The Abundant Consumption Of Candy

Eight billion pounds of candy is consumed each year.  What does this significant number demonstrate?  It shows how much Americans love to indulge in chocolate, lollipops, hard candy, mints and gum.

Americans of all backgrounds and ages will and do enjoy some type of candy throughout the year. If you are not already selling candy, ask yourself  “why am I passing up such a large customer base?”

Why Sell Candy?

Gift baskets are a very popular item for florists.  The largest product requested in these gift baskets is some type of sweet treat. In fact, most people enjoy giving candy as much as receiving  it.

Offering chocolates, hard candies and even specialized treats  such as sugar free and low-carb candies is an easy way to capitalize on a hungry market. You can even offer candy arrangements for those who want to send a gift a bit different from flowers.

Many items purchased by consumers are gifts.  Offering specialty gourmet candy gives your store a unique selling proposition and a way to hone in on a niche.

With candy, you can leverage the gift giving niche as well as the entertaining niche. Candy items such as anniversary chocolate coins (or embossed chocolate) make for great party favors.  Gourmet chocolate and candy give frugal customers a gift with great perceived value.

Who Needs Candy?

Who needs candy? Everyone! They just don’t know it! As a retailer, knowing your customers and their tastes is the key to your product mix. Teaching customers they need candy is the key to successful sales.

How do you teach a customer they need your product?  By solving their problem or fulfilling a need. Candy is no different. Here is an example: You have a customer who is the hostess of a baby shower.  She asks your advice on what she can do for decorative place card holders.  You demonstrate how she can write names on the ribbon tied around your baby booty lollipops.  You have just solved her problem and sold lollipops to boot.

Providing customers with products, service and advice is what  keeps customers coming back.  Whether you are a flower shop or a gift retailer, you have to be choc-full of ideas. Your customers will look to you for advice and candy can be your go-to answer.

How To Select Candy

Selecting candy is like building a house. Start with a foundation based on popular trends and traditional standards. Chocolate is the standard foundation.  It is tried and true.  But every foundation needs to incorporate rising trends. Novelty candy is a good trend indicator.  This year lollipops with unique flavors or shapes is a large portion of the novelty market.

Every house needs personalization.  So add personalization by offering a selection of custom candy. There are many options when it comes to custom or semi-custom candies.  Custom candy could be a lollipop that can be imprinted with one’s name, slogan or a specific date.  A semi-custom candy would be a candy bar wrapped in specific colored tin foil or mints in special tins.

Unique and special candies make your candy house a home. Trendy candy ideas that appeal to specialty groups or interests will give your store the unique and special candies it needs.  Healthy candy sounds like an oxymoron but it is actually a rising trend. Sugar free and low carb will be a trend for the next couple years, as well as organically made chocolates with higher percentages of cocoa content (greater amount of antioxidants). Look for flavor infused candy in both chocolates as well as hard candy.  Candy infused with fruits, herbs and other spices will be a hot trend.  Incorporating these special types of candies will create a unique product mix that sets you above your competitors.

By utilizing the great wholesale chocolate and candy vendors on FGmarket you will be able to find the right products to help sweeten your sales. To jump start your candy search check out the FGmarket wholesale candy vendors highlighted below.