Start A Candy Making Business - Business Ideas
Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.
You will need a few essential ingredients and equipment to start a candy-making business. These include sugar, corn syrup, food coloring, flavoring extracts, and tools like a candy thermometer and a silicone candy mold. You will also need a kitchen or workspace to prepare and store candy.
To operate your candy-making business, you must develop various tasty candy recipes. The candy may require trial and error, as well as research on popular flavors and techniques. Once you have a solid selection of recipes, you can start taking orders from customers and creating candy to their specifications.
To market your candy-making business, you can set up an online store or sell your products at local markets and events. You can also consider partnering with local companies, such as coffee shops or gift stores, to sell your candy on their premises.
Starting a candy-making business requires creativity, dedication, and attention to detail. With suitable recipes and marketing strategies, you can turn your love of candy into a successful and sweet business!
Starting a candy making business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.
If you're interested in how to sell candy making, or selling candy making online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.
Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start a candy making business ➜
Key Stats
Startup Costs
| Min Startup Costs | Max Startup Costs | |
|---|---|---|
|
Office Space Expenses |
$0 |
$7,000 |
|
Employee & Freelancer Expenses |
$151 |
$352 |
|
Website Costs |
$223 |
$7,215 |
|
Business Formation Fees |
$600 |
$4,700 |
|
Equipment & Supply Expenses |
$63 |
$200 |
|
Retail Business Expenses |
$1,250 |
$11,650 |
|
Inventory Expenses |
$350 |
$14,750 |
|
Software Expenses |
$150 |
$2,769 |
|
Food Business Expenses |
$125 |
$11,000 |
|
Advertising & Marketing Costs |
$75 |
$4,736 |
|
Total Startup Costs |
$2,987 |
$64,372 |
Successful Businesses
| Business | URL | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
m&ms |
mms.com |
133,953 |
|
|
SmartSweets US |
smartsweets.com |
176,936 |
|
|
Jelly Belly |
jellybelly.com |
177,988 |
|
|
Candy Industry |
candyindustry.com |
196,997 |
|
|
Dylan's Candy Bar |
dylanscandybar.com |
236,775 |
|
|
Bulk Candy Store |
bulkcandystore.com |
296,917 |
|
|
DIY Candy |
diycandy.com |
368,327 |
|
|
PEZ Candy |
pez.com |
446,575 |
|
|
NCA |
candyusa.com |
493,380 |
|
|
Dream Pops |
dreampops.com |
529,711 |
|
|
Stello |
stellomints.com |
553,108 |
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Description |
|---|---|
|
Flexibility |
You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own. |
|
Meaningful business connections |
You never know who you will meet as a candy making business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity! |
|
High customer retention rates |
Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer. |
|
Easy to encourage "impulse buy" |
In the candy making business, you have a much higher chance of encouraging your customers to buy on impulse - you can easily alter the price, placement, packaging, and promotional value to influence the decision of your buyer. |
|
Control of workload |
With starting a candy making business, you have the unique ability to choose how little or how much you want to work. You also have the freedom to decide which projects you want to work on, and can turn down the ones that do not interest you. |
|
Gain exposure and experience |
This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you! |
| Cons | Description |
|---|---|
|
Motivation of employees |
If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees. |
|
Low margins |
The gross margins for your candy making business are typically around 37%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability. |
|
High employee turnover |
In the candy making business, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment. |
|
Taxes |
As a candy making business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it. |
|
High overhead expenses |
With starting a candy making business, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below. |
|
You may need to charge sales tax |
If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article |
Marketing Ideas
-
1
Affiliate Program
Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.
Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.
The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.
-
2
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.
-
3
Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.
According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.
Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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