A Client Wants 1,000 Candles but Expects 20 Samples Before Final Production — Should the Sample Raw Materials be Included in My Procurement Calculation?

Shared materials vs scent-specific materials

Every material on a candle order falls into one of two groups. Shared materials are the same whatever the client chooses: the wax, the jar, the wick. A jar poured as a sample is the same jar you would pour in production. If the client rejects a sample's scent, the wax and jar you bought for production are still exactly right. Scent-specific materials change with the client's choice: the fragrance oil, and sometimes a dye or a printed label. These are the only lines where buying early can go wrong.

The table assumes the client is sampling the same jar and size as production. If they want to see two jar options, the jar also becomes a scent-specific line in effect: buy a handful of each for the samples and the production jars after the choice. The principle holds: fold in what cannot be wrong; hold back what can. My Client May Increase a 1,000-Candle Order by 20% at the Last Minute — Should I Buy Additional Raw Materials Now or Wait for Confirmation? applies the same split to a different uncertainty, a possible 20% increase in quantity.

The sample stage, costed

Twenty client samples across four candidate scents is five candles per scent. Before any sample goes to a client, you will want to burn at least a couple yourself, so this page adds 2 pre-tests per scent, a labelled working assumption. That is 7 candles per scent, 28 in all. Each is a full production candle: 200 g at 8%, so 16 g of oil and 184 g of wax. Load is a share of the finished weight, as throughout this series.

Three of the four candidates list a 15 g, so 100 g + 15 g covers 112 g with 3 g spare. Sage and Cedarwood starts at 50 g, so its cheapest cover is 100 g + 50 g, leaving 38 g over. That leftover is not wasted: it is enough for two more test candles if the client asks for a second round. CSI does not sell a fragrance sample pack, trial pack or discovery set; this is how you build one from the listed sizes. The 15 g is the step where price per gram is highest (a median 23.1% premium over the same oil's 100 g), which is exactly why it is right for sampling and wrong for production.

The wax for the sample stage is 5.31 kg including 3% pour loss: 28 candles × 184 g × 1.03. That is a small share of the wax line, and because wax is shared, it goes straight into the main wax order rather than a separate bag. If the client cancels the whole order after samples, you are left with roughly 195 kg of container wax, which any future job can use. That is a very different risk from 16.6 kg of an oil nobody asked for.

The production order after approval

Once the client approves one scent in writing, the production oil is a straightforward calculation: 1,000 candles plus 10 production tests (retained samples and in-run burn checks), × 1.03 for pour loss, × 8%. That is 16.64 kg. Assume Palo Santo wins. Rounded to whole kilos with a 500 g top-up where it fits, that is 17 × 1 kg, ₹1,02,306.00 at listed prices.

When to fold samples straight in

Not every sample request is a choice between scents. Sometimes the client has already chosen the fragrance and wants 20 finished candles to check quality, to photograph, or to show a board before releasing the order. In that case every material is already fixed, and the samples are simply fixed extra candles, handled exactly like test candles: add them to the count before the loss percentage. The order becomes (1,000 + 10 tests + 20 samples) × 200 g × 1.03 = 212.2 kg of finished material, of which 16.97 kg is oil. One oil line, one purchase: 17 × 1 kg.

Charging for samples

The sample stage has a real material cost: ₹3,237.92 of candidate oil, 5.31 kg of wax at ₹507.40 a kilo (₹2,692.55), and 28 jars and wicks at ₹70.80 and ₹5.90 (₹2,147.60). Total: ₹8,078.07, or ₹403.90 per client sample, before your labour, packaging and courier. Some makers charge it; some credit it against the final order; some absorb it. All three are fine, as long as the decision is made with the number in front of you, and I'm Accepting Larger Corporate Orders — How Do I Calculate Raw-Material Requirements Before Quoting so Unexpected Wastage Doesn't Destroy My Margin? shows how to carry it into the quote so it does not quietly eat the margin.

One more reason to keep the two phases apart: they have different timings. Phase 1 materials are needed this week so samples can be poured and cured. Phase 2 oil is needed only before production starts, which may be two or three weeks after the samples go out. If Diwali (Sunday 8 November 2026) or a wedding date sits behind the order, work out the latest date the production oil must be on your bench, and ask on WhatsApp about dispatch for that quantity before the samples go out, so the approval does not arrive too late to act on. I Need 5,000 × 80 g Diwali Candles at 8% Fragrance — How Many Kilograms of Wax and Fragrance Oil Should I Book with My Supplier? shows that backward calendar for a festive order, and I Need 1,000 × 200 g Candles at 8% Fragrance — How Many Kilograms of Fragrance Oil Should I Order if I Also Need Development and QC Samples? covers development and QC samples from the fragrance-quantity side.

Frequently asked questions