Say hello to our new packaging for our candle making kits

We genuinely loved our original packaging. The soft, sage green pouch, the minimalist aesthetic, the velvety matte finish—it looked great, it stood out on shelves, and it was easy to use.

But behind the scenes, it was holding us back—mainly in two ways:

1. It Wasn’t Fully Eco-Friendly

From day one, we’ve been committed to building a brand rooted in sustainability. And while the product itself supported reuse (shoutout to all our candle refill lovers!), the packaging didn’t quite align with that mission.

Earlier this year, we began reaching out to eco-friendly retailers and stockists. The feedback was encouraging—but a clear pattern emerged: they loved the product and the idea of being able to refill or make their own candles, but they weren’t sold on the plastic pouch.

They wanted something that felt full-circle: a product made with eco-friendly materials, inside packaging that reflected the same values. That was our turning point. Changing our packaging wasn’t just a nice-to-have anymore—it became a necessity.

2. The Pouch Wasn’t Ideal for Wholesale Shipping

As much as we loved how the pouch looked, it wasn’t the most practical when it came to logistics.

Once the wax inside solidified, the pouch became half-solid, half-air -- leading to creases, bulging, and a less-than-perfect presentation. It looked fine for local orders we could hand-deliver, but for wholesale or shipments outside NYC, we had little control over how it would arrive.

And the reality is: if products don’t look good on shelves, they don’t sell. If they don’t sell, stores don’t reorder. Simple as that.

Once we committed to changing the packaging, things got very real. This wasn’t just a surface-level swap -- it meant rethinking and reworking nearly every component of our candle making kit from the inside out.

We had questions. Lots of them.

1. What kind of sturdy packaging options were out there? A box? A cylinder? Something else entirely?
2. How would we pour and present the wax now that the pouch was gone?
3. What would we wrap the wax in to prevent leaks or mess?
4. How would customers melt the wax?
5. Should we still include a pouch for melting to match the current user experience, or would it make more sense to reduce costs where we could?

The more we thought about it, the more we realized we couldn’t tackle these questions one by one. So instead of trying to solve each component in isolation, we decided to reverse engineer the entire process -- starting with the one piece that would dictate the size, shape, and format of the rest: the container.

1. The Paper Tube

We landed on a simple, sturdy paper tube -- fully recyclable, sleek, and tall enough to hold all the new components of our candle making kit. Since custom molds weren’t in the budget, we had to find a stock option that worked perfectly.

It took a couple of weeks (and a lot of measuring), but we finally found one that fit both our vision and our budget.

2. Wax Molds

With the pouch out of the picture, pouring wax directly into the packaging was no longer an option. We needed a new format -- one that looked good, was easy to use, and created no mess. So we decided to create wax bars using silicone molds.

Figuring out the right mold was a bit of a puzzle. I needed something that would yield exactly 8 oz of wax in total. So I scoured product listings online, took the dimensions listed, and calculated the volume of each option to see what would come closest.

I probably went through ten different mold options before finally landing on one where three bars added up to exactly 8 oz. Clean, easy to use, and perfectly portioned for our candle making kit.

3. The Pouch

This was, hands down, the hardest part. I thought sourcing the right wax mold was going to be the challenge -- but that was a walk in the park compared to finding a pouch that checked all our boxes.

Here’s what we needed:

• Compostable
• Maximum 6 inches wide (so it fit in the paper tube)
• Microwavable (and ideally boilable)
• No high minimum order quantity (MOQ)

Each of those criteria on its own? Easy. But all together? Nearly impossible.

After weeks of research, we discovered most suppliers were selling the exact same pouch, just under different names. We finally narrowed it down to two options:

• Pouch Supplier 1: The bags felt flimsy, and the zipper lining was already coming apart straight out of the box. Hard pass.
• Pouch Supplier 2: The bags felt much sturdier, but in our first round of testing, the zipper melted in the microwave. Not ideal.

Then one day, weeks later, something told me to revisit Supplier 2. I can’t explain it. It was just this nagging feeling I couldn’t shake. I had already written them off, but for whatever reason, something in me said, “Give them another shot.”

So I called my rep, placed an order for a few more samples, and braced myself for another round of testing.

The samples arrived:

• I tested the first pouch -- no melting
• The second -- still fine
• Third, fourth, fifth -- same result

Every single one held up perfectly! After everything, I finally had my solution. The pouch was compostable, microwavable, fit the dimensions of the candle making kit, and passed every single test.

Cue the happy dance -- we had finally found our compostable pouch!

Here’s what’s inside our new candle making kits:

• A sturdy paper tube that protects the product during shipping and looks great on shelves
• A compostable pouch to melt the wax -- microwavable and ready to use
• Clear compostable pouches for the wax bars and wick packet

It took almost two months to bring this vision to life -- between researching, sourcing, and testing. But it was 100% worth it.

This new setup not only reflects our brand values, it opens up opportunities for growth. Now, we can confidently expand into eco-friendly retail and bring our product to a much wider audience.

We’ve always believed in doing better -- for the planet, for our customers, and for ourselves. And this shift to eco-friendly packaging wasn’t just a design upgrade -- it was the missing piece in our mission.

Now that we’ve landed on a solution that reflects our values inside and out, we’re ready to go bigger.

This change opens the door to everything we’ve been working toward: expanding into more eco-conscious stores, getting our candle making kits into more homes, and making Sincerely Sunday more accessible to people who want to tackle throwaway culture and live a more sustainable lifestyle.

We want to bring candle refills into the mainstream. We want to keep jars out of landfills. And we want to make sustainability feel easy, beautiful, and something you actually look forward to.

This is just the beginning and we’re so excited for what’s ahead!