Candle and soap making

Small-workshop candle and soap making on low capital. Soap is on BSTI's mandatory certification list and cannot be sold without a CM licence; candles are not on the list.

Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
Version 1

Starting capital: ৳20,000 – ৳4,00,000
Manpower: 1 – 10 people
First sale: 19 – 94 days
Break-even: 3 – 6 months
Kind of work: Workshop · Medium difficulty

About the business

Candles and soap can both be made at home or in a one-room workshop for very little money, but the law does not treat them the same, and that difference is the most important thing on this page. BSTI's list of 315 products under mandatory certification includes laundry soap (BDS 12) and toilet soap (BDS 13), along with glycerin soap, liquid toilet soap, baby soap and transparent soap. Candles are not on that list. So soap cannot be sold in the market without a BSTI CM licence, while candles can. The CM application fee is Tk 1,000 for a new licence and Tk 500 for renewal, plus an annual marking fee of 0.10 percent of declared production, a minimum of Tk 1,875 and a maximum of Tk 15,00,000. It takes 19 to 94 working days, most products falling in 19-34. Before applying you must already hold a trade licence, a TIN and a trademark registration, and the factory is inspected on site. On the market side, on 16 September 2026 Chaldal was listing a 125 g laundry soap bar at Tk 26-28, a 100 g bath soap at Tk 55-80 and a six-piece pack of plain candles at Tk 79. Chaktai in Chattogram has 10-15 candle factories; the paraffin wax comes from Russia, Indonesia and China, and demand multiplies whenever load-shedding worsens.

Unit economics

Item	Range	Evidence
Monthly working capital	৳20,000 – ৳4,35,000	Editorial estimate
Selling price	৳13 – ৳90 / unit	Market quote
Variable cost	৳9 – ৳45 / unit	Editorial estimate
Gross margin	31% – 50%	Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue	19 – 94 days	Official source
Break-even time	3 – 6 months	Editorial estimate
Cash cycle	7 – 40 days	Editorial estimate
Waste / loss	2% – 5%	Editorial estimate
Daily capacity	150 – 2,000	Editorial estimate

What you need to start

A melting stove and large pot, moulds, wick, and packing gear for candles; mixing vessels, moulds, a cutter and scales for soap.Equipment
Candles need no CM licence: they do not appear on BSTI's list of 315 products under mandatory certification. This is the single biggest practical difference between the two products.Licence
Trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000. BSTI will not accept the application without an up-to-date one.Licence
BSTI CM licence, compulsory for soap. The list of 315 products under mandatory certification has Laundry Soaps (BDS 12:2019) at number 116 and Toilet Soap (BDS 13:2021) at 117, plus glycerin soap (BDS 1536), liquid toilet soap (BDS 1740), baby toilet soap (BDS 1798) and transparent toilet soap (BDS 1908). Application fee Tk 1,000 new / Tk 500 renewal; marking fee 0.10 percent of annual production, minimum Tk 1,875 and maximum Tk 15,00,000; testing fees vary by product. Takes 19-94 working days. Legal basis: BSTI Ordinance 1985, as amended in 2003.Licence
A TIN certificate from the NBR and a trademark registration certificate; attested copies of both go with the CM application, plus environmental clearance where applicable.Licence
A wholesale paraffin wax supplier. Most of the raw material is imported from Russia, Indonesia and China, so the dollar rate and freight feed straight into your cost.Supplier
A hygienic, ventilated workshop. A BSTI field officer inspects it, and the licence does not follow unless hygiene and environmental condition meet the Bangladesh Standard.Workspace

How the work is done

1Decide what you will make first. Candles can start today; soap cannot be sold in the market without the BSTI licence.
2Take the trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad and a TIN from the NBR. The CM application needs both.
3If you are making soap, register the trademark for the product name; BSTI wants an attested copy with the application.
4Prepare a process flow diagram and a standard-compliant label; both are on the list of required documents.
5Set the premises up so that hygiene and environmental condition meet the Bangladesh Standard; a field officer inspects on site and takes samples away.
6Apply on the prescribed form, in person or online, at the BSTI head office or a divisional office (Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barishal). The application fee is Tk 1,000.
7Fix your raw material supply. Paraffin wax, the main candle input, is imported from Russia, Indonesia and China and reaches wholesale markets like Chaktai.
8Set up the melting stove, the moulds and the wick. The wick goes in first, then the melted wax is poured, and once cool the candle comes out and is packed.
9Budget for the sample testing fee and the yearly marking fee at 0.10 percent of production, a minimum of Tk 1,875.
10Start selling through neighbourhood grocers and the bazaar's wholesale shops, then event decorators and online.
11Stock up when load-shedding worsens: with seven or eight hours without power a day in the villages in summer, candle demand multiplies.

Seasons

JanNormal
FebNormal
MarHigh
AprHigh
MayHigh
JunHigh
JulHigh
AugNormal
SepNormal
OctHigh
NovNormal
DecHigh

HighNormalLow

Where it works well

Strong fitChattogram · Chaktai wholesale market has 10-15 candle factories supplying Dhaka, Sylhet, Feni and Noakhali, and a BSTI divisional office sits here too.
Strong fitDhaka · The biggest market and BSTI's head office, so licensing and testing move fastest here.
PossibleBarishal · Has a BSTI divisional office, though the local market is small.
PossibleCumilla · A BSTI regional office, and the highway lets you ship both to Dhaka and to Chattogram.
PossibleGazipur · Cheaper factory space and a BSTI regional office.
PossibleKhulna · A BSTI divisional office means no trip to Dhaka for the licence.
PossibleNarayanganj · An industrial belt next to Dhaka with chemical and packaging suppliers nearby.
PossibleNoakhali · A BSTI regional office, and already a regular market for Chaktai candles.
PossibleRajshahi · Has a BSTI divisional office, with the northern wholesale markets close by.
PossibleSylhet · Has a BSTI divisional office, and candles already come here from Chaktai, so the market exists.

Risks and cautions

HighCompliance: Soap sits inside BSTI's mandatory list. Making and marketing it without a CM licence is illegal, and mobile-court raids and fines on unlicensed soap and cosmetics factories are routine. Getting the licence means a trade licence, a TIN, a trademark registration and a factory inspection, and for a small entrepreneur that chain is the real barrier.
MediumWorking capital: Money goes out before the licence arrives: a Tk 1,000 application fee, testing fees, a minimum Tk 1,875 annual marking fee, and a trademark registration before all of it, then 19 to 94 working days of waiting. Soap made during that wait cannot be sold.
HighDependency: The candle raw material is entirely imported. Paraffin wax comes from Russia, Indonesia and China, and any swing in the world price, a dollar squeeze or higher freight raises the production cost at once - which is exactly what the Chaktai traders report.
HighDemand: Candle demand rides on load-shedding. In a summer with two to four hours without power in the cities and seven or eight in the villages, sales multiply; when the supply improves they fall back. You cannot forecast a year in this trade.
MediumOther: Competing on price with the brands. Chaldal lists a 125 g laundry bar at Tk 26-28 and ACI Smart's 130 g at Tk 20; undercutting that and still making money is hard for a small workshop. Without moving into scented, handmade or decorative lines there is little room.

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