2021
1
$60,000
$40,000
$400,000
No
Cork & Candles offers a unique, interactive experience that turns candle-making into an unforgettable event. Guests are guided through a 90-minute hands-on session where they explore a wide range of scents at the custom scent bar, blend their favorites, and create their own personalized candles. It's not just a workshop—it’s an immersive, sensory journey where creativity meets relaxation.
Perfect for date nights, group outings, team-building events, and private parties, Cork & Candles creates a cozy, welcoming atmosphere where memories are made and guests leave with a custom-made product. With rising demand for experiential retail, this franchise offers a fun, profitable business model that blends creativity, hospitality, and retail into one meaningful experience.
Established: 2021
First Unit Franchised: 2024
Franchised Units: 1
Company Owned Units: 3
States Registered In: Alabama - AL, Alaska - AK, Arizona - AZ, Arkansas - AR, Colorado - CO, Delaware - DE, Florida - FL, Georgia - GA, Idaho - ID, Iowa - IA, Kansas - KS, Kentucky - KY, Massachusetts - MA, Mississippi - MS, Missouri - MO, Montana - MT, Nevada - NV, New Hampshire - NH, New Jersey - NJ, New Mexico - NM, North Carolina - NC, Ohio - OH, Oklahoma - OK, Oregon - OR, Pennsylvania - PA, Rhode Island - RI, South Carolina - SC, Tennessee - TN, Vermont - VT, West Virginia - WV, Wyoming - WY
Canada Franchises: No
International Franchises: No
Financial Assistance Provided: No
Site Selection Assistance: Yes
Specify: Relationship with national real estate broker specializing in franchises who knows Cork and Candles brand who will be introduced to franchisee. Franchisee will have the option to work with real estate broker, but is not required.
Lease Negotiation Assistance: Yes
Specify: Real estate broker mentioned above will provide hands-on support of LOI and Lease Negotiation.
Recruiting Assistance: Yes
Specify: Store-specific website page will be launched in the months leading up to opening with a Now Hiring button for interested employee candidates to apply directly to new location.
Cooperative Advertising: Yes
Specify: Brand fund contributions are used to develop brand materials, fund influencer campaigns, and other advertising initiatives as deemed appropriate.
Training:
In-person training will be held in Philadelphia area and will cover all facets of training, including, but not limited to, company history, brand standards, marketing, candle making technical elements, technology and POS training, recruiting and local advertising, social media, and store operations.
Stores will need a full-time leader to run operations. This can be an owner-operator model or a hired General Manager. The full-time leader will oversee hiring and scheduling, inventory management and reordering, local marketing and posting on social media, responding to guest inquiries for large parties or private events (95%+ of guests reserve online without employee involvement), in-store guest interactions and leading experiences, service failure prevention and guest intervention when problems arise, overseeing and/or hands-on involvement of retail candle production, and managing payroll.
A semi-absentee owner may delegate a majority of these tasks to qualified hourly employees or a hired GM, but may look to keep things like guest intervention if a service issue arises, responding to large party inquires to ensure smooth bookings process for large groups, and handling payroll.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Our ideal candidate has a passion for creativity and has a community-oriented mindset. This person prioritizes exceptional customer service and is customer focused. They are confident in managing a small team and enjoy mentoring people. Having business, operations and sales experience is a big plus. However, no preexisting knowledge on how to make a candle is required!
Cash Investment: $60,000 - $80,000
Total Investment: $240,000 - $400,000
Minimum Net Worth: $200,000
Single Unit Franchise Fee: $40,000
Franchise Fee for Each Additional Unit: $35,000 for 2nd, $30,000 for 3rd
Royalty: 7%
Ad Fees: 2%
Other Fees: $150/mo technology
Average Number of Employees: 4 - 12
Item 19: Yes
Visa Candidates: No
Passive Ownership: No
Semi-Passive Ownership: Yes
Specify: The business can be semi-passive for an owner who develops a team of hourly employees who work in the store. Semi-passive and not absentee ownership is an important distinction because the semi-passive owner will want to keep tabs on things like large party inquiries, responding to any guest complaints, and overseeing payroll.
Home-Based: No
B2B: No
Master Franchise Opportunities: No
Veteran Discount: Yes(10% off Franchise Fee)
