The Sweet Shop thread!
- Thread starter warnie
- Start date
T
treats4mysweet
Not a sweet shop...but I do run a sweet stall. 
Curious whether any of the other sweetie folk on here trade from market stalls?
Would be interested in hearing what is working for you on your stall, if you do? As well as a comprehensive range of traditional sweets, and the usual counter lines, our best sellers by far are pre-prepared sweetie cones and sweetie cups with a mixture of different contents.
Curious whether any of the other sweetie folk on here trade from market stalls?
Would be interested in hearing what is working for you on your stall, if you do? As well as a comprehensive range of traditional sweets, and the usual counter lines, our best sellers by far are pre-prepared sweetie cones and sweetie cups with a mixture of different contents.
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Hi all, I have just read through this entire thread and there are some very interesting points.
I have been looking for a while for a business I can start up and run with my partner, I was thinking maybe starting an online sweet shop selling mainly American sweets/candy could be the answer.
Could you guys give me some ideas on start up costs, suppliers and someone who can build m the website for me.
I don't have a fortune to invest to start but was hoping to get started and use the profit to improve the site until I'm Happy with it, cheers..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
I have been looking for a while for a business I can start up and run with my partner, I was thinking maybe starting an online sweet shop selling mainly American sweets/candy could be the answer.
Could you guys give me some ideas on start up costs, suppliers and someone who can build m the website for me.
I don't have a fortune to invest to start but was hoping to get started and use the profit to improve the site until I'm Happy with it, cheers..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
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K
kelvin1950
Hancocks sell a small range of american sweets http://www.hancocks.co.uk/
We also use these guys, they have a wholesale arm http://www.americansweets.co.uk/
Start up costs will vary depending on your location, rent, how much fitting out etc. but we did it for £30k, including a contingency sum. Website, well ask around, how long is a piece of string!
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kelvin1950
Nonsense, this is just scaremongering. I'm frequently pointing out to customers that the big 3/4/5 supermarkets are often no cheaper than the local high street, and often more expensive. This week alone we've discovered 2 products where we can put our prices up and still be cheaper than local supermarkets.
Given your comments above, will you be closing your shop then? I mean, you do have 5 Tesco and 7 Sainsbury stores within one mile of you so it can't be worth your while staying open can it? If one uses your own argument above.
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R
redwan
Hi All,
This is a great thread, lots of interesting chat and so many people interested in sweet shops which bring back all our childhood memories.
I own a domain name which might be of use to someone with a sweet shop childhoodsweets.co.uk
We purchesed this domain name back in 2006 with the view of online retail to run along side our sweet stall business at the time but never took it any further, we no longer trade in the old fashioned sweet business and find this domain surplus to our requirements going forward.
If there is any interest in this domain please let me know.
Thanks
Andrew
This is a great thread, lots of interesting chat and so many people interested in sweet shops which bring back all our childhood memories.
I own a domain name which might be of use to someone with a sweet shop childhoodsweets.co.uk
We purchesed this domain name back in 2006 with the view of online retail to run along side our sweet stall business at the time but never took it any further, we no longer trade in the old fashioned sweet business and find this domain surplus to our requirements going forward.
If there is any interest in this domain please let me know.
Thanks
Andrew
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My brother in law does it in his chocolate shop. I think doing it big time is now well past their sell by date but some cheap Iceland Ice Cream, milk, a £30 blender from Argos, a single A4 sign and a 300% mark up means he can do it if asked.
He does say that Dolly mixtures, Millions and Caramac are his best sellers and he is making the most of the sun while he can.
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- Original Poster
- #176
We did them for 2 -3 years until this year. I knew people were doing milkshakes by blending chocolate bars but knew nothing about anyone doing it with sweets. So I got a 5ltr tub of vanilla Ice cream from bookers for around £7 and went about adding different sweets in varying quantities until I'd got it spot on for taste versus profit margin. We called them Fanny's sweetshakes and they went down a storm. The most popular was one's made with chocolate lick, raspberry bon bons and bubblegum fizzballs! In fact they all tasted fantastic, but as we were just using sweets, Ice cream and semi skimmed milk, so how could they not?!
Anyway we built a big Wooden Ice Cream Hut at the back of our shop when we first opened, that enabled us to sell Ice creams, hot drinks and sweetshakes from with easy access to the kitchen behind. But we decided to knock it down to create more space to sell our sweet gifts from as those sold all year round and Ice cream, well didn't!. So we had to stop doing the sweetshakes as we needed quick and easy access to the kitchen to keep washing the blenders out. Due to the new layout this wasn't possible.
So from my experience no, I wouldn't invest big time in it, as although they sell well, we now make 5-6 times more per day by having a simple soft scoop Ice cream Freezer and a slush machine. Both can be served within seconds no problem, where as the sweetshakes would take a couple of minutes each, which was a major headache with a shop full of kids after school.
