marketing tool for small businesses. It’s a way to build brand awareness, engage with your target market, and promote your products.”^[1]

Engage your target audience by responding to comments and questions on your posts. Build relationships with potential customers and position yourself as an approachable expert. Ask followers questions to encourage two-way conversations. According to predis.ai, “Why choose Instagram for social media marketing? It’s the platform where your audience is, and engagement is high.”^[2]

Develop an authentic social media presence that aligns with your brand personality and voice. Be consistent in your messaging and visual style across platforms. Share behind-the-scenes content like your creative process and workspace to give followers an inside look. According to socialassumptions.com, social media allows you to “give your followers a sneak peek into your brand personality.”^[3]

Build Strategic Partnerships

Pursuing co-branding or product placements with complementary brands can be a great way to expand your reach and tap into new audiences. For example, Literie partnered with The Morgan Library & Museum in New York to create a custom candle based on one of the library’s exhibits, which provided exposure to museum visitors (https://www.modernretail.co/marketing/how-literie-built-a-candle-business-on-specificity-and-brand-partnerships/). Partnering with aligned brands that share similar values and aesthetics can lend credibility and prestige to a fledgling candle business.

Influencers and bloggers with engaged audiences can also be great partners. Consider gifting them products or creating a custom scent in exchange for product placement on their social media channels or blogs. Micro-influencers in your niche can be especially beneficial partners as their audiences are highly targeted. Strategic partnerships allow candle brands to tap into new networks and get their products in front of potential new customers.

Analyze and Adjust

Once your candle brand is launched, it’s important to continuously track metrics and analyze performance. Look at website analytics, social media insights, sales data, and reviews to understand what’s resonating with customers and what could be improved.

Send out surveys and interact on social media to get direct customer feedback. Ask customers what they like about your brand and products as well as where there’s room for improvement. Be open to constructive criticism.

Make small, incremental changes over time to optimize your branding and marketing based on the data and insights gathered. For example, you may adjust your packaging or product scents if customers want different colors or fragrance options. Or you could refine your messaging if certain brand values or emotions aren’t coming through.

Revisit your brand strategy on a quarterly or annual basis to evaluate progress and set new goals. Be willing to pivot your brand positioning if needed to stay relevant. Consistent analysis and adjustment will ensure your candle brand continues to connect with target customers.