Private-Label Manufacturing · India · Amazon Marketplace · Tealight & Household Candles

From an established benchmark to full-scale production

A large US Amazon seller approached Welburn to explore manufacturing a range of candles in India. Unlike a new product development project, the customer already had an established candle business with existing products selling on Amazon — meaning the quality and performance benchmarks were already defined based on products sourced previously.

About the Client

An established Amazon marketplace candle seller

The customer had an established candle business and existing products selling on Amazon. The initial requirement included long-duration tealights with approximately 5-hour and 8-hour burn times, in both aluminium cups and transparent polycups, alongside household and church candles in multiple sizes.

The Challenge

Matching an established benchmark while staying commercially viable

01 — Matching an existing performance benchmark. The customer’s quality and performance standards were already defined by products sourced previously — our task was to match or improve on these benchmarks, not start from a blank page.

02 — Developing long-burn tealights across two cup formats. Long-burning tealights require a different product configuration from standard tealights, particularly when working across both aluminium and transparent polycups.

03 — Packaging built for marketplace logistics. Since a significant part of the customer’s business was through Amazon, the product could not be considered only from a manufacturing perspective — pack dimensions, product weight and shipping configuration all had a direct impact on commercial viability.

Our Approach

Two-part development: product and packaging

01 — Benchmarking against reference samples. The customer shared existing product specifications and reference samples. We developed initial samples and evaluated candle dimensions, wax weight, wick performance, flame behaviour and burn duration against these benchmarks.

02 — Iterative trials across formats. A number of trials were carried out to arrive at the agreed specifications for both cup formats, with household and church candles developed and evaluated in parallel. Samples were shared with the customer for comparison against their existing products, with adjustments made based on feedback.

03 — Marketplace-first packaging design. We worked with the customer to finalise packaging considering:

• Consumer pack dimensions and weight
• Product protection during transportation
• Labelling requirements
• Number of units per master carton
• Master-carton dimensions and weight
• Efficient utilisation of shipping space
• Pallet configuration for export shipments

Rather than treating the consumer pack, master carton and pallet as separate decisions, the overall packing configuration was reviewed together wherever possible.

The Outcome

Successfully developed, supplied, and extended

The products and packaging were successfully developed and supplied against the agreed requirements. The customer was satisfied with both the product quality and the way the overall programme was handled, including the attention given to packaging and shipment configuration. Following the initial business, the customer has indicated plans to expand the range of products manufactured with Welburn.

For us, the project reinforced an important principle of supplying established marketplace sellers: the manufacturing requirement does not end with making a good candle. Packaging dimensions, weight, labelling, master cartons and shipment configuration can all influence the economics and operational efficiency of selling through Amazon and other marketplaces.