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Custom Candy Wrapper Creations: Owned by wrapcandy.com Originally written by Maria Vowell Revised and Rewritten By Teresa King & Ryan Sawyer
Table of Contents
Starting a Candy Wrapper Business: 1 How to Get Started 1 Introduction 3 Choosing a Business Name 4 Getting Started 6 Items you will need 7 Setting up a Work Area 12 Creating Your Wrappers 12 Marketing: Getting Customers 15 Samples 15 Selling 18 The Power of Publicity 18 Additional Tips, Tricks, and Techniques 24 A Unique Way to Sell Your Designs 25 Get Your Creative Juices Flowing 26 Get Other Companies to Promote For You 31 Using Crafts to Generate Business 33 A Word on Pricing 35 Make a Killing without Inventory 36 New Offerings 38 Get Your Candy Wrapping Business off the Ground 39 Getting a Website 39 A more few things to consider 41 Online Marketing Ideas 43 Conclusion 44 Resource Page 45
Introduction
Use your creative talents to create custom wrappers for promotional items and gifts. As a wrapper or wrap designer, you can put your artistic tendencies to work, designing and wrapping not only candy -but items like wine bottles, and bubble bath for people to give as personalized gifts and favors. Events that warrant these kinds of creative tokens include, but are certainly not limited to, the following: Birth announcements Party favors Wedding receptions Shower gifts Business promotions Holidays The profit potential in running this type of business is huge. Whether you are looking to make this a full-time business, or are just looking to make a little extra cash, you will find that selling customized candies and gifts is a very rewarding experience. If you are like me, and already own your own business, then you will be delighted to see the ways that this type of product can be used to increase your business as a marketing and advertising tool. With our specialized software, you not only are you able to use fabulous and unique designs, but your own photographs and images, too. Pictures of your children, grandchildren, pets, and
friends are a good start and can be used both for practice and for samples of your work.
advertising in this business. So, if you had planned on using your own name for your company name, and your name is Rosilia Kozlinkzobalia, rethink your decision. Of course, you could shorten it by calling it Kozs Candy Wrapping which is actually fun to say. But also make it unique. Sams Candy Wrapper Company is not unique enough to stick in someones mind and might easily be confused with Sandys Candy Wrapper Company. 3. Protect your interests. A little research could save you a big headache later. So check trademarks to ensure that others in the candy wrapper business arent already using the name you picked out. That may seem unnecessary to someyou might even be tempted to say, Hey, Im just working from home to make a couple extra bucks. But what about your web site? You want to make sure you arent one of many -- that you stand out, or you might put that couple of extra bucks at risk. In keeping with this thought, make sure you check the availability of domain names and for local assumed names (Also known As & Doing Business As) used by Sole Proprietors in your area. And if you're planning to incorporate someday, check with the Secretary of State (in your state) to make sure that someone hasnt already registered the name youve chosen. At bare minimum, be aware of the names already in use and pick something else. Naming your business might be a challenge, but its a good idea. If you grow your business, your business name will become an asset only if it was carefully chosen. If you end up only working part-time on a small scale, an appropriate business name will ensure that friends and family take your endeavor seriously which is crucial in word of mouth advertising.
As you create designs, you will want to include your business contact information on the wrapper. As for where to place it on the wrapper, you might want to consider placing it on the on the inside of the wrapper. When you place it on the inside as opposed to the outside, you reduce customer objections to including it because you maintain the integrity of the customers design. You might also try inserting it at the bottom of the wrapper using a very small, light font. You can make a final decision on this as you determine your marketing plans.
Getting Started
To do a professional job and remain competitive, you should have the ability to work with graphics software. However, if you arent particularly skilled at these difficult and often frustrating programs, we recommend that your purchase our software at wrapcandy.com -- youll get great results since the software is designed specifically for the purpose of making creative and profitable wrappers. You may also have skills in a particular form of art that will lend itself to this profession. Watercolors, sewing, photography, beading, calligraphy, and even poetry writing all create their own unique packaging opportunities. In addition to our software, you will need a computer, digital camera, and a flat bed scanner. It will be easier for you if your client supplies the item to be wrapped. If he doesnt, you can up-charge the product by as much as 50%. Be sure to purchase items at wholesale prices for the best possible profit margin.
All together, not including advertising expenses, you should be able to start a candy wrapper business for $2000 -- a price that includes the computer. However, if you already own a computer and some of the other needed items, your startup costs could be as low as $200. From there, you can add to your equipment and on hand supplies as you start to make a profit. And it wont take long at all to start making money. When you start making money, you may want to upgrade to a better computer. I personally like Dell Computers. They are easy to upgrade, affordable and very reliable.
