The candle industry is massive and growing, and it’s already estimated to be worth a staggering $8.38 billion.
The vast majority of sales are driven by gift stores. Another key driver of the sales momentum is the ease and low cost of making candles.
With people being more weary of environmental issues, more consumers are keen to buy and burn environmentally-friendly candles. That’s candles and wax melts that are made with plant-based ingredients.
Asides from gifts, there are candle holders that can be included in home decor websites and interior design blogs, as well as by those in the events industry, such as wedding planning blogs and stores.
Some Different Types of Candles
- Tea lights
- Votive candles are slightly larger than tea lights
- Pillar candles, commonly used in churches
- Birthday candles
- Cartridge candles are non-drop making them ideal as a table decor
- Wax-filled container candles can be in any non-flammable container, including drinks cans and glass bottles
- Floating candles
The Types of Waxes that Differentiate Candles
- Paraffin and Stearin wax are the widest used in mass-produced candles as they’re cheap, but they don’t burn clean.
- Soy wax burns cleaner and for up to 50% longer than paraffin wax candles
- Beeswax is denser than soy so burns for longer and it’s even cleaner making it suitable for people with health issues such as asthma
- Bayberry wax, palm wax, and rapeseed wax are other plant-based materials used for making clean-burning candles that are environmentally friendly and biodegradable.
Wick materials that Effect How a Candle Burns
- Zinc and tin metal core wicks are the most commonly used as they remain standing upright in a pool of molten wax
- Cotton and paper core wicks burn at the highest temperature and are usually used on smaller budget candles such as tealights. The higher burn temperature is preferred when used with an oil burner to melt wax tarts
- Wood wicks are natural and they’re used in luxury candles that produce a crackling sound effect and they burn cleaner too.
There are hundreds of candle manufacturing companies in the US, and thousands worldwide. There are even more boutique stores, most of which are home-based businesses, or run from a small studio, producing small batches of intense fragrances using natural ingredients.
Handmade candles sell for a premium because they’re mostly higher quality than big brands produce. To demand premium prices, the ingredients need to be organic.
Some of the candle affiliate programs listed below are independent boutiques offering a more personal level of service than big box stores can provide.
Candle Website Ideas
- Build a niche candle store for a specific audience such as religious candles for prayer groups
- Build a blog that provides design ideas for wedding planning and promote candles and holders for table decor
- Interior design blogs and stores could do well promoting candle holders, such as candelabras, flameless candles, or electric wax warmers
- Include candles on a gifts store
- Promote candles by demographic such as phthalate-free candles for people who need the cleanest burning candles to prevent asthma flare-ups
- Go niche specific with the type of wax, such as beeswax, or palm wax candles that are sought out by people who only buy environmentally-friendly products.
12 Candle Affiliate Programs
- General Wax
- A Candle Co
- The Catholic Company
- Meditation Bench
- Wax and Wick
- 716 Candle Co
- Coo Candles
- Unearthed Candles
- Sea Love Candles
- Koyal Wholesale
- Candles Direct
- Bellacor
1. General Wax
The General Wax store is a true candle artisan store. Everything is managed in-house from the engineering of the candle making equipment, the wax formulas, molds, scents, and accessories.
The store was founded in 1949 and today, they maintain the old-school tradition of keeping everything in-house, including the engineering of machinery. In an age where a lot of manufacturing is outsourced, this is a USP in itself.
The main market for the General Wax store is restaurants and churches. They can provide:
- Scented and unscented candles
- All types of candles including floating candles
- Seasonal candles for Christmas and Halloween.
- Cleaner burning candles made from beeswax and soy
The affiliate program is privately managed, has a 14-day tracking cookie, and pays from 1% to 15% commission based on sales volume.
2. A Candle Co
ACandleCo.com is a wholesale merchant that has a minimum order value of $500.
The majority of their candles are scented and they hand-pour small orders, which are anything under 10,000 units with larger orders being fulfilled with machine automation.
Being wholesale, the target customer here is businesses such as gift stores and retail outlets. They also provide a private label service so any candle business can outsource their candle making to them.
Private label candles can be a standalone business or as a backup for independent candle makers to bring in during peak sales periods such as Christmas.
The company specializes in soy candles but there’s another market you can cater to with the affiliate program and that’s the candle makers themselves. They supply wholesale candle making supplies and packaging too.
The affiliate program is managed in-house. Unfortunately, no information is published publicly about how much they pay affiliates or the cookie-tracking duration.
A partnership here would be suited to those with connections to gift store owners, or people teaching candle making as they can be referred here for packaging, and supplies.
The store could also be used as a backup supplier by ordering white label candles with custom labeling to keep orders running smoothly during busy periods.
3. Catholic Company
As the name suggests, the Catholic Company is all about Christian products.
For anyone in the Christian market, conversions will be higher when you refer to specialty suppliers. Candles are just one category on this store and there are a few types you can promote.
- Prayer candles
- Advent Wreaths
- Candle Holders
The Catholic Company is a trading name of Trinity Road, LLC, which is one of the largest online and mail order Christian gift suppliers in the United States. They ship internationally too.
An affiliate relationship here could let you build an entire Christian gift store promoting everything from candles to Communion gifts.
The affiliate program is listed on Commission Junction. They have a dedicated affiliate manager, pay affiliates a 10% commission, and have a 45-day referral window.
4. Meditation Bench
MeditationBench.com is owned by Ananda Woodworking, INC, a family-run craft business based in Northern California. They make and supply a range of well-being products including beeswax candles.
