Selling Pick and Mix Sweets - Everything you Need to Know

The opportunity

The pick and mix sweets market has been one of the UK confectionery industry’s biggest success stories since the demise of Woolworths and the economic recession gave the category a huge resurgence. It is true that sweets sell very well when times are hard – luckily they also sell when times are a bit better.

Since this turbulent time in the UK, sales have remained very strong and greater numbers of retailers have moved into the market, buying bulk pick and mix sweets from companies like HS Wholesale Sweets. There is without doubt, room for more growth as the UK is a self-confessed nation of sweet-lovers – we cannot get enough of them!

So what are the key strengths of selling pick and mix sweets? We’ll explain a little more yet, but they certainly include:

• Big retailer margin potential
• Suitable for all ages and customer profiles
• Sell from a small or large space
• Huge variety of wholesale sweets to choose from
• Great flexibility on how you sell the sweets

Before you start, you should always take a good look at your local competition, be that small stores, supermarkets and retail chains and even cinemas if you’re located close to one. Get yourself armed with as much information as possible in terms of range, pricing, display methods, customer profiles and likely footfall. 

Pick and mix sweets target market

All ages love buying pick and mix sweets – such is the wide variety of tastes, textures, formats and styles. Whether your audience is older or much younger, you can find a range to perfectly suit their tastes. And whatever the general profile of your target market, a selection of pick and mix sweets can be developed to suit them. The most important thing is for you to understand who your business is predominantly serving when it comes to confectionery such as this.

You don’t need to have a shop to reach your target market either. Wholesale pick and mix sweets are purchased by all manner of business models including:

• Independent sweets shops
• Retail chains
• Other general retailers
• Online retailers
• Market traders
• Car booters
• Companies undertaking events – perhaps weddings or parties
• Candy bar companies
• Leisure attractions – perhaps children’s play areas or leisure gift shops

The list could certainly go on – but you get the point. Pick and mix sweets can make good money for many business types and the wide variety of selling formats makes this even more possible to achieve. 

A variety of selling formats

Line up the sweet jars

Traditionally, pick and mix sweets would be sold from a line of tall glass jars, served at the counter by someone wearing an apron who would weigh out the required amount and pack the sweets into a paper bag. Many retailers enjoy maintaining this nostalgic retail theatre today and it adds a delicious element of fun and emotion to the process of buying sweets. Whilst the jars might more often be plastic today, bulk sweets bags of wholesale pick and mix sweets are poured into the labelled jars (often branded by the retailer) and boldly displayed on shelves behind the counter – providing a back wall of colour with a taste-tempting aroma to match.

Selling wholesale sweets in sweets jars is definitely one format that continues to work well. But there are many others to consider, depending on the nature of your business.

Pick and mix sweets stand

Pick and mix sweets stands have become increasingly popular, allowing your customers to choose their own selection. This of course, can be part of the fun. You might sell by weight if you have scales in-store, or alternatively, you can provide fixed priced cups or tubs to be filled with a colour mixture of loose sweets.

A pick and mix sweets stand can offer plenty of theatre should you wish, and takes only a small amount of maintenance. Keep it full and clean, keep the retail bags well stocked and sufficient scoops in place to deter fingers! Many display bins now come with doors to ensure that the sweets stay clean and fresh. Many can be filled from the back to assist optimum product rotation.

Pack ‘em up

When time is of the essence for your shoppers, or when you wish to create a format that is unique to your own business, consider the different ways that you can pack wholesale pick and mix sweets up. Whilst this trend started with clear bags – perhaps 100g in a bag sold at a fixed price – tubs and other containers are also common today. Many market traders pack up different varieties of bulk sweets into rectangular tubs that can be stacked high on their stall, ready to be grabbed on the go. And you might choose to pack up bulk sweets in single varieties or mix them up to suit a theme or colour contrast.

If the gift market is more your thing, many miniature sweet jars are available to buy – perhaps you could add a bespoke gift tag and a ribbon to make it all the more special?

One of the biggest recent trends is the use of cone bags for wholesale pick and mix sweets. Triangle shaped, different layers of wholesale sweets can be packed into the bag that is then sealed with curling ribbon to create an outstanding treat. Ideal for parties and events, these sweet cones can also offer an attractive product in your store; whether high street or online. The possibilities are endless and the profitability is excellent. 

Choosing your range of wholesale sweets

With so many varieties of wholesale sweets available, packed into bulk sweets bags and boxes, you can be forgiven for getting a little lost! That’s why here at HS Wholesale Sweets, we sell proven big sellers that will always be in demand. What might be an essential product for your business, might not be for another and so if you’d like some bespoke advice, please do get in touch with us.

Meanwhile, here’s a quick list of some of the biggest features from our range, when it comes to wholesale pick and mix sweets: 

• Haribo Cola Bottles
• Haribo Jelly Beans
• Millions Strawberry
• Swizzels Love Hearts
• Bristows Chewy Blue Raspberry Bon Bons
• Peardrops
• Rhubarb & Custard
• Rosey Apples
• Mint Humbugs
• Creamy Toffees
• Snowies & Jazzies
• Shrimps
• Dolly Mixture
• Coconut Mushrooms
• Liquorice Allsorts

Pricing

There is no hard and fast rule where pricing is concerned. The guide rule of thumb would be to aim for around 85p per 100g and achieve a margin up to 50% - sometimes more. But this can vary dependent on your location, local competition and selling format. If you’ve packed wholesale sweets up into gift jars or cone bags for example, you might manage to achieve a higher margin. 

Seasonal opportunities with pick and mix sweets

Finally, we must mention the seasonal potential when it comes to selling pick and mix sweets. The obvious occasion is Christmas and you can adapt your range during the run up to this event, including more classic varieties and sweets such as Chocolate Brazils and Chocolate Raisins – they always enjoy a sales spike at this time of year.

But think also of opportunities around Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and even the summer months in general. It’s easy to adapt your range to suit the occasion and it can be a fun way to boost your sales of wholesale sweets.

Ask us for help

We hope that this page has given you plenty to think about when it comes to selling pick and mix sweets. If you’d like some specific advice and guidance with your own business in mind, we’d be delighted to help you. In the meantime, we hope that you enjoy your confectionery adventure! It’s a fun category to sell as well as to buy.