Behind the Scenes of a Pop‑Up for Candle Makers: The Real Costs No One Talks About

Why Candle Makers Love the Idea of Pop-Ups

For many small candle businesses, the idea of running a pop-up shop or market stall is exciting. It’s a chance to connect with customers in person, let them smell your scents before buying, and share the story behind your brand face-to-face. Unlike online sales, where customers rely on descriptions and photos, a pop-up allows them to experience your products with all their senses.

Some of the most common reasons candle makers are drawn to pop-ups include:

• Scents sell better in person: Fragrance is best experienced directly, and customers are far more likely to make an impulse purchase after smelling a candle they love.
• Testing new products: Pop-ups are a great way to see which scents, jar styles, or packaging options attract the most attention before committing to a large production run.
• Seasonal sales boosts: Events in the lead-up to Christmas, Mother’s Day, or Valentine’s Day can be especially lucrative if you have gift-ready products.
• Brand storytelling: In-person events give you the opportunity to talk about your inspiration, ingredients, and values—key details that set your candles apart in a crowded market.
• Meeting loyal customers: Many online shoppers love the chance to meet the maker behind the brand, especially if they’ve followed your journey on Instagram or TikTok.

It’s easy to imagine the perfect weekend: a beautifully styled stall, a constant stream of happy customers, and your candles flying off the shelves. But as we’ll explore next, the reality often includes extra costs and challenges—particularly for candles, which are heavy, fragile, and require careful transport and display.

The Big, Obvious Costs for Candle Makers at a Pop-Up

When planning a pop-up shop or market stall, most candle makers start by working out the large, easy-to-spot expenses. These are the costs that usually make it into your initial budget and are straightforward to estimate ahead of time.

• Stall or space hire: Often your biggest upfront cost. Depending on the event and location, this could range anywhere from $100 for a small local market to $600 or more for a multi-day shopping centre pop-up.
• Travel and petrol: Transporting heavy boxes of candles, diffusers, and display items can quickly increase fuel costs, especially if the venue is far from home.
• Product costs: This includes the raw materials (wax, jars, wicks, fragrance oils, packaging) for the products you expect to sell at the event. For candle makers, materials make up a large percentage of the retail price, so this number can be significant.
• GST: If you’re registered for GST, remember to factor in 10% of your sales revenue as tax owed to the ATO. This is money you’ll need to set aside from each sale.

On paper, it’s tempting to think: “If I can sell enough candles to cover these costs, I’ll be in profit.” But as you’ll see in the next section, there are hidden and indirect costs that can make a big difference to your final results—especially for a product like candles, where setup, transport, and packing require extra time and care.

The Hidden Costs Candle Makers Need to Consider

While the big-ticket expenses are easy to plan for, it’s often the hidden costs that quietly erode your profit margin. These can catch first-time stallholders off guard and are especially important for candle makers to factor in before committing to an event.

• Meals and drinks: Even with the best intentions to bring your own food, you might end up spending $10–$30 per meal on coffee, snacks, or lunch during long trading days.
• Payment processing fees: Services like Shopify, Square, or EFTPOS take a small percentage of every transaction. Over dozens of sales, these fees can add up.
• Your own time: Pop-ups require more than just trading hours. You’ll need time for setup and pack-down, plus travel to and from the venue. Many candle makers underestimate this, but if you value your time (or need to pay staff), it’s a real cost.
• Transport challenges: Candles are heavy and fragile. You may need a larger vehicle, van hire, or extra protective packaging to move stock safely.
• Breakages and damages: Glass jars and ceramic vessels can chip or crack during transport or setup. Even one damaged product can affect your profits.
• Display wear and tear: Over time, tablecloths, signage, shelving, and props will need to be cleaned, repaired, or replaced due to regular use.

These smaller, less obvious expenses can make a big difference to your total costs. By including them in your budget from the start, you’ll get a far more accurate picture of what it will take to break even—or turn a profit—at your next event.

How to Calculate the True Cost of Your Candle Pop-Up

Before booking a market stall or shopping centre activation, it’s essential to work out exactly how much it will cost you—and how much you’ll need to sell to break even. Here’s a simple way to calculate it using your own figures.

