Start A Home Personalized Candy Wrapper Business
CASH IN WITH A CANDY WRAPPER HOME BUSINESS

WHAT IS SO GOOD ABOUT Ar PERSONALIZED CANDY WRAPPER BUSINESS?

The business of selling personalized candy wrappers to the public is fast becoming one of the hot home businesses to start. First, the start-up costs are extremely low. You may already have a computer and you may have a printer you can use to run the business.  Even if you don’t have a printer, the cost of printers nowadays is so low that you can purchase one for under $100.

Second, you don’t have to keep any inventory (candy) on hand. If you receive an order for personalized wrappers , you can easily go to your nearest wholesale store/club and purchase the candy you need to complete your order.   Maybe wrapper professionals also take advantage of sales in other stores such as Wal-Mart, supermarkets and drugstores.  The goal is to get the lowest price per candy bar.

And third, this is a business that anyone can do! You don’t have to be a graphic designer and draw your own graphics. There are many artists who will sell you graphics and candy wrapper templates that can be used on the products you sell. Also, candy wrapping is a business you can run from home, while the kids are asleep. It can be a part-time or full-time business depending on how much income you would like to make.

PURCHASING EQUIPMENT

Be careful and wise when choosing to purchase new equipment for your candy wrapper business. Don’t purchase unnecessary equipment. You don’t need to go out and purchase the latest computer
of the most expensive printer on the market.

If your computer can run the graphic programs or other program you use (or will choose to use), and your printer does a pretty good job you might want to stick with them. You _might_ want to purchase a new printer if the printer you are now using requires ink that costs a great deal of money.   This is one area (ink cost) that can affect your business’ bottom line (how much profit you make.

There are options you can use to save ink cost, such as purchasing third-party (third-party brand) ink for your current printer. If there are no third-party inks for the printer you are using now you might want to purchase an inexpensive printer that can use this type of ink. One more thing, you do NOT need a laser printer to make wrappers. If you choose to use a laser printer, that’s fine, but it’s not mandatory.

USE A KIT OR MAKE YOUR OWN WRAPPER TEMPLATES?

If you choose to buy a candy wrapper business kit, please take your time, do your research and ASK QUESTIONS. Every candy wrapper kit is not the same and you need to be careful since you will be spending
your valuable money. Be sure to find out if the kit contains wrapper templates for the type of candy you want to use. Does the kit have wrappers for the 1.55 ounce Hershey bar (the most commonly known candy bar) and none for miniature candies? Do the templates work in all graphic or word processing programs? Candy wrapper kits that depend on a specific program, can limit what you can create.

You will also want to know if the kit is using graphics that are legal to use on items you sell. And most of all, are the graphics used, legally licensed (or created) by the person who is selling you the wrapper kit.  These are just some of the questions you need to consider.  If you can’t find out if the graphics are legal, DON’T buy the kit. You could be asking for legal troubles later on down the line.

DO YOU NEED A WEBSITE?

Whether or not you need a website depends entirely on whether or not you will be trying to get sales online. This can be a tough decision to make, especially if you intend on selling locally to people and businesses in your area.

Even if you’re selling locally a website can be your 24-Hour store that is always open waiting for customers to purchase your merchandise. If you do decide to have a website for your business, shop around to
find a web designer with a good price. You might also want to make the website yourself if you have experience writing html or you are using one of the many computer programs that will help you along
(Microsoft Publisher, Front Page, Xsite Pro, etc…).

WHAT ABOUT GRAPHICS?

Well, graphics are a HUGE part of the candy wrapping business.  Graphics and text are what make up ANY personalized candy wrapper so it’s important to use the right graphics for the job. As said earlier, you should only use graphics that are licensed for commercial use. A graphics license is the permission an artist (or company) gives to you stating that you can use the graphics on an item you will later sell to the public (your wrappers).

Purchasing graphics is another area where you need to ask questions.  Make sure the graphics you are purchasing were actually drawn by the person who sells the graphics. If the person/company who is selling
the graphics didn’t draw them, ask them to show you a valid license from the artist to resell the graphics to you. If they can’t show you a license, it’s best not to purchase those particular graphics.

The legalities of graphics can get confusing at times, but a simple phrase can sum it up when it comes to using graphics which might not be legal to use: “When it doubt, leave it out.”

There are many artists online who sell graphics that can be used legally on items that you are selling.

PURCHASING THE CANDY

The candy you’ll be wrapping for customers can easily be purchased from stores like Costco, BJs and Sams Club. You purchase the candy by the case. A case of 1.55 ounce (36 bars) Hershey candy bars can usually be purchased most of the time for about $12.00 or $13.00. You can also purchase other types of candies (Lifesavers, mints, etc…) at these types of stores.

Also, stay aware and watch for sales at other stores that will bring the cost of candy down for your business. You shouldn’t try to purchase your candy at smaller stores on a regular basis, since the price might be lower all the time. Always try to have wholesale sources for your candy purchases (a wholesale candy supplier, Costco, BJs, Sams Club, etc…)

CUSTOMERS   WHERE ARE THEY?

Getting customers for your business depends on you and how well you can sell yourself and your products to the public.

One of the best ways to get customers is to sell for “events”. This could bring larger sales to you. Securing orders for a wedding, convention, school meetings, etc. is a wonderful way to get sales and earn money. Not only will this lead to more profitable sales, but your products will also reach a greater number of
people, who then in turn may become future customers

Smaller events, such as birthday parties, etc. is good, but it will take more of the smaller sales to make up for one big sale.

8. Advertising Tips All businesses need to advertise so you will need to find ways to let customers know you are open and ready to sell. Some inexpensive ways to advertise include the use of flyers and door hangers (make sure your local laws allow this to be done). You can also donate items to local events to get your name out to the public. One more way to advertise is to make up sales letters that you send to businesses,
schools and other groups letting them know what you offer.

PRICING

How much you sell your wrappers for will depend on your cost to produce the wrappers, how much others are receiving for their wrappers in your area, as well as, how many “extras” you provide. A 1.55 ounce wrapped Hershey candy usually sells for anywhere between $1.25 and $1.75 per bar. A wrapped miniature candy might
sell for between $0.40 and $0.65. Selling wrappers by themselves is an option as well. Many people may want to wrap their own candy and just order the printed wrapper from you. Wrappers (without the candy) might sell for between $0.75 and $1.00

NEED EXTRA HELP?

If you need help in starting or running your candy wrapper business there are many online discussion lists that can help you. You can go to one of these lists to ask questions, read about the experiences of others who are professional candy wrappers, and learn tips and techniques of the trade.

Please don’t be shy when visiting a discussion list. It can sometimes be intimidating to join a discussion list that is new to you, especially when you’re not quite sure what to ask.

Just jump in and ask your questions. You may also find a great deal of information in the archived messages. They can usually give you a great deal of information.

Belver Ladson has been a candy wrapper professional for close to six years and has worked in the industry to create standards which can be used by all toward better business and personal success. If you have any questions about becoming a candy wrapper professional please feel free to contact Belver. She welcomes questions from all who wish to learn.  Belver can be reached at: http://www.belverbeas.us