Despite advances in candle making, the candle industry was devastated soon after by the distillation of kerosene (a fuel used in lamps) and the 1879 invention of the Light bulb. From this point, candles became more of a decorative item.

In 1829, William Wilson of Price's Candles invested in 1,000 acres (4 km²) of coconut plantation in Sri Lanka. His aim was to make candles from coconut oil. Later he tried palm oil from palm trees. An accidental discovery swept all his ambitions aside when his brother George Wilson distilled the first petroleum oil in 1854. In 1919, Lever Brothers purchased Price's Candles and in 1922, a joint-owned company called "Candles Ltd" was created. By 1991, the last remaining owner of "Candles Ltd" was Shell Oil Company, who sold off the candle-making part of business.