Home »
News & Trends »
Featured Articles

Merchandising That Moves Candy

Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas/Hanukkah are all prime candy- buying occasions. But even though interest is high, you can still drive sales even higher with innovative and fresh merchandising. We asked store owners across the U.S. to share their favorite sales strategies for holidays, as well as easy tips for maximizing less candy-centric days of celebration.

1. Create Three-Dimensional Displays

“We look at each square foot of selling space as a sort of three-dimensional column rather than a flat area,” says Debbie Giordano, owner of Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, a 1,300-square-foot store in Boise, Idaho (one of 17 Powell’s franchises). “We stack products on top of more products to maximize the space. This layering effect draws the customer’s attention as if to say, ‘Go ahead, dig in...there’s plenty.’”

Giordano also uses seasonal décor and props to build up and call attention to a display. For example, last Easter she purchased bunny ears for part of her merchandising. “We hung these along with different sizes of our gift boxes, mixed in with crepe paper streamers and oversized blow-up rabbits from the ceiling above our main table.”

Other retailers agree that making holiday merchandising appear abundant draws attention. “Mass displays make people want to take one,” notes Anne Nehring, co-owner of Nehring’s Sendik’s on Oakland, a specialty supermarket in Milwaukee’s Shorewood neighborhood. “Even if you pick five items, mass those five items. That has more impact than having a thousand different things.”

2. Offer Customized Treats and Signage

Even when space is tight, you can maximize your store’s offerings with customized confections. For instance, Sam Greenfield, co-owner of The Sweet Life on New York City’s Lower East Side, a 27-year-old chocolate and confection shop, creates handmade sweets for Valentine’s Day. “We have to sell a lot of different things in our 300-square-foot store so I don’t have room to make big presentations,” he notes. “But we specialize in our homemade items—our pretzels have pink and white sprinkles and we offer chocolate-dipped strawberries.”

Customized point-of-purchase information or shelf talkers that highlight product attributes also help confections stand out at the holidays. “We make little printed signs that say why each holiday candy is special,” says Kristin Janos, co-owner of Cook’s Fresh Market in Denver.

3. Take Advantage of Unexpected Placement

With all holiday merchandising, it’s a good idea to promote items in uncommon areas of the store. For instance, Janos’ Denver gourmet market gets a big lunch crowd, so foot traffic in her deli is high. She often places a Valentine’s display of candy and chocolate there as well as at the front of the store so people can be thinking about sweets while they’re waiting for lunch.

4. Have Fun with Packaging

Holidays offer opportunities to get creative with presentation. “We look carefully for unique bows and wrapping paper for each holiday and we hand-wrap our candy,” says Lanny Rose, co-owner of the Cottage of Sweets in Carmel, California. “For Halloween, we repackage common candy corn in our own bags and it sells better.”

Terese McDonald, owner of two Candyality stores in Chicago, agrees. “Packaging is so important. If it doesn’t have that three-second appeal, it won’t sell,” she says. “But it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.” She fills 12-compartment tackle boxes with seasonal candy. “For Halloween we use candy corn, pumpkins and witches,” she says. “We also take cellophane cones that cost nine cents and fill them with orange and black treats in layers. You can use the simplest packaging but you need to make it pop.”

5. Focus on the Local

Visitors as well as residents often seek out treats that reflect an area. “We’re three blocks from the [Denver] convention center so we get a lot of tourists who want to take home something from here,” notes Janos. “And we get locals who want to buy local.” During the winter holiday season, Janos arranges treats such as Hammond’s old-fashioned candy canes in eye-catching baskets or a galvanized tin with a sign that says: “Locally made, all-natural candy.”

Local candy, as well as products with a retro appeal, works at Nehring’s Sendik’s. For instance, Nehring promotes local Christmas treats on a front-of-store holiday table. “Fairy food [chocolate-coated sponge candy] was a big thing for the holidays in Wisconsin,” she says. “We like to evoke childhood nostalgia.” |SFM|

Deborah Moss is a freelance writer for Fortune Small Business and Girlfriend Getaways.

More Holiday Tips

Treats can be a hit for any celebration if you promote them properly.

St. Patrick’s Day: Think out of the box for displays for the holidays that aren’t major candy sellers. “Instead of metal racks or shelving, we use wooden shelves and cabinetry,” says Debbie Giordano, owner of Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, Boise, Idaho. And don’t forget to include non-candy items. “For St. Patrick’s Day we’ll have green bubble gum cigars, green Oreo® cookies, green hats and hot chocolate that turns green,” says Powell’s franchisor, Michael Powell. “It’s not all about candy, it’s all about fun.”

Mother’s Day: Creative cross merchandising can increase sales. “Chocolates are popular for Mother’s Day so we arrange flowers in buckets near the candy display at the front of the store,” says Gary Nelson, assistant manager at Lamb’s at Stroheckers, a gourmet market in Portland, Oregon.

Thanksgiving: Promoting confections for a non-candy-related holiday could leave you with leftover merchandise, cautions Kristin Janos from Cook’s Fresh Market in Denver. She stays away from chocolate turkeys but still offers a box of sweets for Thanksgiving. “I don’t like getting stuck with things,” she explains. “But I can promote fall truffle boxes until Christmas candy arrives.”