Candles are the packaging category where weight sneaks up on people. A filled 10 oz jar with a lid can approach a pound on its own, and a case of twelve is heavy enough to fail a carton that was specified as though it held air. Wholesale candle packaging starts with the vessel and the loaded weight, in that order.
Size the carton to the vessel
| Vessel | Typical diameter x height (in) | Carton note |
|---|---|---|
| 4 oz tin or jar | About 2.5 x 1.8 | Short carton, often sold in multipacks |
| 8 oz jar | About 2.9 x 3.5 | The common single candle gift carton |
| 10 oz jar | About 3.2 x 3.9 | Add height for a domed or knobbed lid |
| 16 oz jar | About 4 x 4 | Heavy, check the base panel strength |
| Pillar candle | 2 to 4 across, 4 to 9 tall | Tall and unstable, a snug fit matters more |
Measure at the widest point, which on a jar with a lip or a metal lid is usually the lid rather than the body, and add clearance for the label. Fuller size tables sit on our candle box dimensions page.
Board choice is a weight decision
A printed folding carton is right for a candle that sits in a retail display and travels inside an outer case. Once the carton itself is the shipper, move to E flute or B flute corrugated, and pay attention to the base: the failure mode is the bottom panel giving way under a glass vessel, not the sides collapsing. For cases of six or twelve, a partitioned corrugated shipper keeps jars from knocking together, and the cell layout maths is covered on our partition boxes page.
Leave room for your own safety text
Candle brands carry burn instruction and warning wording, and the exact requirements depend on where you sell and to whom. That text is yours to write. Our part is to reserve the panel, print exactly what you supply, and show it back to you on the digital proof before anything runs. Block that panel out before the artwork gets designed around a pretty photograph, since redesigning to fit legally required text is the most common reason a cosmetics or home fragrance carton gets reproofed.
Buying at wholesale volume
Minimum order is 100 boxes even on a wholesale program, so a new scent can be tested before it gets a full run. Unit pricing opens at about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote, and on candles the freight lane matters unusually much: these are dense, heavy cartons, so the difference between the sea and air lanes shows up clearly in landed cost. Rush combines expedited production with air freight at a premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job, standard moves by air from about 7 business days plus 2 to 5 days for delivery, and cost saver moves by sea. Free US shipping, the die, the plates, design support and a digital proof come with the order, and production runs at West Chicago or Guangzhou.
Send the vessel dimensions, the case count and the filled weight to our quote form and ask for pricing at two quantities so you can see where the curve flattens for your scent range.