We have 6 schools within half a mile of our shop. So you can imagine how many kids we get in, and even we wouldn't go to the expense of a new sink etc to do sweet milkshakes. Too much hassel for the return, although they did bring people to the shop and we still get asked for them at a few times a week now.
Just my opinion though....
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Thanks mhall & warnie.
I was only thinking about going down the £30 blender option, but have now scrapped the idea after being told its going to cost me £700 to have a sink plumbed in.
warnie; i notice that you do more than sweets. What percentage does the 'other' lines make up in your turnover?
Many thanks.
I was only thinking about going down the £30 blender option, but have now scrapped the idea after being told its going to cost me £700 to have a sink plumbed in.
warnie; i notice that you do more than sweets. What percentage does the 'other' lines make up in your turnover?
Many thanks.
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M
Mick Sharp
What was the make of the Blender you where going to use? I use a Blentec Q series and that requires 2 attempts on Mars, snickers etc to completely blend. So would be interested to know which cheaper blender does the trick.
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I have found this thread really useful, I have just spent the last hour reading each post from the start. Thank you all for the great tips and useful website links.
I am currently looking into opening a sweet shop in the High Street of Princes Risborough, Bucks. I have found a newly refurbished shop for lease which is in total 438sq ft. I feel that this is ample space to set up, but am worried that I will have too much space in the middle as the majority of the shop will be shelving along the walls. What would you suggest I put in the middle of the shop? Also do you think that going for jars on one wall, a seperate american section & then a pic n mix area is too much??
I have read on previous posts about start up costs but just to ask again what dod you suggest the start up cost could be on average. Also how many varieties of sweets would you recommend?
Sorry I have so many questions...
I am currently looking into opening a sweet shop in the High Street of Princes Risborough, Bucks. I have found a newly refurbished shop for lease which is in total 438sq ft. I feel that this is ample space to set up, but am worried that I will have too much space in the middle as the majority of the shop will be shelving along the walls. What would you suggest I put in the middle of the shop? Also do you think that going for jars on one wall, a seperate american section & then a pic n mix area is too much??
I have read on previous posts about start up costs but just to ask again what dod you suggest the start up cost could be on average. Also how many varieties of sweets would you recommend?
Sorry I have so many questions...
Upvote
0
I have found this thread really useful, I have just spent the last hour reading each post from the start. Thank you all for the great tips and useful website links.
I am currently looking into opening a sweet shop in the High Street of Princes Risborough, Bucks. I have found a newly refurbished shop for lease which is in total 438sq ft. I feel that this is ample space to set up, but am worried that I will have too much space in the middle as the majority of the shop will be shelving along the walls. What would you suggest I put in the middle of the shop? Also do you think that going for jars on one wall, a seperate american section & then a pic n mix area is too much??
I have read on previous posts about start up costs but just to ask again what do you suggest the start up cost could be on average. Also how many varieties of sweets would you recommend?
Sorry I have so many questions...
I am currently looking into opening a sweet shop in the High Street of Princes Risborough, Bucks. I have found a newly refurbished shop for lease which is in total 438sq ft. I feel that this is ample space to set up, but am worried that I will have too much space in the middle as the majority of the shop will be shelving along the walls. What would you suggest I put in the middle of the shop? Also do you think that going for jars on one wall, a seperate american section & then a pic n mix area is too much??
I have read on previous posts about start up costs but just to ask again what do you suggest the start up cost could be on average. Also how many varieties of sweets would you recommend?
Sorry I have so many questions...
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K
kelvin1950
£30k to start a sweet shop
Please tell me you are in a prime location or at lease paid down towards the freehold?
How much do you think it should have cost then? Redecorating, rewiring, a certain amount of plumbing, shelving & slat wall, jars, counters, scales, till, rent deposit, insurance, solicitor's fees, freezers, chillers, display stands, new locks, signage, pc & printer, stock, plus a contingency of £5k, which we needed. IMO, we did well to get that lot out of £30k.
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kelvin1950
We have approx 330 sq ft and have 2 of these in the middle: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80035920/
With the space you have, you could use one of these, we use one for weddings but I'd have one in the shop if we had the room: http://www.sweetpartytreats.co.uk/sweet-carts/
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- Original Poster
- #189
I was in Cambridge for a long weekend and came across a Hardy's Sweet shop. Most shops I see on my travels I not overly impressed with, but this was lovely. The inside was nicely done, but what really caught my eye was the shop windows.
Have a look at the link and you'll see what I mean! I need to find out who manufactures this sort of things as it's a route I would love to go down.
http://dreamitdarling.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/hardys-sweet-shop-cambridge.html
Have a look at the link and you'll see what I mean! I need to find out who manufactures this sort of things as it's a route I would love to go down.
http://dreamitdarling.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/hardys-sweet-shop-cambridge.html
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kelvin1950
We've bought stuff from these guys but it's quite generic.
http://www.dzd.co.uk/Christmas-Gingerbread-and-candy/c3_52/index.html
http://www.dzd.co.uk/Christmas-Gingerbread-and-candy/c3_52/index.html
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A
alz2345
Hi All, This is a really useful little thread I own a small sweet shop in W Yorks which has only been trading since March this year. I've done no promotion yet but the shop is turning over approx. £40 a day thankfully the rent is low at £333 pm.
