They say, never start a business that you wouldn’t use as a client because you should always care about what you are doing. Probably that’s why the competition in the candy business is so fierce – most people just love sweets and are happy to turn their hobby into their business. However, it’s not enough to be a sweet tooth to open a candy shop that will be successful and profitable — you definitely need a plan. And in this article, we’ll try to tell you everything you need to know about opening a successful candy business for you to become a second Nestle someday.
Make it hard to say no to your candies
There is a single rule that works for every kind of business: make a research before you start. And, of course, candy business is not an exception. Start with studying your competitors — local candy shops, online candy stores, etc. depending on the niche that you’d like to fit in, or just check them all to find the niche at the first place. The research will help you to find out your competitors’ strength and weaknesses, to see what’s moving off their shelves and what’s kept in stock for ages. This way you will understand what type of candy you want to make and sell to meet the least competition: caramels, organic candy, hard candy, sugar-free sweets and so on.
The next step we recommend to take is to define your potential customers. Lots of things depend on this point: the interior of your shop, the way your candy looks, the choice of products you sell, the tone of voice of your business and even the price range. So try to imagine a typical customer of your future shop: the age, the gender, the profession, the marital status and so on. Of course, it doesn’t mean that everyone who steps through the doors of your shop will fit the parameters, but having the image of the “perfect client” will help you to build a consistent marketing strategy for your shop in future.
Another critical point in your plan is to decide on the story that you would like to tell. Most successful companies have stories behind them, and it makes them stand out from the crowd. For example, would you buy candy from a regular shop or from the one that uses a secret family recipe that is being passed through generations? Most people would choose the second option. It doesn’t mean that you need to make up a story and lie to your customers. It’s more about finding what your candy shop already has to stand out from others. Maybe it’s a family business, or maybe your children helped you to create recipes for the candy, or possibly you dreamed about selling sweets since the age of five and finally embodied your childhood fantasy? Find the story of your own that would make people feel good about buying at your shop.
Remember it’s more than simply making candies
Being a successful entrepreneur requires many more skills than just being able to manufacture delicious sweets. You need to be self-organized, competitive, have strong working ethics and a business mindset. Without these traits, you won’t be able to develop a successful candy store that will be capable of taking over a piece of the market. But even if you are not sure that you have all the necessary skills right now – no worries, each of them can be developed in the process, it’s just important for you to remember that business is not always a piece of cake and it takes lots of efforts and self-work to become a person who can build it from scratch.
Except for the general plan that we are revealing in this article, you will need a business plan that will create a solid foundation for your startup candy store. To create one you may contact a professional, or do research and find some templates, examples, and tips that will help you to do it by yourself.
Running a candy store also means that you have to comply with local standards of sanitation as a food retailer. To figure out the licenses and permits you need, contact the local health department. Besides, you will need retail licenses, manufacturing licenses, and tax licenses to run your business legally. It’s definitely the least fun part about having a sweet business, but an unavoidable one anyway, so take a deep breath and do it!
Unlock your growth potential with technologies
Finally, when your candy store is about to open its doors to the locals with a sweet tooth, it’s time to think about the best ways to manage the business. We suggest getting a sweet shop POS system for the easiest management possible. You just need to install the POS software on a device, like a tablet, and it will help you with such difficult things as accounting, inventory, sales analytics, marketing, and much more. With the help of the point-of-sale system, you’ll be able to focus more on manufacturing the be-loved candy rather than all those boring business duties.
What is more, having a POS software is a must if you decide to boost your sales by opening an online store, which we totally recommend to do. Did you know that nearly half of US citizens make their purchases online? That’s why you simply cannot afford not having an online candy store.
In conclusion, we want to say that Americans spend on treats about $8 billion per year and there’s no reason why some of this money can’t be yours if you are ready to put some time and efforts on building your sweet business.
