Candle and wax melt retail is one of the most active Shopify categories — the platform handles the product type well, subscriptions are a natural fit, and the visual nature of the category makes Shopify's image-forward themes ideal. The main migration considerations are scent × size variant structures, UK/EU CLP (Classification, Labelling and Packaging) hazard requirements, and fragrance regulation compliance.

Candle and wax melt product categories

Container candles: Soy, paraffin, coconut, or blended wax in glass jars or tins. Scent and size variants.
Pillar and taper candles: Free-standing unscented candles. Size and colour variants.
Wax melts: Scented wax shapes for melt warmers. Scent and pack size variants.
Reed diffusers: Fragrance oil in decorative bottles with reeds. Scent and volume variants.
Room sprays: Alcohol or water-based room fragrance. Scent variants.
Candle subscription boxes: Monthly curated candle selections. Recurring billing.
Candle making supplies: Wax, fragrance oils, wicks, containers, dyes. Sold to crafters.
Candle accessories: Wick trimmers, candle snuffers, care cards.

Scent and size variants

The most common variant structure for container candles: scent (10–30+ options) × size (e.g. 150g / 300g). With 20 scents × 3 sizes = 60 variants, this is within Shopify's 100-variant limit. For stores with many scents:

If scent count × size count exceeds 100: separate products per scent (scent as the product title/handle) with size as the only variant
Alternative: use size as the product (e.g. "Soy Container Candle — 300g") and scent as the variant
Most candle stores that grow beyond 100 variants per product restructure to one product per scent

Fragrance and wax metafields

product.metafields.candle.wax_type = "Soy / Paraffin / Coconut / Rapeseed / Blend"
product.metafields.candle.fragrance_load_pct = "10"      // fragrance oil % of wax weight
product.metafields.candle.burn_time_hours = "45"
product.metafields.candle.wick_type = "Cotton / Wood"
product.metafields.candle.wick_count = "1 / 2 / 3"
product.metafields.candle.scent_family = "Floral / Woody / Fresh / Gourmand / Citrus / Spice"
product.metafields.candle.top_notes = "Bergamot, lemon"
product.metafields.candle.mid_notes = "Rose, jasmine"
product.metafields.candle.base_notes = "Sandalwood, musk"
product.metafields.candle.container_material = "Glass / Tin / Ceramic"
product.metafields.candle.vegan = "true"
product.metafields.candle.cruelty_free = "true"

CLP hazard labelling compliance

UK/EU Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation requires hazard labelling on candles and wax melts that contain fragrances classified as hazardous. This is a product compliance requirement, not an ecommerce platform requirement — but your Shopify store should reflect it:

Products with IFRA-restricted fragrances or classified hazardous components must carry CLP warning symbols and statements on physical labels
For online sales, include CLP hazard information in product descriptions or as a downloadable safety data sheet
Store compliance data as metafields:

product.metafields.candle.clp_compliant = "true"
product.metafields.candle.clp_hazard_statements = "H317 May cause allergic skin reaction"
product.metafields.candle.ifra_compliant = "true"
product.metafields.candle.safety_data_sheet_url = "https://..."

Candle subscription boxes

Candle subscription boxes (monthly curated selections) are a natural recurring revenue product for this category. In Shopify:

Shopify Subscriptions (native, free): Simple subscribe-and-save functionality. Customer selects a fixed product, sets delivery frequency. Doesn't support curated monthly boxes (where the contents change).
ReCharge: Most popular subscription app. Supports fixed and curated subscriptions, skipping, pausing, and custom billing flows.
Appstle Subscriptions: Handles "bundled subscriptions" where the seller curates monthly content.

If migrating a WooCommerce subscription box (WooCommerce Subscriptions + manual curation), ReCharge is the closest Shopify equivalent with the most comparable feature set.

Fragrance oil products (for candle makers)

Stores selling fragrance oils to other candle makers (B2B or crafters) have additional considerations:

IFRA (International Fragrance Association) usage rate percentages are important purchase information
Supply Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for each fragrance oil — link in metafield or product description
Fragrance oil sold in large quantities (500ml, 1L, 5L) for manufacturing use may require different labelling than consumer retail

Post-migration checklist for candle stores

Variant structure validated: scent × size within 100-variant limit or restructured to one product per scent
Wax type, burn time, and wick type as metafields
Scent family and fragrance notes as metafields (enables scent-based filtering)
CLP hazard information in product descriptions or SDS metafield URL
Subscription box: ReCharge or Appstle configured for recurring orders
Vegan and cruelty-free flags as boolean metafields
Gift message option on candle products (popular gift purchase category)

Migrating a candles and wax melts store from WooCommerce to Shopify (2026)