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Wholesale orders for candle brands: scents, sizes and sets on one PO

Wholesale orders for candle brands look simple until a gift shop orders twelve scents in three sizes, by the case, plus two discovery sets. This guide is for candle and home fragrance makers selling to boutiques and stores: how to set up scents and sizes on Shopify, how case packs and sets fit in, and how to read a store's PO without shipping the wrong scent.

By Ram, founder of Orderseam · October 19, 2026 · 6 min read

Why are candle wholesale orders easy to get wrong?

An apparel order has sizes; a candle order has scents. A small candle brand can easily carry 15 to 30 scents across two or three vessel sizes, plus wax melts, reed diffusers and room sprays. Stores often reorder their best sellers by nickname ("the fig one", "Cabin", "the big lavender"), so the same product can arrive under three different names.

On top of that come case packs, seasonal scents that come and go, and gift sets that hold several products at once. Each one adds a way for the order in Shopify to differ from what the store meant.

How should candle brands set up scents and sizes on Shopify?

The cleanest setup for wholesale is one product per candle line with two options:

• Scent: Fig & Cedar, Lavender Fields, Sea Salt, and so on.
• Size: 4 oz tin, 8 oz jar, 14 oz jar (or whatever you sell).

Each scent and size pair becomes its own variant with its own SKU, price and stock. Give SKUs a pattern you can read at a glance, such as CJ-FIG-08 for the 8 oz Fig & Cedar jar. When a buyer writes a SKU on the PO, matching becomes exact. Keep scent names identical across products too: if the candle is "Fig & Cedar", don't call the matching diffuser "Fig Cedar".

Example only. The brand, scents and SKUs are made up.

Case packs: do stores order by the unit or by the case?

A case pack is the fixed number of units a store must buy together, such as 6 jars of one scent. Candle brands use case packs because they match shipping cartons and reduce breakage. Pick one approach and use it everywhere:

1. Sell by the unit, in multiples. The variant is one candle, and your line sheet says "sold in 6s". A PO line of 12 means 12 candles. This keeps stock simple.
2. Sell the case as its own variant. Add a size like "8 oz, case of 6" with its own SKU and price. A PO line of 2 means 2 cases, 12 candles.

The trap is a PO that mixes both: "Fig & Cedar 8 oz, qty 2" could mean 2 candles or 2 cases. If your line sheet doesn't say, the buyer won't either. Check the line total: at a wholesale price of $14 per candle, 2 candles is $28 and 2 cases of 6 is $168. The total usually tells you which they meant. For more on this, see 10 things to check on every wholesale PO.

Gift sets, discovery boxes and mixed assortments

Sets are where candle orders get messy. A "discovery set" of four mini tins, or a store's "mixed case of 12, assorted scents", is one line on the PO but several items in your stock. There are two common ways to handle it on Shopify:

• A bundle product (for example with Shopify Bundles), so the set has its own SKU and price and stock comes out of the parts.
• A kit list you keep yourself: "DISC-4 = 1 each of Fig, Sea Salt, Lavender, Amber mini tin". When the code appears on a PO, you enter the parts.

For "assorted" cases, agree the split before you ship. "Assorted" with no list means you choose, and the store may not like your choice. Ask the buyer, or send your standard assortment in writing and note it on the order.

Seasonal and discontinued scents

Stores order from whatever line sheet they kept, so a fall reorder can include last winter's scent. Before you invoice, check every scent is still in your current line. If one is gone, tell the buyer and offer the closest current scent. Don't swap it silently: the store may have promised it to a customer.

Holiday scents also come with tight dates. A store buying for November needs the order in October. Read the ship date and cancel date on the PO and record both, as explained in ship date vs cancel date.

How to read a store's candle PO, step by step

1. Find the buyer and PO number. Search your orders for the number first so a resent PO doesn't become a duplicate.
2. Match each line to one variant. Use the SKU when it's there. Otherwise match the product, the exact scent and the size. Nicknames ("the fig one") need a check against what that store ordered before.
3. Settle units versus cases using your case size and the line total.
4. Expand sets and assortments into the items you'll actually pick.
5. Check prices and totals against your wholesale price list and the PO.
6. Check stock and dates for every scent and size, and note anything short.
7. Ask about anything unclear before you invoice, not after the box is packed.

Doing this for every candle PO

Orderseam reads candle POs the same way: it matches each line to your Shopify catalog by SKU or by product, scent and size, using your own option names, turns kit codes into their parts, compares unit totals with the PO, and flags any scent or size it can't match so you decide. You approve before a draft order is made. See how it works for candle and home brands.

Common questions

How do candle brands set up scents on Shopify for wholesale?

Make each candle line one product with a Scent option and a Size option. Every scent and size pair becomes its own variant with its own SKU, price and stock, which makes each line on a store's purchase order easy to match exactly.

What is a case pack for candles?

A case pack is the fixed number of units a store must buy together, such as 6 jars of one scent. Brands either sell single candles in multiples of the case size, or sell the whole case as its own variant with its own SKU and price. Pick one and state it on your line sheet.

What should I do when a store orders a discontinued scent?

Tell the buyer before you invoice and offer the closest current scent or a later date if it is coming back. Don't swap it silently, and record what the buyer chose on the order so the invoice matches what ships.