Candy Store Packages

Before your start ordering your candy, there are a couple things you need to do first. The most important is developing your budget. If you plan to finance any part of your start up business, either with your personal credit cards, a small business loan, or borrowing from a family/friend, you need to have an idea of what it will cost.

Location. Your Location is going to be one of your biggest decisions. Consider walking traffic versus drive-by traffic. The average candy sale is under $10, therefore you will need a number of sales per day to cover your expenses. Walk-in traffic is more likely to drive your sales, than drive-by. Figure at least 6 months of rent in your initial budget. Your hope is that your sales cover your expenses right out of the gate, but you never know what economic disaster may occur.  

Store Design. There are two schools of thought: hiring a designer/contractor or do-it-yourself. If you planned to do your own build out, you can realize a great cost savings.  Use paint/color as the major design element, you can make a big impact without a lot of upfront costs. Consider a neutral color for the walls, and use the colors of your product to make the impact. Here is an idea: hire an art student to do murals, you can get a newspaper to do a story on your store using art students to create visual impact in the city. Free advertising and you benefit from the results!

Store Layout. Ideally you want a store with roughly 500-1,000 sq ft of retail space.  Consider where your door is located and where you want your register placed from there.  If you want isles of gondolas, you may consider the height of those running through the store for visibility. Think about how you want your customer to move around the store. Do you want them to wander the perimeter of the store, or zig-zag. This is important, because you will determine the best position for your checkout.

Store Fixtures. This is a big category. Do you want walls of acrylic bins, with mounted slatwall? Do you want professionally designed candy racks? Do you want shelving or tables with candy displays? Plan a majority of your budget in this area. How you display your candy will make an impact on your sales. If you are planning to sell a mix of bulk candy and wrapped, consider acrylic bins with a mix of display units for the wrapped candy. If you want to display your candy in a more old fashion style, try wooden barrels and displays.

Checkout Counter. You will also need a cash wrap, or place for the cash register and checkout. That could be a purchased unit, or one you make, if you have experience. Don't  forget to consider your equipment. Generic Cash Register or POS (point of sale) systems can range in price from $200 up to $15,000. How much work do you want to do in your set up and in maintaining your inventory. Most electronic cash registers are capable of providing daily sales reports, whereas, sophisticated POS systems breakdown all areas of your sales and inventory and even manage your accounting and payroll. If you plan on a POS system, invest in a good computer system with battery backup surge protectors.  

Inventory. Plan 1/3 of your budget for your initial inventory. Evaluate the types of candy you want to carry, along with the theme of your store. If you are going for an old-fashioned type candy store, you will want to consider carrying Nostalgic type candy. If you want a more modern feel, the most popular candy is where you want to invest. 

Outside Services. Don't forget to set up credit card processing. You'd be surprised how many customers will buy a small amount of candy and put it on a debit/credit card. A good place to start is with your bank.