A Guide to the Types of Sweets For Your Store

We all love a sweet treat, and candy is one of the most popular choices for adults and children alike. Whether you have a store that offers only sweets or would like to incorporate sweets into your product line, it’s essential you know the types of sweets available. 

From chocolates to hard-boiled treats and foam sweets, there’s something for everyone. 

Chocolate

Of all the food inventions in the world, few would disagree that chocolate is the best. The rich flavour is famous all around the world, and there is an abundance of companies supplying their unique chocolate treats. 

Milk Chocolate 

Unarguably the most famous of the bunch, milk chocolate gets its name because it combines dairy with cocoa to create a creamy texture and less pronounced taste. There are many varieties of milk chocolate, including bars and individual pieces. 

Chocolate Covered Nuts: Enduringly popular, especially with adults. Chocolate covered nuts are an excellent addition for your store. Most people prefer peanuts, but almonds and walnuts are also popular options. 

Chocolate Bars: There are so many chocolate bars available, and stocking your shop with them guarantees sales. Examples of some favourites include Curly Wurly, Dairy Milk, Crunchie, Freddo and Boost bars. 

Dark Chocolate 

Adults that prefer more decadent tasting foods love dark chocolate. It’s less creamy than milk chocolate which gives it a more robust flavour. Dark chocolate also packs a host of health benefits, due to its abundance of antioxidants and minerals. 

There are plenty of varieties of dark chocolate, including boxes of fruit-based creams, organic bars of chocolate and raisins. 

White Chocolate 

Most people either love or hate white chocolate. It’s richer than milk and dark chocolate, but it also contains higher sugar levels. If you want to increase your holiday sales, then white chocolate is a fantastic option for Christmas. 

Jazzles: Everyone likes Jazzles, and the white chocolate versions are excellent for Christmas gifts. 

White Mice: Another fan favourite, white mice, are famous in pick and mix blends.

Most chocolate brands also release a white version around Christmas, such as Kit Kat and Dairy Milk. 

Traditional Sweets 

Traditional sweets offer a lot of nostalgic charm, and people love receiving them as gifts. The most common form of traditional sweets is hard candies, which are known as boiled sweets. 

Boiled sweets are made by using sugar syrups to create a base flavour. The syrup is then cooked at a high temperature, which creates a hard candy. They’re some of the oldest sweets around, with their roots beginning in 1820 when seaside rock became popular. 

Hard-boiled sweets come in a range of flavours including: 

• Strawberry & Cream
• Bubblegum 
• Apple
• Raspberry
• Violet Creams
• Rose Creams 

While classic flavours are popular with older generations, younger people will prefer newer flavours of boiled sweets. Some of the most popular are: 

• Aniseed
• Sour Apple
• Sour Lemon
• Cola Sweets
• Hot Chilli
• Cherries 
• Mint 

Chewy Sweets 

Chewy sweets are a favourite among people of all ages, and they’re ideal for children because they’re safer than boiled sweets. With so many brands to choose from, there’s something for everyone. But these two brands stand above the others. 

Swizzels 

Swizzels will take many of us back to our school days, and people still enjoy their range of chewy sweets today. Not only do they taste amazing, but they also have bright packaging and stand out in any shop. 

Drumsticks

There aren’t many people that haven’t heard of drumsticks, and their classical pink and white design creates a subtle, yet tasty flavour. Drumsticks come in a lolly, bar or chewy sweet form. 

Refreshers 

If drumsticks are known for their subtle flavour, then Refresher bars are their polar opposite. The bars contain intense flavours such as lemon and have a sherbert middle. Teenagers and older people enjoy the tangy taste of Refresher bars, and they’re also available in bite-sized sweets. 

Maoam 

As a member of the Haribo family, Maoams are incredibly popular. The chewy sweets are packed full of flavour and come in many varieties. 

Stripes & Blocks

Maoam Stripes come in a range of fruit-based flavours, including Orange, Cherry and Raspberry. The blocks are very similar but have a thicker consistency. 

Pinballs

Pinballs are chewy ball-shaped sweets that feature Maoam’s classic flavours but also pack a tangy punch. 

MaoMix 

Perhaps the most popular of the Maoam family, MaoMix contains a combination of blocks, stripes, rocks and pinballs. 

Jelly Sweets 

Jelly sweets are probably the most popular around, and there are hundreds of unique brands available. The most popular is Haribo because they were the flagship company that created gelatin-based treats. 

Today, plenty of companies sell jelly sweets, but while their flavours might differ, there are common shapes that remain popular. These include: 

• Bears 
• Jelly Rings 
• Cola Bottles 
• Fruit Shapes 
• Worms 
• Jelly Beans

Most jelly sweets contain a mixture of shapes and flavours. Haribo is the most popular brand, but there are cheaper options available. It’s also important to mention that jelly sweets are usually not suitable for vegetarians, but some manufacturers make gelatine-free versions too. 

Fudge & Nougat 

Fudge and nougat make excellent gifts for both adults and children. Most confectioners stock a range of flavours and offer a pick and mix option for their fudge. Both fudge and nougat are very similar, but fudge is made with butter, milk and sugar while nougat is made from egg whites and sugar or honey. 

The most popular fudge flavours are vanilla, chocolate and plain for younger people. Older people enjoy a rum and raisin fudge, especially for Christmas gifts. Nougat can contain nuts, or be covered in chocolate. 

Choosing Sweets for Your Store 

With so many sweets to choose from, it isn’t easy to know where to start. If you have loyal customers, then the first step should be to define who they are and what kind of sweets they’d prefer. For example, younger people will enjoy chews, but older generations like boiled sweets. 

You’ll need to find a diverse wholesale confectioner that stocks a range of sweets. Once you start stocking your store, you can see what’s popular and allow your customers to buy delicious sweets for all occasions.