Category Advice: Children’s Sweets

It’s a well-known fact. Children love sweets. Always have and most likely always will. Tastes and budgets might change over time but the essence of the demand remains the same. Retailing children’s sweets can be fun, fast and furious. Young they might be but demanding they most certainly are. Whilst stocking familiar favourites is a must, there’s a plethora of novel and quite frankly bizarre children’s sweets that are on many a “wanted” list and can reward retailers with strong sales. If you can keep up with the trends and the twists, retailing children’s sweets can be extremely profitable.

If you’ve stepped into a Hancocks cash and carry you’ll know that the choice of confectionery for kids is mind blowing. You’ll recognise some from your own childhood and there will be plenty of news ideas to show your age. We can talk you through the range to ensure that you stock the best range for your own business, whether small or large. Where wholesale confectionery is concerned, we have all of the answers!

 

Know your shoppers

It might seem obvious to many but the first step is to know who you are generally retailing children’s confectionery to. It could be:

• Parents of young children
• Young children themselves with small amounts of pocket money
• Grandparents, friends and neighbours for children
• Juniors and teenagers around the school day or at weekends
• Students and young adults

 

The likelihood is that a number of these groups will be important to you. Knowing which ones though, will stand you in good stead. In fact we know we keep saying it but the more you know about your specific shoppers and customers, the better.

Different groups will have different requirements when choosing children’s sweets. Parents might focus on portion control and any possible health benefits (NAFNAC or the addition of fruit juice) whilst grandparents and neighbours might not be so bothered! Young children like to get as many sweets as they can with their pocket money and buy with their eyes. Tubs of low priced sweets can be great for them. Juniors and teenagers will tend to have more money than younger children and will enjoy finding different and fun sweets to compare with their friends. They’ll be more ambitious and revel in the shock value of some sweets (Toxic Waste for example). It is easy to forget that students will often buy children’s sweets. They are more likely to be drawn to sweets that they had when they were younger.

 

Classic and still going strong

In amongst the novelty, there’s a wide array of long-standing children’s confectionery that continues to enjoy strong sales. Your range should include a selection of these products, offering familiarity and guaranteed sales. Here’s a list to ponder:

• Haribo sweets (small bags or tubs of loose sweets
• Swizzels: Love Hearts, Drumstick, Double Lollies, Parma Violets
• Chupa Chups
• Candy Watches and Candy Necklaces
• Milky Bar
• Nestle Jelly Tots
• Chocolate Mice
• Black Jacks & Fruit Salad
• Dip Dab

 

The importance of play value

Children love sweets that they can play with. It’s not just about the taste these days! There are many choices of interactive, playful sweets to suit all ages. Here’s some big sellers at Hancocks to consider:

• Brainlicker
• Candy Watches
• Candy Spray
• Tongue Tattoos
• Chocolate Coins
• Gummy Pizza
• Fizz Wiz

 

See a list of our top selling children's pick and mix sweets

 

Make sure there’s always something new

A range of children’s sweets can never stand still. Just as your young audience will be on the look-out for the next thing, so must you be. And that is where Hancocks can be a great support to your business. We’d recommend that up to 20% of your kid’s sweets are refreshed regularly, keeping your eager buyers coming back to see what’s new to try.

 

Great displays sell more

We cannot stress enough the importance of giving full attention to your display. The better it is, the more sweets you will sell. Even a simple. Small display can look great. Take advantage of self-merchandising outers, be they boxes, jars or cartons. Ensure that the display is low enough for kids to see. Hancocks can offer many merchandising ideas for a number of ranges. For example, take a look at our Kingsway Lolly Tree or if you want something more impactful, how about a Jelly Bean Dreams stand or even Pucker Powder?

Certain products lend themselves to helping a display too, such as character pops (for example Garden Critter Pops) so assess your potential new sweets from a display point of view as well.

Whatever you do with children’s sweets, be sure to have fun with it as your enthusiasm will rub off on your customers. As ever, if you need specific help with this area of sweets, please just ask at one of our depots or get in touch with our online team. We’d be happy to help you.