A boom in sales of American candy brands has been put down to videos on Netflix and TikTok - but the rush for sweet treats is proving to be good news for Nottingham sweet stores too. Two of Nottingham's best-loved sweet shops have shared this year's best-selling sweets, as they explain how the spike in business has affected them.
One of Nottingham's most popular sweet shops, Krazy Kandy is celebrating its first year in business in Royal Arcade on Goldsmith Street and its a treasure trove of twinkies, Jolly Rancher and Lucky Charms. If you are looking to try something from your favourite US series then chances are, you'll find it here. Owner Rami Armoush opened the store in 2021.
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He began importing US products in 2019 and decided to take the plunge to open his own shop. The store is not just about the sweets as it also stocks savoury treats such as Cheetos and American drinks such as Gatorade.
"Business has been picking up because of Christmas. As the market is on in the city centre, it's been attracting more people to Nottingham. It's been pretty good as a result as it's become busier," he said.
Our most popular items are things like Takis, pickle in a pouch or Cheetos. The most popular ones are the brands that have been putting in a lot of marketing in the UK so that's why demand is so high. We can't keep up with them, to be honest."
He added: "It's not just TikTok or Netflix that drive it but manufacturers too. Takis has just spent over a million pounds on advertising in the UK so that's one of the reasons."
The cost of living crisis has had an effect on all retail over the past few months, but not so much these sweet shops. Rami explained that the novelty factor of trying something new or unusual has kept customers coming back regardless.
"We've had to increase our prices but demand for these products has meant people are particularly interested. They aren't particularly interested in what the price is as they just want to try it. We have done our best to keep prices the lowest that we can and I think we are one of the lowest-priced places in the Midlands."
When it comes to variety, the shop sells more than just American sweets and has branched out into Australian, Korean, Japanese and Mexican items.
"We do Japanese but not too much Korean as we have the Oriental market next door. I do get the Japanese items in because not many places actually sell them" he said.
"We also get Canadian and Australian ones too so it's not just American. We get the Tajin chilli from Mexico as well as some drinks too. We used to have a Mexican sweet section and we are expecting another delivery in the first week of January.
Two Sweet Sisters
Nottingham Road, Eastwood
Two Sweet Sisters opened their bright pink pick-and-mix shop in Eastwood earlier this year and business has been increasingly steady over the past few months. The Christmas rush has seen a boom in sales as customers search for something a bit different and personalised as a present this year.
The shop was founded by sisters Abigail Cerepovicius and Joey Berry who have been delighted with the success of the shop over the months.
"We've been a lot busier than expected as with the cost of living, we were obviously concerned. This morning has been really super busy but this week alone has been crazy," Abigail said.
When it comes to best sellers, Abigail highlighted that there are clear favourites. However, the large pick-and-mix selection has over 160 different varieties meaning customers can really personalise a box.
"Our best sellers are our mystery boxes which we makeup in store and definitely American sweets because everyone wants something a bit different. The kids are all on TikTok so the biggest crazes are all American things like Jolly Ranchers and things like that."
She added: "Our pick and mix has gone down really well too as well. We've been personalising them in different forms like jars, buckets, trees or snowmen. A lot of people are asking for things like hard-boiled sweets or selection boxes of things like liquorice.
Supply has been an industry-wide issue especially as sweet shop numbers across the UK and demand have skyrocketed. There have been issues getting hold of even more traditional sweet options.
"Liquorice is really hard to get hold of at the moment, no one has been able to get hold of it, like the traditional Bassists in a box. You used to be able to get Catherine wheels with a jelly sprog in the middle but no one can get hold of them," Abigail said.
She added: "There are a lot of problems across a lot of sweets. There is one company that produces a lot of them, but it has taken us months to get stock from them and when it comes in, it's in dribs and drabs. You have to be on the ball with it but there was an issue with the machines which affected things like alphabet letters."
"That took a year to be fixed so they started to produce different ones which are large flowers with a letter in the middle. They taste the same but customers still want the alphabet."
When it comes to staying ahead of the game, Abigail stresses that sweet shops need to be savvy and to get something quickly. This is especially now that kids are seeing a lot of the stock on TikTok or YouTube before rushing out to buy the latest trend.
"There are a lot of sweets now online especially on TikTok so everyone is competing with each other and watching the same thing. When something comes up for sale at the wholesalers then you need to be on the ball otherwise you won't get that product because there is a hell of a lot of us now," she explained.
"We aren't online yet but we are hoping to have a website soon. We don't want to be huge, we like being little because we love our interaction with the customers."
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