32# or 36# Bright White paper 24# paper Glossy photo paper Semi Gloss Photo Paper
IMPORTANT NOTE: No matter which paper you decide to use, be sure to price your wrappers accordingly. Scissors Once you feel that the investment will be worth it, you can upgrade from scissors to a paper cutter. A paper cutter costs from $30 - $60, and can be purchased at your local office supply store. A paper cutter makes it easier to cut your wrappers in bulk, but until you can afford one, scissors work just as well. As you make a list of your desired equipment and supplies, be sure to include edger scissors with a variety of decorative edges. They provide dozens of creative possibilities. While you are add it, check out your local craft stores for decorative hole punches these come in every imaginable shape and are great for adding detail to your wrappers as you get more sophisticated in your designs. Adhesive I use Avery permanent glue sticks as my adhesive. These can be found in the school supplies section of any department store and are acid free and photo safe. They bind very well and no problems with the drips and such that are obtained from using liquid glues. Other adhesives include, string, ribbon, and self-adhesive labels (Note on Labels, Candy Companies like HERSHEYS do NOT allow you to cover their products with permanent labels.) If you are only going to sell wrappers only, it might be a good idea to invest in some double-sided tape. While it
can be expensive, you can pass the price of the tape onto your customer by calculating it into the purchase price. You can then place a single strip of the tape on one end of each wrapper you sell, so that all the customer has to do is to wrap the label around the candy, peel the strip, and then stick the label to itself. Candy You can take any kind of candy and create customized wrappers for them. The candies that are used in my samples and templates are regular sized Hersheys Candy Bars or Crunch Bars, and also Hersheys Miniatures. Other suggestions include: For weddings and showers - Large Bon Bons, Junior Mints For senior Citizen events Cookies, sugarfree candies For Childrens parties - boxed candy, Nerds, and Milk Duds
Use your imagination! If you are marketing your wrappers or wrapped candy to a particular group or event, have candy suggestions and samples ready to show potential customers. Other items While candy is the obvious thing you think of when you think of wrappers, think beyond the norm and youll increase your business. What else can be wrapped? For starters, how about these items: Wine
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Bubble bath Soaps Candles Health food options Personalized or store bought CDs and DVDs Dog treats Tea bags Water bottles
Color Printer You can either use a laser printer or an inkjet Printer. A common misconception about inkjet printers is that they are of lower quality. This is not true. Newer ink jet printers can produce the same quality output as a laser printer. There are some advantages to laser printers, however. Laser printers ink (toner) costs less per sheet than standard inkjet printers. Also, laser printers offer a minimized chance of your work being smudged as it is instantly fused to the paper instead of "dried" to the paper. If you are going to buy a laser printer, be sure to spend some time shopping around and definitely check out the toner (ink) replacement costs. Sometimes the toner can cost as much as the printer.
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Wrapcandy Software Our software works with the following platforms: Software Platform: Win XP, Win 2000, Win 98, Win ME, and Win NT. Below, I have listed the dimensions for the labels Wrapcandy is excellent for creating all sorts of labels for just about anything like wine bottles, soaps, wedding bubbles etc. All you have to do is grab whatever you want to create a customized label for, measure the label that came off the product and add it into the program. Once its added, all youll have to do is choose that particular label whenever you get ready to design. Of course our software has per-made designs for just about anything already.
Candy Wrapper Label Sizes in Inches Wrapper Standard Bar Lifesavers Trident Mini Bars Rolos Mentos Height 5.5 2.25 2.75 1.45 5.12 5.06 Width 5.5 3 3.5 2.99 3.5 3.25
For a Full List of Label Sizes, Check out our Message Board
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The possibilities are endless in regards to the types and styles of different wrappers that you can create. Using the same basic technique each time, you can create wrappers and labels for all types of products. Dont be afraid to experiment a little and see what new ideas you can come up with. And remember, you dont have to limit yourself to candies -- if its a product with a label on it, you can customize it this way. A note about wrapping suckers: When you make wrappers for the suckers, you will create two separate pieces that you glue together. You trim the plastic wrap around the suckers to make it smaller, so that you can create a small envelope to insert the suckers in by gluing the sides of the wrappers together. Each candy company has their own policies and standards regarding candy wrapping. On the next page, I have provided the policies for Hershey Foods Corporation and Nestl. These come directly from the companies themselves. If you are interested in wrapping candy manufactures or marketed by any other company, youll want to contact them for guidelines.
