Candle stock & order calculator

How to use this calculator

Use a measured finished fill mass and your tested recipe. Select the percentage convention specified by that recipe: 10% of wax and 10% of finished blend are different. Enter the wax and fragrance actually available, the order size and each supply pack’s net mass. The result compares two separate scenarios: making the maximum batch from current stock, or completing the target order after restocking. For the target order, read Wax to prepare for target and Fragrance to prepare for target as the full quantities to weigh, including any preparation allowance. These totals are different from the shortfalls to purchase. Finished blend in target candles excludes that extra allowance; extra prepared blend does not increase the target candle count. Enter 4,800 g for a 4.8 kg pack. Use mass in grams for fragrance; millilitres require its actual density. To check a container-candle order, include containers and wicks and enter usable counts, count-based pack sizes and the wicks per candle from your tested recipe. The result lists every supply tied for the lowest whole-candle capacity. Turn on Include your pack prices to compare the money needed for the whole restock packs with the value of materials used. Enter your actual price for each corresponding pack in one consistent currency. Prices start blank. Enter a price for each included supply, or explicitly enter zero to exclude its cost. No supplier quote is provided.

The formula

Let r = fragrance percentage ÷ 100. Wax-basis recipe: wax = finished fill ÷ (1 + r), fragrance = wax × r. Finished-blend basis: fragrance = finished fill × r, wax = finished fill × (1 − r). Multiply both by (1 + extra preparation ÷ 100). Target wax and fragrance preparation = target candles × their respective prepared per-candle quantities. Total blend to prepare = target wax + target fragrance. Finished blend in target candles = target × finished fill; extra prepared blend = finished blend × extra preparation ÷ 100. Complete candles = the smallest whole capacity among included supplies. Ingredient capacity = floor(stock ÷ per-candle requirement); unscented recipes ignore fragrance. When included, container capacity = container count and wick capacity = floor(wick stock ÷ wicks per candle). Each target shortage = max(0, target × per-candle requirement − stock). Supply packs = shortage ÷ pack quantity, rounded up. Containers required = target; wicks required = target × wicks per candle. Extra preparation applies only to wax and fragrance, not component counts. Optional restock outlay = sum of whole packs to buy × entered pack price. Materials per candle at entered pack prices = sum of per-candle requirement ÷ pack quantity × pack price. Target materials = per-candle materials × target candles. Already-owned stock reduces new purchases but does not reduce the materials required.

A worked example

At 220 g finished fill and 10% fragrance by finished blend, each candle uses 198 g wax and 22 g fragrance. With 4,800 g wax and 1,000 g fragrance, make 24 candles, leaving 48 g wax and 472 g fragrance. A separate 30-candle order needs 5,940 g wax and 660 g fragrance. The wax shortage is 1,140 g: buy two 1,000 g packs. No extra fragrance is needed. If you also have 18 containers and 25 wicks for a tested two-wick recipe, only 12 candles can be assembled now. For the separate target of 30, buy two six-container packs and two 20-wick packs; five wicks remain after that order. For an invented arithmetic example only, enter pack prices of 10 for wax, 6 for 100 g fragrance, 12 for six containers and 4 for 20 wicks. Restocking costs 2 × 10 + 0 × 6 + 2 × 12 + 2 × 4 = 52 currency units. The included materials per candle are 1.98 + 1.32 + 2 + 0.40 = 5.70, or 171 for the order. The two totals answer different questions. Separately, adding a 10% preparation allowance to the 30-candle example requires 6,534 g wax and 726 g fragrance: 7,260 g total prepared blend. The intended finished fill remains 6,600 g across 30 candles; the extra 660 g is preparation allowance. A two-wick order still needs 30 containers and 60 wicks.

Assumptions & limitations

One candle recipe and one usable wax/fragrance stock pair. Extra preparation adds the entered percentage to both ingredient requirements; it is not a finished-product rejection rate. The target preparation totals are the full quantities to weigh, including that allowance exactly once, rather than just the amounts missing from stock. The intended finished fill excludes the allowance. Extra preparation does not increase the target candle count or its container and wick requirements; it is not a promise of extra finished candles. Target shortfalls use the original stock, not the leftovers after first making the maximum batch. Pack sizes and prices are editable; no supplier minimum order or price is assumed. The accepted percentage range is an arithmetic limit, not a safe fragrance recommendation. Follow the wax/fragrance specifications and test the candle. Optional components assume one suitable container and the entered number of compatible wicks per candle. This is inventory arithmetic, not wick sizing or a burn-safety test. With components off, containers and wicks and their costs are omitted. Materials are valued at your entered pack prices, including already-owned stock, not at historical inventory costs. This is not full production cost, profit or a selling-price recommendation. Delivery, taxes, discounts, dyes, lids, packaging, labor, overhead and failed units are not added. Account for them separately and avoid adding a charge twice if it is already included in your pack prices. A price explicitly set to zero excludes that cost from both totals.

Common questions

Should I weigh the shortfall or the full preparation total?

Weigh the full Wax to prepare for target and Fragrance to prepare for target amounts from your available supplies. A shortfall only tells you how much is missing from stock before purchases. Whole packs can leave supplies unused after the order.

Does the extra prepared blend mean more candles?

No. It is your allowance above the intended finished fill. The requested candle count and included container and wick requirements stay unchanged.

Why does restock spending differ from the materials cost?

Restock spending counts only new whole packs needed after using your available stock. Materials valuation counts everything required for the target, including stock you already own, at the pack prices you entered. Neither total includes unentered business costs or represents profit.

Are the default pack prices real supplier prices?

No. Prices start blank. Enter your own prices in the same currency, or intentionally enter zero to exclude a cost. No currency conversion, tax or delivery estimate is applied.

Does extra preparation add spare jars or wicks?

No. It only increases the ingredient preparation. The component plan uses exactly one container and your entered wick count per target candle. Add any desired spare finished units to the target order yourself.

Can a fragrance bottle limit the batch before the wax runs out?

Yes. In the example, reducing fragrance stock to 100 g limits the batch to four complete candles. Both ingredients are checked.

What happens for unscented candles?

Set fragrance percentage to zero. Fragrance stock, purchases and price are ignored in the arithmetic; wax determines the ingredient capacity. If containers and wicks are included, they can still limit the complete candle count.

Are 10% wax load and 10% finished blend the same?

No. A blend containing 198 g wax and 22 g fragrance is 10% fragrance by finished blend and about 11.111111% by wax. Use the basis specified in your tested recipe.

Supporting reference

The method above states this calculator’s assumptions. This reference provides related definitions and technical context.

Candle Shack: 30cl Temptress RCX recipe quantities ↗

Formula and worked example checked against automated test cases. About our methodology.