Everywhere you look online, someone is promising that you too can quit your job, start pouring wax, and turn your kitchen table into a six-figure candle empire. YouTube is filled with videos titled “How I Made $10,000/Month Selling Candles”, TikTok scrolls are littered with aesthetically pleasing jars being poured in slow motion, and Instagram feeds showcase glowing product photos wrapped in perfectly staged flat lays.
But look closer and you’ll see something unusual: the real product isn’t the candle. The real product is the dream of candle wealth and the followers on social platforms.
Candles became the perfect storm for a social media side hustle. A starter kit of wax, wicks, and fragrance oils costs less than a weekend getaway, so the barrier to entry is low. They also look great on camera—pouring and decorating candles makes for a visually satisfying process. And beyond that, they carry emotional weight: candles are tied to comfort, relaxation, spirituality, and luxury, making them easy to market with lifestyle imagery. Combine all this with the rise of influencer marketing, and suddenly the candle isn’t just home décor—it’s the symbol of entrepreneurial freedom.
Many self-proclaimed “candlepreneurs” have discovered that they earn more from teaching candle making than from actually selling candles. Their revenue streams come from YouTube and TikTok ad revenue, courses and e-books promising the secrets to success, affiliate links to wax suppliers and wick kits, and paid mentorships that dangle the promise of insider knowledge. In other words, they’re not really in the candle business—they’re in the business of selling the dream.
For the average maker without a big following, candle sales are brutally hard. The market is saturated, with thousands of Etsy shops offering nearly identical soy candles. Margins are razor thin once you account for supplies, packaging, shipping, and marketplace fees—often dropping profit below five dollars per candle. And without a built-in audience, most sellers end up relying on ads, spending more to reach customers than they make back in sales. It’s not impossible to succeed, but it is far harder than influencer videos would have you believe.
So why do people still fall for it? Part of it is psychological. Candles symbolize warmth and comfort, so it feels believable that you could build a business around them. Success stories are seductive, especially when packaged in glossy videos that tap into our desire for independence. And in today’s climate of rising costs and unstable jobs, the idea of turning wax into wealth feels like empowerment.
Yet for many, the pursuit ends in disappointment: shelves stacked with unsold inventory, ad budgets drained with little return, and the sobering realization that the influencer was selling a course, not a candle. Meanwhile, the few who do succeed aren’t necessarily the best candle makers—they’re the best storytellers, marketers, and community builders.
A more honest take is that candle making can be a rewarding craft and even a modest business, but only if expectations are realistic. The path forward is to think niche—whether that means luxury branding, ritual candles, eco-friendly designs, or quirky novelty pieces. Build a community first and let the product serve that audience. Treat candles as the medium, not the dream.
Otherwise, the candlepreneur phenomenon risks becoming just another case study in modern hustle culture—where the brightest flame isn’t from the candle at all, but from the lighter being sold to those hoping to strike it rich.