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Between 2020 and 2021, Brits reportedly spent a massive £418 million on scented candles, equating to roughly six per person per year.

This was a significant increase from previous years, possibly due to people regaining their smell following anosmia (the loss of smell), experienced by over 27 million coronavirus sufferers for several months following infection – with a study discovering a correlation between bad candle reviews and the virus.

But, with the majority regaining their scent this year, candle manufacturers needn’t fear as consumers’ can enjoy their candles once again and embrace the sights, tastes and smells that remind them of autumn-winter.

So, which candle scents are the most popular this year?

To rank the scents, we created a seed list of 30 autumn-associated scents and used Google Keyword Planner to analyse them alongside ‘candle’ to discover which autumn candle scents were the most searched by consumers between August and September 2022 – ahead of autumn 2022.

The most popular scent is pumpkin, with an average of 8100 searches, a 1019% increase from earlier in the year.

Pumpkin spice is the second most searched, with 4400 searches, a 1019 per cent increase from previous months.

In third place is the classic scent of vanilla, a sweet staple for many homes. ’Vanilla candle’ was searched 1600 times, on average, but only had a 116% increase in search frequency, indicative of its more consistent popularity.

Making up the top five scents are cinnamon and gingerbread candles, both with 1,300 searches on average – a 233% and 633% increase, respectively.

You can view the data in full here.

Methodology

Lifestyle Packaging created a seed list of 30 autumn-associated scents and used Google Keyword Planner to analyse them alongside ‘candle’ to discover which autumn candle scents were the most searched by consumers between August and September 2022 – ahead of autumn 2022.