Does anybody have any suggestions as to the best way to promote an increase in trade? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I don't want to spend money on newspaper ads/leaflets if these will have little effect.
Does anybody have any suggestions as to the best way to promote an increase in trade? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I don't want to spend money on newspaper ads/leaflets if these will have little effect.
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kelvin1950
We use the following methods: Word of mouth (very important, my OH has lived in the village for over 30 years so knows loads of locals), Local parish magazine, "A" board outside shop, Facebook & Twitter (linked accounts) and our signwritten van. If I had to guess, I'd say the van was the best advert, I often drive it around instead of the car and for £3, I can park it in the village car park all day, right in the middle where it can be seen from all sides.
Maybe the other advice is to not just concentrate on sweets. What else is unavailable in your local area? We also sell ice cream, balloons, cards, stamps, drinks, party goods and we're just trying some speciality biscuits, jams, pickles, sauces, honey, oils, salt etc..
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Just nought I would share a little dilemma I am having.
Saw a post on here by Warnie a while back about slush machines, and thought that would be a good idea. (He seems to have many)
Found a firm that did free rental machine providing you buy everything from them and a certain amount each month. All grossly over priced but still big margins, so I thought great. No major upfront cost just £370 which included machine and a very small initial stock, the cost of the machine they recoup from the profit on the products I have to buy from them.
Well, the machine has not worked properly from day one and after 3 weeks it is now stopped freezing. During this period I have contacted the company informing them that the machine is not working properly, and their response has been 'sorry we don't have another'. After complaining they informed me that they were now cancelling the agreement and removing the machine but I would not receive any refund!
My contract states that;
1. They were responsible for maintaining the machine.
2. They could not cancel the contract until after an installation period of 3 months.
They are coming on Monday to collect the machine. My position is that they won't get it unless I get a refund of my £370 (obviously less the cost of any stock I have used).
Any thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks
Jason
Saw a post on here by Warnie a while back about slush machines, and thought that would be a good idea. (He seems to have many)
Found a firm that did free rental machine providing you buy everything from them and a certain amount each month. All grossly over priced but still big margins, so I thought great. No major upfront cost just £370 which included machine and a very small initial stock, the cost of the machine they recoup from the profit on the products I have to buy from them.
Well, the machine has not worked properly from day one and after 3 weeks it is now stopped freezing. During this period I have contacted the company informing them that the machine is not working properly, and their response has been 'sorry we don't have another'. After complaining they informed me that they were now cancelling the agreement and removing the machine but I would not receive any refund!
My contract states that;
1. They were responsible for maintaining the machine.
2. They could not cancel the contract until after an installation period of 3 months.
They are coming on Monday to collect the machine. My position is that they won't get it unless I get a refund of my £370 (obviously less the cost of any stock I have used).
Any thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks
Jason
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Hello alz,
I have the same rent as you on our retail premises. But to cover other costs (insurance, electricity, water etc) I need £500 a month profit.
The local paper has not been much use to us in either aspect of our business (retail & service) but leaflet dropping has.
You could start with one area -close to home?- include some kind of offer, and see what that produces. We have a lull at this time of year so I always deliver them myself.
Best of luck with increasing your profits.
Hunnie
I have the same rent as you on our retail premises. But to cover other costs (insurance, electricity, water etc) I need £500 a month profit.
The local paper has not been much use to us in either aspect of our business (retail & service) but leaflet dropping has.
You could start with one area -close to home?- include some kind of offer, and see what that produces. We have a lull at this time of year so I always deliver them myself.
Best of luck with increasing your profits.
Hunnie
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- Original Poster
- #199
The machine was not fit for purpose so you've every right to demand your money back. You can get a reconditioned twin bowl slush machine for around £600 with a 12 month warranty. It's the route I'll be going down next year now we've sampled how well slush sells. The way we have been selling them we'd have it paid off in under 10 weeks, so it's a no brainer for next year.
Just inform them that until you receive what your owed, you will be hanging onto the machine, and they will not be allowed into your premises. Not sure where you stand legally with this, but it is what I would be doing. You have to bear in mind as well the amount of sales you have lost by using this company as well, so sod em!
Good luck and stand firm
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We have done a few adverts in the local paper. It did get us some new customers (they told us they'd seen our advert). We have quite a good relationship with the papers now so we often get some good advertising deals with them.
We have been asked to attend some local events with a stall. This has been good because it lets people know we exist, and we make a bit of extra money at the same time.
I have found Facebook to be useful, we have over 600 followers on there. Our A frame outside attracts attention, especially when people see we have a sugar free and gluten free range. I'd love to get a van but I can't afford one at the moment.
Xx
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