Business Overview

When wondering how to open a candy store, first get to know the industry. Consumption of candy around the world averages over $19 billion a year and increases at a steady rate of 3.5 percent annually. Many entrepreneurs have found success in the candy manufacturing and retail industry. The candy store is a good business model because of its appeal to age groups and demographics of all kinds. They're profitable for many reasons, but one of the most popular reasons is because candy is a good gift for anniversaries of all types and pick-me-ups year round.

Who is This Business Right For?

People who are passionate about making confections, candy, and sweet delicacies are the best fit for this kind of a business venture. But, owning a store is more than simply making candy. Some of the duties of owning a store involve:

  • Keeping track of inventory
  • Ordering ingredients in a timely manner
  • Creation and packaging of products
  • Keeping shelves full of product
  • Managing employees
  • Keeping track of paperwork including payroll, taxes, and accounts payable/receivable
  • Paying attention to trends and making product to meet the trends

Customers range from someone who has a need to satisfy a sweet tooth to a customer looking for a unique gift. You can further enhance your offerings by focusing on a niche such as making organic candies or use ingredients that come straight from the farm and field. 

How Does a Candy Store Make Money?

Candy stores are retail operations. That means candy pricing has to include the cost of ingredients, labor, rent, utilities, and taxes. The traditional method of pricing items for sale is to take the cost of producing each piece of candy and double it to recoup its initial cost and then the cost of making another piece of candy. From there you add on your profit margin that includes the above-mentioned costs and what it takes to make money off each piece of candy sold. Candy is sold in volume, which means it's easy to recover costs and realize a profit. 

Another avenue for a candy store to make money is to partner with businesses that would not otherwise sell candy, those that would like to sell something they feel is a gourmet item in their store, or just have something different to sell.

What are Some Skills and Experience That Will Help You Build a Successful Candy Store?

You need to be competitive, business-minded, and have a strong work ethic. You'll be working with clients, managing your staff, and selling a product with your name on it. These traits will help you identify what works, what doesn't, and allow you to be flexible and adjust expectations as needed. 

It's also important to have the necessary physical stamina to stand on your feet all day, move around heavy bags of ingredients, and handle the equipment needed to make your confections. Always keep in mind that the quality of the product you sell is what makes the name of your business. Make sure that your candies reflect your stated vision. People taste the quality of your work, and if the quality doesn't meet expectations, they won't return.

Promote Your Candy Store

In order to get customers in your store, you need to promote. Some of the things you can do to promote your store are to create services and products that go beyond the act of selling candy. Make use of all forms of advertising, both traditional and non-traditional. Create a website that reflects the spirit of the business, and make flyers to hand out in order to get people into the store. Make sure to hand out candy samples whenever possible, and let your product do the talking directly to the potential customer.

State and Local Business Licensing Requirements

Candy stores are considered food retailers and have to comply with local and state standards of sanitation. Check with the local health department to determine what licenses and permits are needed for the type of operation. If candy is to be manufactured on the premises, the proper licenses for manufacturing need to be obtained. Other necessary licenses include retail licenses for operation and tax licenses for the remittance of sales tax.

If you need help with opening a candy store, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.