The range they have available is not extensive, however, what they do have is 100% beeswax candles and a very niche-specific website. For anyone in the meditation space, the candles here could offer terrific conversions.
This is one of those programs that’s likely to work best when it’s matched to the audience rather than taking a product-first approach – meaning, if you have a health or wellness website, introduce the company, the candles, and explain about beeswax being beneficial for meditation.
Candles for meditating are unlikely to be something people search for but as a suggestion on a gift ideas list on a health and wellness blog, that’s where this should be a better fit.
Beeswax candles purify the air by emitting negative ions as they burn. Suitable niches for this type of candle are Reiki, Yoga, and Meditation.
The affiliate program is managed on the Affiliatly platform and pays a 10% commission.
5. Wax and Wick
WaxandWick.co is an independent boutique in Illinois that focuses on candles for men. They use 100% soy wax and natural wood wicks with some of their candles having a double wood wick.
The scents are designed around men’s themes such as campfires, coffee, and whiskey aromas. The packaging is minimalist, only available in black or white and the wax is undyed too.
The ingredients are sourced in the US using natural ingredients and are all hand-made. They make the candles in small batches helping to increase the potency of the fragrances.
The affiliate program is privately managed and pays up to 15% commission.
6. 716 Candle Co
The 716 Candle Co is another men’s candle store with a unique twist and that’s the packaging. Candles here are packaged in beer cans, beer bottles, or liquor bottles.
The company is based in Buffalo, NY, and the cans and bottles are upcycled from local breweries by hand-cutting the can and bottles, sanding them down then using them as the candle holder.
Candles are 100% soy wax and there’s over 40 scents available and a wide variety of drinks brands. These would be ideal for a men’s gift store.
The affiliate program is managed privately, uses a 14-day cookie, and pays a 10% commission.
7. Coo Candles
Coo Candles is a husband and wife business that makes and sells jar and container candles with a blend of beeswax and soy, and they have a range of wax melts, and warmers too.
Wax warmers are ideal for family homes as they can give the scents you’d get from candles without the flame. The warmers are electric, a light bulb provides ambiance and heat, and it’s the heat that melts the wax.
An exclusive to the store is the Memory Box Lamp, which would make a great personal gift. This is an electric wax warmer in a cube shape with room for four photos on each side and it can be rotated too. Around Valentine’s day, this would be a good promotion to run.
There’s also an adult section in the store where you can find a selection of container candles with humorous labels. These could be good gifts for couples, friends, and colleagues.
The affiliate program is managed in-house but the details aren’t published publicly.
Alternatively, email the Affiliate Manager, Joni Belair at info{at]coocandles.com
8. Unearthed Candles
UnEarthed® Candles is a luxury line of candles by The Candleberry Company. They use their own proprietary wax blend that’s the only type on the market to melt evenly down the side of the jar.
The candles are made with natural ingredients, blended in-house by skilled perfumers. The scented candles line have a fragrance scoring system of 0 to 10, with the strongest scented candles able to scent a property up to 4,000 square feet.
Candles like these would be ideal for venues such as wedding receptions, dinner parties, and also for hotels and bed and breakfasts.
The affiliate program is managed on Shareasale.com, uses a 60-day tracking cookie, and pays a 20% commission.
9. Sea Love Candles
Sea Love Candles is a husband and wife company run from a small studio in Kennebunkport, near Maine. The USP is nonsynthetic fragrances and these types of candles are ideal for people with asthma.
The candles are made with coconut soy wax that are Kosher Certified, and they’re scented with 100% phthalate-free and certified Clean Scents™.
The affiliate program is privately run using OSI tracker software. They don’t state how long cookies track for but do state commissions are up to 10% commissions per sale and there’s also a 10% off coupon code provided to help you drive sales.
10. Koyal Wholesale
Koyal Wholesale began in 2003 and has grown into a prestigious brand catering exclusively to the wedding and event planning sector. To help continue their growth, they’re keen to partner with event planners and stylists.
Despite the name having “wholesale” in the title, they don’t have minimum order quantities, but given the nature of the products, most are sold in bulk quantities anyway.
Asides from weddings and events, some of the candle holders sold here would be suited to photographers needing to set up photo staging areas, as well as real estate agents needing home staging accessories. In total, there are over 30,000+ products in the store.
The affiliate program is managed on Shareasale.com, uses a 45-day cookie, and pays a 5% commission.
11. Candles Direct
Candles Direct are based in Belfast, UK, and are likely the largest candle supplier to the UK and the EU. They stock over 50 brand name candles including Yankee Candle, WoodWick, Candleberry, Wax Lyrical, and PF Candle Co, to name a few.
They do ship internationally but the primary areas they focus on are the UK and European countries.
The affiliate program is managed by Affiliate Window. They don’t state how much they pay, just that it’s a high commission rate and there’s an enhanced rate available too. Enhanced rates are always for high volume sales.
There is a dedicated affiliate manager, a product datafeed and they can tailor the feed so that you’re only promoting the products you want to be and how you want it to look.
12. Bellacor
Last, but by no means least is a home decor store where you’ll find a wide selection of flameless candles and candleholders in a variety of styles for all types of candles.
Many candle affiliate programs are focused on selling candles as gifts. The other main market is candle making supplies.
For those who frequently burn candles, they’ll spend money on holders that complement their interior decor by adding a touch of style.
No matter what you’re niche is, always be considering the cross-sell opportunities. People buying candles are likely to be interested in candle holders. Likewise, sales of electric wax warmers are followed by sales of scented wax tarts.
The Bellacor affiliate program is managed by the Pepperjam network, pays an 8% commission, and has a datafeed too.
