The Fun of Opening a Candy Store

Business Overview:

If selling sweet treats sounds like your dream business, opening a candy store can be your ticket to success while doing what you love every day. Starting a candy store business is the perfect way to take a home hobby like baking and making chocolates to the next level. Since this is will be a pricey investment, it is wise to draw up a business plan before you go too far. Decide what type of store you will open, where your shop will be located and how you will market your business. You could open a candy store with strictly pre-purchased items or you could offer only homemade candies—or a combination of both. You could focus your business on chocolates, hard candies, baked candies, etc. Offering personalized treats for special occasions will help boost your business too. If you’re still unsure of how to start a candy store business, there are plenty of franchises available to help you get started. A franchise will be a more costly route than going it alone but you will get assistance with inventory, marketing, staffing, branding and ongoing support. If you’re looking to sell homemade items, a franchise might be too limiting for your inventory goals. However you decide to set up your business, it’s important that you have a high traffic location and distribute marketing materials around town. If you decide to make and sell your own candies, you could also set up a relationship with local restaurants and coffee shops that would sell your items in their establishments. Leave business cards that will lead their customers to your shop for specialty items. With high quality goods and excellent customer service, you’ll find this is one of the more enjoyable business ideas out there for a candy-loving entrepreneur. In fact, if word spreads quickly, you’ll have to ramp up production to meet the needs of your customers.

A Day in the Life of a Candy Store Business Owner:

Your day will begin well before your store is set to open as you will need to prepare and display your candy for the day. If you buy your candy products you’ll want to check your inventory and make sure the stock is full. If you decide to go the homemade route, you’ll need to be sure you prepare plenty of goodies to sell. Once your store opens you will spend your day helping customers and taking phone order for specialty items. You will also spend some time, perhaps on days you’re closed, marketing your business around town and online.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals looking for delicious candy treats for themselves or for a special occasion.

What You Need to Start:

• Candy store business plan
• Storefront
• Candy preparation area (if you decide to make, not purchase, your candies)
• Candy making equipment (pots, pans, thermometers, etc.)
• Recipes
• Ingredients (chocolate, nuts, sugar, etc.)
• Display cases
• Other items (coffee, sodas, etc.)
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• With a good location, a candy store can be very profitable.
• If you enjoy making candy, you get to do what you love every day.
• If you decide to purchase your candies, you will still be very rewarded by seeing people so happy to purchase your goods.
• Franchises are available to help you get started.

The Bad:

• The start-up costs are high.
• It can take some time to turn a profit.

Resources:

• National Confectioners Association
• International Association of Candy Manufacturers
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Candy, Nut and Confectionery Stores
• Wikipedia on Candy

About The Author

---

Templateify

Praesent nec tortor quam. Quisque ac malesuada augue. Sed dignissim gravida odio ut bibendum. Cras fermentum euismod turpis. Nunc nec diam ante, et faucibus ipsum. Etiam imperdiet mattis elit et molestie. Nulla feugiat mollis leo vel egestas. Pellentesque convallis

- Twitter - Facebook - Google+