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Nestl Policy
You may rewrap Nestl products, but the whole original wrapper must be intact with the nutritional information available. Please be advised that we now manufacture new flow wrappers on our Crunch bars.
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Samples
The first thing you will need to do is to create samples for your customers to see. Decide which candies you are going to sell, and create at least 5 samples of each with a variety of different themes. The most popular are Birth Announcements, Weddings, Business Promotions, Birthdays, and Valentines. The more samples you have to show, the better your chances of obtaining the customer. If you want to go all out, then create a sample for every major holiday on the calendar and dont forget to include holidays of different religions and also those designated for people of different backgrounds than yourself. The more choices you give a customer, the better the chances of getting hired and of getting repeat orders. Because chocolate melts very easily, I suggest that any chocolate samples you carry be created a slightly different way than the other types of candy. You can cut blocks of wood that are the exact same sizes as the candy bars. Once sanded and wrapped in foil, they look just like a candy bar. Theres no need to do hard candies and gum this way, but for chocolate it
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is highly recommended to use this technique just for the purpose of displaying your wrappers If you dont have someone to cut the wood out for you, then you can always visit any store that sells lumber and get one of the workers to do this for you. They may look at you weird, but most hardware stores will cut wood for you free if you are buying it from them and if they are basic straight cuts. Other suggestions for making samples include using the foam board often used for science projects or business presentations and corkboard both can easily be cut to the proper size with a basic utility knife. If you are particularly crafty, you could also fashion the shape of a candy bar out of heavy cardboard or clay. Next, place your samples in a nice basket that is easy to carry. You can line the basket with colored tissue or a nice linen. If it is too awkward for you to carry a basket, you can also place your samples in a computer notebook bag or an attractive plastic tub with a lid. Just make sure that you are using something that projects the image you are hoping for things like buckets, grocery bags, and worn tote bags all send a negative message. Finally, you need to make sure you have a selection of graphics for your customers to choose from. I purchased several clip-art programs (be sure to read the fine print about copyright usage. Not all clip-art CDs allow you to use their images commercially) that also included a book with all the pictures in it. I take these with me so that my customers can have a wide selection to choose from. Once your business picks up, you will probably do the same, but for now you can just print out some clip-art you already have. You can also find free clip art on the internet and put them in a folder that you can use for showing them to your customers, be sure you know for sure that the images are
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Royalty free and can be used commercially without infringing copyrights. Now that you have your samples done, you need to create some order forms. You can create your own, or have some custom made at your local print shop. Make them in such a way as to where you can gather all the required information on one single page. Along with this, decide which payment methods you will accept. If you plan on doing business strictly offline, then you will want to accept cash, checks, and money orders. However, if you plan to do business online, you will want to look into accepting credit cards. Why credit cards? Simply put, everyone is accepting them now, from your local retailer to the McDonalds drive-up window. You can either set up a merchant account or go through a third party merchant. Setting up a merchant account can be costly. On the other hand, third party merchant accounts accept credit cards payments on your behalf for a fee or for a percentage of each sale. Set up fees for third party merchant accounts are often low and most companies dont charge set up fees at all. Following, is a list of some third party merchants for you to consider. Research them first, asking about commitment, set up fees, transaction fees, and payment policies: Cybil Know Bill PayPal Prepay 2Checkout
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Selling
When you first start out, you will be spending a lot of time visiting local businesses and stores to get your business noticed. Gather your samples and go to area places of businesses to see if they will let you place some of your samples in the store someplace. Youll be surprised at how many places will let you do this, just make sure you speak to the manager in charge and not someone that isnt authorized to grant you permission. Once you have the okay of the manager, make a note of what type of display you would like placed in the store. I usually frame a flyer that lists my services and the costs along with a picture of some of my samples. Leave enough room at the bottom of the frame to glue a sample of your work to the front of the glass. If the manager wont let you put up a framed display, you can always use a regular flyer with a smaller sample glued to it. Youll probably have to recheck it weekly though as little fingers can sometimes grab the sample without their mothers realizing it. Once at least ten stores have agreed to display your work, you can spend some time at home creating the displays. The more stores you get your displays into, the bigger your business will grow. But this is just one way to build you customer base quickly.
