5 Ways to Save Money When You Open a Candy Store

These days, nearly everyone’s feeling the pinch of today’s economy, and this pinch has many aspiring entrepreneurs – such as new candy shop owners – wondering whether or not they should move forward with their new business ideas.

Fortunately, there are ways to pinch pennies and still get quality results. Listed below are five ways to save money when you open a candy store.

1. Buy your candy in bulk.

For businesses that sell a lot of one kind of product (such as candy), it only make financial sense to buy in bulk and save money.

Keep in mind that it’s important to have a plan for your candy before you actually order it. How many display fixtures will you have? Where will they be located? What special considerations should you make for the candy (unwrapped candy needs more protection than wrapped candy)? These are the kinds of questions you should know the answers to before you purchase bulk candy.

2. Buy versatile display fixtures in bulk.

As mentioned above, buying in bulk helps you save money; however, buying versatile display fixtures – those that you can use for a variety of purposes – in bulk helps you save even more money.

For example, jumbo mini bins – which are already fairly inexpensive – are fantastic acrylic bins for showcasing a variety of items.

3. Sometimes, secondhand display fixtures are your friends.

Generally, the best way to get your hands on secondhand display fixtures is to keep your eyes open for owners of similar businesses who might be relocating and looking to lighten their loads or who are redecorating and need to get rid of their old, but useable, display fixtures.

Keep in mind that “inexpensive” doesn’t always mean “good deal.” You’re trying to save money, but you’re also trying to make a good impression. If the display fixtures are noticeably worn (for example, the clear plastic containers have so many scratches you can’t really describe them as “clear” anymore) or not easily repairable (for example, the rolling display racks are missing wheels you’d have to spend a significant amount of time hunting for before you could replace them), you’d be better off paying for new fixtures.

4. Look for wholesalers offering special start up deals.

Many companies that sell bulk candy and bulk display tools also offer special deals for owners of new candy stores. Talk with owners of similar businesses as well as search the Internet to gather a list of such companies, and then compare their start up specials and prices.

5. Don’t go overboard with advertising.

Adverting is crucial, and it’s especially important when you’re first getting started; however, many new candy shop owners discover that when they’re first getting started is when their budgets are the tightest.

Instead of sinking money into several different advertising areas, consider just a few big hitters. For example:

• Newspaper advertisements and radio mentions (as opposed to separate, lengthy radio commercials) are often fairly inexpensive and reach a broad audience.
• If you create your own graphics and write your own copy, as well as shop around for printing services that offer the best prices, you’ll find that fliers can be quite inexpensive forms of advertising.
• Many community news stations and newspapers provide a community events feature to their viewers and readers. Oftentimes, getting your announcement (in this case, your candy store opening) listed in these segments or sections is completely free. You might even want to talk with reporters about a brief feature announcing the upcoming opening of your new candy store.

NOTE: These days, it’s almost unheard of for a business to lack a website. Not only are websites constant forms of advertisement, but they’re also incredibly convenient for your customers. You might think it’d be best for you to wait until your new candy store has been up and running for a while before you create a website, but it’s actually ideal to have a website up and running BEFORE your store opens – that way, when customers see and hear your advertisements for the shop’s opening day, they can visit your website to check out your store!

Opening a Yogurt Shop? Top 3 Display Tools You’ll Need

Opening a yogurt shop can be, like embarking on any new business adventure, both exciting and scary. How big will your shop be? How many employees will you hire? How many different kinds of yogurt will you offer? Will you offer any other kind of product?

However, yogurt shops require a few things that not every business requires – specifically, special display fixtures. Below are the top three yogurt shop display tools you’ll need to both attractively and conveniently display your merchandise.

1. Acrylic Dispensers and Other Acrylic Bins

Acrylic food dispensers and other acrylic bins such as mini bins and jumbo mini bins are essential display fixtures for yogurt shops. These kinds of acrylic containers help you easily showcase merchandise – including yogurt toppings such as sprinkles – and many are available with necessary accessories such as plastic or aluminum scoops that help customers retrieve the amount of product they need without touching any of the rest of it (see below).

As you’re looking for acrylic dispensers and other acrylic bins for your new yogurt shop, note that you can find these display fixtures in a wide variety of sizes – make sure you choose the sizes that will best display your items as well as work with the amount of display space you have. Note that additional display fixtures – including countertop racks and slatwall dispensers, addressed below – can help you make the most of your display space.

2. Scoop Bin Countertop Racks

Countertop display racks are excellent display fixtures for making the most of your display space. You can use these kinds of racks to create more display space on a small countertop, attractively and conveniently display other fixtures such as acrylic scoop bins on an otherwise awkwardly shaped countertop, or simply create even more display space on an already sizeable countertop.

As you’re shopping for countertop display racks for your new yogurt shop, make sure you choose racks that will:

• Fit your countertop space. Countertop display racks are available in numerous sizes, so be sure to choose the racks of the heights and widths that will work best with your countertop.
• Hold the kinds of acrylic dispensers and bins you plan to use to display your yogurt toppings and other products. Both acrylic containers and countertop racks are available in a variety of sizes, so make sure you choose sizes in each that will work well with each other.

3. Scoop Bin Slatwall Dispensers

Showcasing merchandise on your yogurt shop’s walls is a great way to make the most of your display space, as well as offer extra convenience to your customers.

As is the case with countertop display racks, slatwall display fixtures are available in a variety of sizes. Be sure to choose the slatwall display that will fit your wall space and conveniently hold your dispensers.

BONUS: Don’t Forget the Accessories!

When you’re dealing with products like yogurt toppings – which includes dry food items like sprinkles, granola, and nuts – you must make sure your displays include accessories such as:

• Plastic scoops or aluminum scoops to help customers easily retrieve the amount of toppings or other food product they need without contaminating the rest of it.
• Container lids to help keep the food items fresh and safe from debris both during work hours and while you’re storing them.