I Need Fragrance Oils That I Can Test in 100 g and Later Reorder in 1 Kg, 5 Kg and Larger Quantities — How Should I Choose a Supplier?

Continuity: the ladder test

Scaling a scent is a sequence: a small quantity to test, a first production quantity, then a regular monthly quantity that may run to several kilos. The risk is a break in that sequence. A size is out of stock when you need it, the next size costs more per gram, or the supplier cannot provide the monthly quantity at all. When that happens, you either re-test a substitute or change the scent your customers know. The ladder test checks for breaks before you invest in a test. Once a scent is in production, avoiding stockouts on best-sellers and how much inventory to keep take over.

Five of the nine have an unbroken path. Saffron Cedarwood is continuous but unusual: its 500 g (₹5.17/g) is far cheaper than its 1 kg (₹6.87/g), so at scale you would buy it in 500 g multiples. The last three have breaks on the pull date. Across the catalogue, 7 oils in stock at 100 g had no 1 kg in stock: Vetiver, Freshwater (BBW Inspired), Moca Coffee, Into The Night (BBW Inspired), Grapefruit Oleo, Butterfly (BBW Inspired), Wild Berry. None of these is a reason to avoid the oil forever; they are reasons to ask about restock before you test.

The price step from 100 g to 1 kg

The second continuity test is price. A supplier whose per-gram price rises as you scale is penalising your success. On CSI's listed catalogue, the per-gram price from 100 g to 1 kg either holds or falls. Here is the distribution for the 72 oils in stock at both sizes on the pull date:

The catalogue-wide figures, which include oils with a size out of stock, say the same: of 91 oils listing both sizes, 52 are within ±1% and 24 save 5% or more, while a few (such as Love Spell and Pomegranate Splash) cost fractionally more at 1 kg. For a scale-up plan this is good news in one way and a caution in another. Good: your 100 g test cost is a fair preview of your production cost per gram. Caution: for most oils, the kilo will not make the candle cheaper. Build your pricing on the 100 g rate and treat any kilo saving as a bonus. Price per kg lists the kilo price of every oil.

Breaks in the ladder

Four kinds of break turn up when you price every size of every oil. Each has a practical answer.

Beyond 1 kg

CSI's listed maximum is 1 kg per oil. For 5 kg, 10 kg or a regular monthly quantity, there are two routes. You can order several 1 kg bottles at the listed price: five kilos of Verbena is ₹23,600.00, five of Neroli ₹33,276.00. Or you can message CSI on WhatsApp for a quote on the quantity. No discount figure is published, so do not plan on one; ask. Either way, ask the questions below before a 5 kg-a-month scent goes into your launch plan.

A scale path, priced

Here is what the path from test to regular production looks like for two oils with continuous ladders: one with a large kilo saving, one flat. Costs per candle assume 16 g of oil in a 200 g candle at 8%.

Verbena's oil cost per candle falls from ₹94.40 at the test size to ₹75.52 at 1 kg, so scaling makes each candle ₹18.88 cheaper. Neroli's barely moves (₹106.48 to ₹106.48). Both are good scale-up candidates, for different reasons: Verbena rewards volume; Neroli gives you a price that will not surprise you. What matters most is that both are the same listing at every size, so the scent you tested is the scent you pour at five kilos.

For the rest of the scale-up decision, sampling before a wholesale order and a sample set before buying 1 kg cover the testing end, and moving to one supplier and choosing a long-term supplier cover the supplier end.

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