Candles break more often than you’d guess. A glass jar cracks in the back of a delivery van, a taper snaps in half, soft soy wax takes a thumb dent the second someone squeezes the box. So yeah, candle packaging protects first and looks pretty second, and for a small candle business it also has to come in at a price that still leaves some margin.
Most of what we print is jar candle boxes. With glass, our pick is usually candle boxes with inserts, since the insert keeps the jar centered and off the walls. How much gap to leave? It’s in our piece on how much space to leave for inserts.
Taper candle boxes run long and skinny, often with a little window. Pillars and gift sets look kind of great in candle tube packaging.
High-end brands lean toward luxury candle boxes or rigid candle boxes, magnetic lid, foil logo, the works. Is rigid worth the extra? We put rigid boxes vs folding cartons for candles side by side.
Measure the jar with its lid on. Always. The candle box dimensions guide has common sizes, and this article goes through burn time, safety warnings and the rest of what belongs on the box. Watching costs? Read how to reduce candle packaging costs.
Selling online means an outer box too, from our shipping boxes. Gift sets? Try gift boxes.
Jars vary. Two 8 oz jars from different glass suppliers can easily be an eighth of an inch apart, so please read the table as the inside sizes we’d sketch first and then cut to your real vessel once you send it over (or just its measurements). They come from our candle box dimensions guide, which goes into a lot more detail.
| What you’re boxing | Usual candle (inches) | Box inside, our starting point |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 6 oz jar | roughly 2.375 wide, 2.125 tall | 2.625 x 2.625 x 2.375 |
| 8 to 10 oz jar | about 3.375 wide, 3.75 tall | 3.75 x 3.75 x 4.25 |
| 11 to 13 oz jar | 3.5 wide, 4.25 tall or so | 4 x 4 x 4.75 |
| 14 to 18 oz jar | around 4 wide, 4.75 tall | 4.5 x 4.5 x 5.25 |
| 3 x 6 pillar | 3 wide, 6 tall | 3.5 x 3.5 x 6.5 |
| Two 10 in tapers | under an inch at the base | 2.75 x 1.375 x 10.625 |
Those figures are for a retail box sitting on a shelf. If the candle is going to someone’s door we’d add roughly a quarter inch each way so an insert fits, which puts an 8 oz jar nearer 4 x 4 x 4.5. Candle boxes with inserts are made for exactly that trip, and jar candle boxes are the everyday version for glass jars and tins.
Tapers are long and skinny, and most people box them in pairs. Our taper candle boxes use slotted inserts so the wicks don’t get bent, and a pair of 12 inch tapers just needs the same box two inches longer, about 12.625. Tins are the easy ones (a 4 oz tin sits in roughly 3 x 3 x 2, a hair tighter is fine since metal won’t shatter). Pillars have bare wax that marks if anything rubs it, so give them a snug fit, or try candle tube packaging, a round tube with a lift-off lid that suits pillars really well. Big 16 oz jars and gift sets? Heavy glass wants thicker board, which is where rigid candle boxes and luxury candle boxes come in.
One habit worth getting into. Measure the jar with the lid on, at its widest point, because a lot of jars bulge at the shoulder and the base number will fool you.
Put the jar in an insert so it can’t move, then pop that inside an outer shipper if a courier’s handling it.
Depends on the jar. Take the height with the lid on and the widest point across, and we’ll add a bit of room.
Most candle makers do, burn time and safety notes, either on the box or a label.
For soy and natural brands, sure, and kraft recycles.