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The single most effective public relations tool for a new business is the press release. A press release can get your name into the news and spread the word about your business. A press release is a statement prepared for distribution to the media for the purpose of announcing an event or occurrence. You dont have to be a fantastic writer to write a release you simply need the ability to put pen to paper and write out the following: 1. Who? Who is involved? This will probably be you, but if anyone else is involved, they should be mentioned. 2. What? What do you want to announce? It could be that you are now in the candy wrapping business, that you have just donated your product to a non-profit, or that you are expanding your product line. 3. Where? You will want to include your business location or location of the event you are promoting. For example, if you are going to hold a candy wrapping seminar, where will it be held? 4. When? When did you start offing wrapped candies? When will the non-profit event take place? List all relevant details. 5. Why? Include why you made a donation, why your seminar is valuable, or why you are expanding your business explain yourself.
Then put the information together in five paragraphs, one for each of the 5 questions listed above. Edited the paragraphs for errors and have another set of eyes look it over too. Most
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publications have a preferred format, so check out the guidelines posted on the websites of publications you are most interested in. Also listed, will be the editors preferred method of submission -- whether it is by fax, email, or through their website. You want to do this right because if your release gets the right attention, it could lead to an editor deciding to do a feature article on you, a radio station requesting an interview, or at the very least, publication for all your community to read. Additional press release guidelines: 1. Print the release on letterhead with your company name. If you dont yet have the letterhead, or an official name dont let that stop you, simply set the page up at follows:
Paragraph Who?
Second Paragraph - What Third Paragraph - Where? First Paragraph- When? First Paragraph- Why? ### (to signal the end)
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2. As demonstrated above, the body of the press release begins with the date and city in which the press release is originated. 3. Include a quote to capture attention and human interest. 4. Use an easy to read basic font like Times New Roman or Arial. 5. Double-space 6. Keep the release to two pages or less. Other public relations techniques that can get you noticed as the one to go to for candy wrappers and wrapped products include the following: 1. Teach a seminar on how to wrap various types of a candy and how to present the wrapped items as special gifts. Keep it short and cover the basics. At the end of the seminar, let your students know that you can sell them virtually any type of wrapper they might imagine. If you have them, pass out brochures for them to take home. 2. Some colleges may allow you to teach a 2 or 3 hour Saturday morning class in their Continuing Education program. Focus course content on skills and ideas you want to breed customers, not competition, so stay away from the business angle. Sororities, scouts, and civic clubs are also great places to give a quick wrapping lesson. 3. During peak gift giving seasons, let your local radio stations know about your unique product and asked to be interviewed. The smaller stations are always looking for local people to talk to and often draw a healthy number of regular listeners. This is particularly true of the morning programs that many listen to as they cook breakfast for their kids of while they commute to work.
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4. Donate your time to a non-profit fundraiser. Offer your products at a full or discounted price, but dont charge for the time it takes you to show others how to wrap candy. 5. Another technique you can use is a guaranteed money maker and guaranteed to bring you so many customers that you wont be able to keep up with the orders alone. I use this technique to bring hits to my web site, but it can be used to promote any type of business, including the one youre starting now. First you will need to decide which candy you want to make in bulk and which is most affordable. I use suckers and Hersheys mini candy bars. Suckers are the most economical as you can buy hundreds of them for just a few dollars. This is one project you will probably want the children to help with. You want to create wrappers that promote your business on them for the candy you choose to use. One the front, you design it as you normally would for a regular customer. You then place your business information on the back. Once you have made a nice bunch of these, and then make a nice display that can be set out beside registers. These will be provided free and customers will definitely pick one up quicker than they will a business card. I usually place these in a small basket that can be bought at any dollar store. Make sure you place your phone number on the wrapper so that they can call you to place their orders. Although this last idea does cost a little more than regular classified ads or public relations activities, the return is worth the investment. You can place a classified ad for around $30, dollars where maybe 10 people will respond, or you can buy a bag of suckers for $3 and have 50 people respond. I have always earned better responses by using this technique than any other, no matter which business I am promoting. This also goes for web-site hits. I have invested hundreds of dollars in banner ads on-line, with little response, yet when I
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place a few thousand suckers (costing me about $25.00) in an area where businesses are, I always see my statistics go crazy on my hit counter. Yes, it also takes some time to wrap 1,000 suckers, but I have my wrapper area set-up to where I can produce 1,000 suckers easily within a few hours with the help of a child or a friend as we visit or just during watching the news or a DVD movie. IMPORTANT NOTE: Each time you participate in an event, send a news release to the press. The more often your name is heard in public, the more in demand your products and services will become.
