How to Make a Candle Wholesale Line Sheet That Actually Gets You Orders

When we first started reaching out to stores about carrying our candles, I did everything wrong. I sent long, rambling emails. I attached a few phone photos. I mentioned prices in the body of the message and then contradicted myself two lines later. Looking back, I am amazed anyone said yes at all. The thing that changed our wholesale business was not a better pitch or a bigger following. It was one simple document: a clean, professional line sheet.

We started Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. at our kitchen table during the pandemic, and over the next few years we grew to 160+ wholesale accounts and multiple brick-and-mortar stores here in Holland, Michigan. Almost every one of those accounts saw our line sheet before they ever placed an order. If you are learning how to start a candle business and you want your candles in stores, this is the tool that makes you look like a real brand instead of a hobbyist. Let me walk you through exactly what goes on it.

What a line sheet actually is

A line sheet is a one to two page document that shows a buyer everything they need to place a wholesale order. Think of it as a menu for store owners. It is not a marketing brochure and it is not your Instagram feed. It is a clear, scannable sheet that answers the questions a busy buyer has: what do you sell, what does it cost me, what does it sell for, and how do I order it.

The whole point is to remove friction. A store owner might be looking at ten different makers in one afternoon. If your sheet answers their questions in thirty seconds, you are the easy yes. If they have to email you to ask basic questions, you often become the maybe that never happens.

What to put on your line sheet

Here is exactly what we include, in the order it appears:

1. Your logo and brand name at the top. Keep it clean. The buyer should know who this is at a glance.
2. A one line brand description. Ours is short: hand-poured soy candles made in small batches in Michigan. That is it. Buyers care that you have a clear story, not a paragraph.
3. Clear product photos. Simple, well-lit shots on a plain background. You do not need a studio. A window, a white poster board, and your phone will do the job. Consistency matters more than fancy.
4. Product names and sizes. List each candle, its scent options, and the size in ounces.
5. Wholesale price and suggested retail price (MSRP). Both numbers, side by side. This is the section buyers scan first.
6. SKUs or item numbers. Even a simple system helps buyers order and helps you track what sells.
7. Your terms. Minimum order, lead time, payment terms, and how to place an order.
8. Your contact info and website. Email, phone, and a link to your wholesale page or store.

How to price on your line sheet

Pricing is where most new makers freeze up, so let me give you real numbers. The standard in retail is keystone pricing, which means the store roughly doubles what they pay. So if your candle costs you 4 dollars to make, a common structure looks like this: wholesale price around 12 dollars, suggested retail around 24 dollars. The store buys at 12, sells at 24, and keeps the difference.

Notice that your wholesale price is still well above your cost of goods. That gap is your profit, and it has to cover your time, your overhead, and eventually paying help. A lot of makers set wholesale too low because they are nervous, and then every order actually loses them money once they factor in labor. Do not do that. Know your true cost of goods first, then build up from there.

If you have not nailed down your numbers yet, run them before you send a single line sheet. Our free candle business calculators will help you figure out cost of goods, wholesale, and retail so you are quoting prices you can actually stand behind. Getting this right is the single most important part of the whole document.

The terms buyers look for

Buyers want to know a few practical things before they commit. Spell these out so you are not answering the same questions over and over.

Minimum order. This is your MOQ, the smallest order you will accept. When we started, ours was low, around 100 to 150 dollars, because we wanted to make it easy for small shops to say yes. As we grew, we raised it. Set yours where the order is worth your production time.

Lead time. Tell them how long it takes you to fulfill. We say 2 to 3 weeks. Be honest here. Missing a promised date with a new store is a great way to lose them for good.

Payment terms. When you are new, take payment up front before you ship. Do not offer net 30 to a store you just met. You can offer terms later to accounts you trust, but early on, cash first protects you.

How to reorder. Make it dead simple. A short line like email us your order or order through our wholesale page is plenty.

Design and format tips

Your line sheet does not need to be fancy, but it does need to look intentional. Use plenty of white space. Pick one or two fonts and stick with them. Keep the colors consistent with your brand. Save and send it as a PDF, never a Word file that reformats itself on the buyer's computer.

You do not need expensive software. A free tool like Canva has templates that get you 90 percent of the way there. The goal is a document that a store owner opens on their phone and immediately understands.

How we use our line sheet to land accounts

Here is the part that ties it together. When we walk into a shop or send an email, we lead with the line sheet. In person, I hand over a printed copy with a candle so they can smell it and read the numbers at the same time. Over email, I attach the PDF and keep the message to three short sentences. The line sheet does the heavy lifting.

That combination is how we went from cold outreach to 160+ wholesale accounts. The candle earns the yes, but the line sheet is what makes the buyer take you seriously enough to smell it in the first place. If you want the full breakdown of our approach to landing stores, walk through our Wholesale 101 Guide. And if you are still building your product line, our candle supply checklist will make sure you have everything you need to fulfill those orders reliably.

Common mistakes to avoid

A few things I see makers get wrong all the time. Do not cram twenty products onto one page so nothing is readable. Do not leave off the retail price, because buyers want to see their margin at a glance. Do not use blurry or inconsistent photos. And do not forget to date or version your sheet, so buyers always know they are looking at current pricing.

One more: do not wait until your brand feels perfect to make a line sheet. Ours was rough at first and it still got us into stores. You can always improve it. A decent sheet you actually send beats a perfect one that lives on your laptop forever.

Start with one good sheet

If wholesale is part of your plan, your line sheet is not optional. It is the difference between looking like a maker with a hobby and looking like a brand a store can count on. Build one clean, honest, well-priced sheet, and start putting it in front of the shops you would love to see your candles in.

Want more real-world tips on selling wholesale and growing your candle business? Come hang out with thousands of other makers in our free Facebook community, and check out our YouTube channel where we break down the exact strategies we used to grow Garsnett Beacon. You have got this.