Start A Wholesale Candy Store Should Know

Do you like candy? You may have seen “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and started to dream of opening a candy wholesale store. So why not open a candy shop yourself?

Today, there are all kinds of physical stores and e-commerce stores specializing in candy sales. In order to save money, most candy and snack retailers are purchased from candy wholesalers. Whether you wholesale candy or candy distributor in a direct way of facing consumers, this is an interesting and favorable business. The candy manufacturing industry generates about 20 billion US dollars per year, so it is worth trying.

What Is A Wholesaler?

A wholesaler is an economic entity that purchases goods in bulk from suppliers at the next level (such as factories/agents/distributors) and then sells them in bulk to those at the next level (such as retailers). Wholesalers carry more goods than retailers.

Wholesale Candy Industry Trends

For most people, candy is considered an indulgence. Some people associate candy with religious festivals, such as the chocolate eggs and rabbits on Easter, Christmas candy canes, and chocolate coins in the Bright festival. People often connect Halloween and candy, chocolate and similar candy.

Like many other food and beverage markets, the current trend affects the candy market. Similar trends include the idea of healthy snacks, the trend of fresh agricultural products, the trend of beverages, the trend of the coffee industry, and the trend of the catering industry. So, what candy should you see in snack stores and wholesalers? Generally speaking, by 2025, the global compound annual growth rate of the global candy market is expected to increase by 3.99%. The price of chocolate candy rose 2.8%, and the price of non-chocolate candy rose 3.7%.

The type of popular wholesale candy includes:

• Wholesale chocolate
• Toffee
• Chewing Gum
• Lollipop 
• Caramel and Nougat
• Chewy Jelly Sweets 
• Hard candy 
• Mints

You can refer to the above candy types to select the products operated by your own store. As of 2022, the US candy output was worth $ 12.1 billion. Due to the increase in consumer expenditure, this value is expected to increase at least 5% by 2025.

5 Steps To Starting A Wholesale Candy Store

There are more than 1,400 candy manufacturers in the United States, which can be said to be sure that the candy wholesale industry is booming. You may be interested in opening your own wholesale bulk candy shop, or even gourmet popcorn shop.

Although the industry is booming, entrepreneurship is not as simple as it looks. In order to ensure success, some steps need to be taken.

There are five steps here, in starting your own bulk wholesale candy shop or wholesale snack business:

1. Develop a business plan

Operating a wholesale business requires appropriate plans, which start with detailed business plans. When you write a business plan, you have a blueprint to plan your business development. Your candy wholesale business plan should include your ideal market, cost budget and profit forecast, wholesale marketing plan and competitors. Analysis of the needs of wholesale products and product selection are also important.

Remember your type of candy wholesale business. You can start wholesale candy from a physical store, or you can digitize the store online. Be sure to treat candy transportation as part of your business. A good business plan will include potential business expenses. These are continuous expenses, such as rent, inventory cost and insurance. It is also beneficial to consider labor costs and wage taxes.

2. Registered enterprise name

After determining the types of candy and wholesale products you want to sell, it is time to make a name for your business. This is a crucial but challenging step, because you want it to resonate with your customers, and it is very easy to be remembered.

You can do some investigations and teams for brainstorming and find an ideal name for your company. You can even consider using the company name generator. Once you decide a name, it’s time to register your business. Business registration procedures will be different according to your city and state. However, in most cases, you will need an employer to identify the number (Ein) to pay wages and federal taxes. Some places are called FEIN.

It is also necessary to register to obtain a state tax identification or tax number. You can check and understand your local business registration requirements on the website to obtain more information.

3. Get the permits and business license

In order to correct and operate a company, you need the correct permission and business license. This will ensure that everything is legal. It is important to obtain a hygiene permit when dealing with food or selling food. To do this, you must contact the health department of your state to obtain the license required to open food companies.

If you are just wholesale candy, compared with your own candy, you may not need such permits. However, this depends on the requirements of your city and state, and in different places, requirements will be different. Enterprises manufacturing and selling foods should undergo regular sanitary examinations. This is why you always maintain the importance of food safety measures and make sure you have the latest certificates and licenses.

4. Find dealers to prepare inventory

Managing a candy wholesale store or a company needs a lot of inventory at hand. This means you need to find a larger level of wholesale candy dealers. Buying candy in large quantities can save costs and help you save money. Familiar with wholesale prices and retail prices in order to better negotiate with these suppliers. When ordering wholesale products, suppliers will have the minimum requirements. This means that you will need to follow the inventory management technology in the store to ensure that the supply is constant.

5. Marketing

The new business will need to focus on customers to obtain customers. Your candy products need to attract customers. Making custom candy gifts or candy bouquets, it can increase and attract people’s attention to your products. It is also ideal to use free marketing strategies, such as social media marketing. Create a detailed marketing strategy, including different marketing channels to find your own target customer group. Consider the marketing, marketing software and different types of email marketing. Testing different marketing channels allows you to focus on customer retaining strategies and retain customers for a long time. You can also create a member plan to maintain customers.

Frequently Asked Questions About Starting A Candy Business

Opening a candy wholesale store may be your dream, but this is not easy. Following the steps listed above will enable you to build a solid foundation and work hard in the direction of business success. But you will also have a lot of questions.

Is the candy business favorable?

Yes, the candy business is favorable. This is because candy has attracted consumer groups of multiple ages and makes it a favorable industry. People are willing to spend money to buy candy as a gift, and often treat it as a magic agent and eliminate unhappy medicine. This makes it an ideal product and proves that it has a market. This candy business can be an online candy store or a physical store.

Is it cheaper to buy wholesale candy?

Yes, wholesale purchase of candy is cheaper than buying a single or retail candy. Buying a large amount of candy can save you money, but there will be an order quantity for wholesale stores. You can buy it with your friends or family members to achieve the number of purchases. Or buy more at one time and store it.

Which wholesale candy stores and retail are more profitable?

The positioning and sales of the two are different. Wholesalers are small-profit sales, and the cost of operation and promotion is very low because the crowds are retailers. Retailers are high in profit, but the cost of operation and promotion is also very high, and the competition is fierce. It is necessary to find more terminal consumers through marketing. No matter what kind of business model, it has its own advantages and needs to change with the changes in the consumption habits of the times.

Is the design of wholesale candy stores complicated?

Compared to a retail candy store, wholesale candy stores pay more attention to the product itself. You need to show as many candy products you operate as possible so that retailers choose to try. You can also design the store into multiple areas. While operating a wholesale business, you can also take into account retail.