1. List your obvious costs:
   • Stall or space hire fee
   • Travel and petrol
   • Product costs (wax, jars, fragrance oils, wicks, packaging)
   • GST (10% of your sales if you’re registered)
2. Add your hidden costs:
   • Meals, drinks, and snacks over the event days
   • Payment processing fees (Shopify, Square, EFTPOS)
   • Display items or props you purchase for the stall
   • Breakages, damages, or discounted display stock
   • Parking fees or transport hire (if needed)
3. Factor in your time:
   • Setup and pack-down hours
   • Total trading hours
   • Travel time
   Decide on an hourly rate for your time and include it in your costs. Even if you don’t pay yourself right away, it helps you understand the true value of your labour.
4. Calculate your break-even point:

   Add together all your costs, then work out how many products you’d need to sell at your average price to cover those costs.

Example: If your total costs are $800 and your average sale per customer is $40, you’ll need to make 20 sales just to break even—before you see any profit.

This simple exercise will quickly tell you whether an event is likely to be worth it. If the sales target feels unrealistic for the venue, timing, or expected foot traffic, it might be better to invest your time and money elsewhere.

Why Profit Isn’t the Whole Story

On paper, ending a weekend pop-up with a loss might seem like a failure, but for many small candle makers, profit isn’t the only measure of success. Events like these can bring valuable exposure, customer insights, and future sales opportunities that don’t show up in the immediate figures.

• Customer connection: Meeting buyers face-to-face builds trust and loyalty. People love hearing the story behind your scents, your process, and why you choose certain ingredients.
• Hands-on scent testing: A pop-up lets customers smell your candles in person which is something online shopping can’t replicate. Often, people discover scents they wouldn’t have chosen from a description alone.
• Product feedback: Seeing which fragrances draw the most attention helps guide future production runs, especially for seasonal or limited edition scents.
• Content creation: Photos and videos of your styled stall, customer interactions, and product displays can be used across your social media and marketing.
• Networking: Building relationships with other stallholders, leasing managers, and even shopping centre staff can lead to new opportunities.
• Potential future sales: Even if someone doesn’t buy on the day, they may follow you online and place an order later, especially if you hand out business cards or flyers with a discount code.

While none of these benefits immediately cover the weekend’s loss, they can have a compounding effect over time. The key is to decide whether these non-financial gains are worth the investment for your business and how to turn them into measurable future sales.

Lessons for Candle Makers Considering a Pop-Up

If you’re a candle maker thinking about investing in a market stall or shopping centre pop-up, the best way to protect your profit is to go in with a plan. Here are some lessons I learned from my weekend at Green Hills:

• Factor in your time as a real cost: If you worked those same hours elsewhere, what would you earn? Include that figure in your break-even calculations.
• Visit the venue beforehand: Go at the same day and time you’ll be trading to get a realistic view of foot traffic, customer demographics, and whether the location draws your target audience.
• Negotiate fees: Some event organisers or shopping centres are open to discounts, especially if you’re filling a last-minute space or booking multiple days.
• Choose your timing carefully: Sales are often stronger in the lead-up to Christmas, Mother’s Day, or other gift-giving occasions. A quiet weekend in February will feel very different to one in December.
• Promote heavily before the event: Don’t rely on event traffic alone—email your customer list, post on social media, and let local followers know exactly where and when to find you.
• Streamline your display and packing: Candles are heavy and fragile, so invest in sturdy, easy-to-move crates, and keep your setup simple enough to assemble quickly.
• Track every cost: Even small items like tape, tablecloths, or parking fees should be logged so you know the true cost of the event.

Not every pop-up will be a big seller, but by planning strategically, you can give yourself the best chance at making the effort worthwhile, and avoid expensive surprises.

Would I Do It Again?

After running the numbers, my two-day pop-up ended with a financial loss, and that’s before paying myself for my time. For me, the decision to try again would depend on a few key factors: a better location within the venue, stronger pre-event promotion, and timing it for a busier shopping period like Christmas.

While the weekend wasn’t profitable in the short term, it did provide valuable insights into which scents resonated most with customers, how my display worked in a shopping centre setting, and the importance of factoring in every single cost. Those lessons are now part of how I plan future events.

Pop-ups can absolutely work for candle makers, but they’re most successful when approached strategically, with a clear understanding of your financial and non-financial goals.

Share Your Pop-Up Experience

If you’re a fellow candle maker or small business owner, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you tried a shopping centre pop-up or market stall? Did it work for you, or did you run into similar challenges?

Leave a comment below or connect with me on Instagram at @claremakes to share your experience. The more we talk openly about the realities of events like these, the better prepared we can all be for success.