2023 Planning: How to Create a Candle Scent Calendar

The candle industry is growing, and businesses benefit from foresight in the competitive market. Candle businesses use a scent calendar to plan their product lineups throughout the year. Keep reading to learn how to plan new candle scents for 2023, and keep everything organized with a scent calendar.

Prepare Your Candle Business with a Scent Calendar

A scent calendar is a simple layout of the year, with markings for the following planned events:

  • New product releases
  • Product redesigns and repackaging
  • Product discontinuations

Scent calendars are easy to understand once you’ve done the hard work of planning these events. Because they’re easily digestible, your team will always be on the same page about the business’ next major product decisions.

How to Make a Candle Scent Calendar for 2023

Scent Calendar

There are plenty of digital tools that help candle businesses create customizable scent calendars. Your business must consider features, price, and marketing goals as you determine the software that’s right for your team. A simple Google Sheet works just fine for small businesses, but large-scale operations often demand more complex tools. Consider CoSchedule or Hootsuite if you require robust management software.

As you sift through the tools, ask what exactly you need this software to do. Do you want a calendar that is easily shareable between team members? Are you planning to cross-promote content on social media? Will your marketing team curate campaigns around new product launches? These are all factors to consider while you search for the best organizational tool for your calendar.

Once you select a platform, the next steps are to follow up on these action items:

  • Establish quarterly goals
  • Review eCommerce holidays and niche events that align with your brand 
  • Use your new platform to schedule release dates

Plan Candle Scents that Follow Trends

The first step to planning your candle scents for 2023 is noting important dates to your brand. Many candle businesses mark seasonal shifts and holidays. These dates are close to optimal times in the year for businesses to release new candles or remove current items from the shelves.

Once you have a decent idea of the important dates in the year, build around those dates to plan new candle scent releases. Customers have personal associations with each month, and even more so with each season. February, for example, presents the opportunity to bundle candle scents for Valentine’s Day. Similarly, soy candle makers can promote their eco-friendly candle wax ahead of Earth Day.

As the scent calendar gets more fleshed out, you’ll get a good idea of the more demanding weeks and months for your business. At some points, likely during the handful of winter holidays, your business may need more staff, production, or resources. The scent calendar makes it easy to plan ahead for these months and stay stocked on candle wax and packaging.

Through research, your business will predict high-performing fragrances and see an ROI on your hard planning. Keep your customers top-of-mind as you plan your scent releases, and consider seasonal trends. Even if your brand has popular products that see plenty of return purchases, many candle shoppers have changing preferences as the year progresses.

Sometimes, plans change for good reason. Your business may see it better at times to deviate from your 2023 scent calendar. Every year has its own surprises, and in less fortunate circumstances, your business will need to delay a planned candle release. At other times, however, never-before-seen trends arise; if you have the resources, your brand will capitalize by pivoting from the calendar.

Candle Marketing Strategies that Support Your Calendar

Candle Marketing Strategies

The annual scent calendar is a great first step to improving your business initiatives in 2023, but your business must still dedicate resources and take action. As we dive into the year, look to explore new marketing strategies and track your social goals. Some marketing ideas to consider include the following:

  • Digital Ads: Businesses have plenty of online avenues for advertising. Through search engines like Google, social media platforms, and video and streaming sites, your business can draw attention to its brand and products.
  • Email Marketing: Gather an email list of new and returning customers, and send them routine messages with promotional material. Tools like Mailchimp and HubSpot help you create engaging email content.
  • Blogs & Landing Pages: Draw customers directly to your site with captivating written content. Look for content opportunities on your website; what pages can you add to your site that attract your target audience, while staying on-brand? As a candle business, you might write articles about upcoming product releases or landing pages tailored to target search queries.

Conclusion

Start your year with a marketing strategy that sets you up for success. The scent calendar is not only an incredible planning tool for candle businesses but also a great reference as the business operates throughout the year. With the right marketing strategies built around your planning, your business is sure to maximize 2023.

To learn more marketing strategies for your candle business, read Glassnow’s guide to candle marketing.

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