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first. You can create Birth Announcement Baskets and Get Well Soon Baskets. Hospitals give new mothers a bag of gifts that include samples and products of baby items when the new mothers leave the hospital. Most will include a sample of your candies as well. Create these samples as a normal birth announcement, and place your ad on the back. Use hard candy or gum when making these samples so that they wont melt. For birthdays, why not create a whole Party Set-up? For each child, include a candy candle, small bag of customized candies with a small party favor, a matching hat, and a customized gift basket for the Birthday child, where the mother provides her present to the child in it. Have her give you the present before you create the basket. The hats can be made out of 74-pound card stock and are very simple to make. Just a basic circle cut to the middle and elastic attached. Mothers and children both love these little sets and they have proven to be very popular sellers. In addition, contact local area entertainment companies. The types of businesses that hire out clowns, Barney, and dressed up characters are great businesses to sell your products to.
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The way I did this is, I first designed a knock out wrapper for weddings. I scanned a picture of the candy bar wrapped, and posted an auction. I started the auction off at $9.99 and let the bidding begin
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nicethey really mean it. I, of course did not sell, I gave it to my mom. But thats the day I realized that I had a unique talent that not everyone has. If you already have this talent, then you know exactly what I mean. If not, dont worryyou can develop your skills enough to where you can accomplish the same thing. First, you need to spend an hour or so in the craft section of your local department store to familiarize yourself with the materials you can obtain quickly if needed. Walk up and down the aisles studying everything on the shelves and making mental notes of what you see. I do this all the time at Wal-Martdrives my family crazy, but Im picturing in my mind the materials on hand and what I can possibly use them for. Next, you want to visit nature (I know, sounds weird, but do it, its very relaxing) Remember how when you were little you saw faces in the clouds? Maybe in a trees bark? Start looking for these again. Sit outside and study the clouds until you start seeing animals or people in them again. Walk through a flower garden and see if you can find the fairies among the blooms. If youre having a hard time picturing things in nature, take a child with you and ask them to point what they see out to you. Youre basically trying to see the world with childlike eyes again. Once youre able to naturally see things in nature again, start focusing on other things. For example, I can look at a ball of yarn, grab a dollpicture a dress on the doll, and start crocheting away until I have the dress created that I pictured in my mind. Take some paper mache, an old bottle, and make a clown out of it. What you are doing is trying to get creative using your own methods without having to rely on anothers instructions.
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Now turn that creativity towards your wrappers, and you will be surprised at what you create. Say that you have a lady that wants 500 candy favors for her wedding guests. There are only two companies in town that make candy favors, and she has contacted you both and said, Dont worry about the price, I want the best, and whoever shows me the best design will get my business. OK, so how do you ensure that you get the account? Well, first you see what you normally do and improve it a bit. Say you usually design wedding wrappers with a little flower bouquet on it, the brides and grooms name, etc. How about adding a small poem to the back of the wrapper. But of course that is obviously simple and something you are sure your competitor will think of as well. So you sit back and think, think weddingswrappersweddingsrings wineflowers Basically running through your mind anything you can think of that is wedding related. Hmmmrings hit a note. Rings are small, maybe you can glue some rings onto the wrappers for a neat 3D effect. Hmmmmglue.nah, but what else. Thats when you start going through the stuff you remember seeing in the craft store. Hmmm ribbonsrings.and those cute little heart-shaped hole punchersTHATS IT!! So you rush out to grab a heart-shaped hole puncher, some beautiful lacey ribbon, and the pack of the little plastic wedding rings you saw in the wedding section. You design the wrapper with the poem on the back and leave enough space on one side to punch two little hearts, each above the other. You thread the ribbon through the hearts, tie
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two rings on with a pretty bowand put the wrapper on your bar. You are pleased with the results -- you have a beautiful wrapper with an added touch of class. When you show the lady your design, she of course sees that you have designed it with a unique twist and you get the job. Who says that wrappers only have to be made of paper? If you have a customer that wont mind paying for little extras, then by all means start creating wrappers that have your own unique touches to them. Once you start seeing them as more than just wrappers, the possibilities are endless. You can create plain black and white wrappers, glue a crayon on the bottom and have something a child can color at a birthday party. You can create a valentine wrapper that has a vase printed to one side. Punch a tiny hole right on the top of the vase, and insert a tiny flower into the hole and glue it in place. Once you start thinking about it, you can come up with so many unique wrappers that your competition will not be able to keep up. And hey, you know that once you start doing this, your competition will start copying your work. But dont sweat it. While your competitors are copying, youre creating and will win every time. Okay, now that I have you rolling on the floor with laughter, thinking Im a nutI just want to point out that I may be a nut, but it works, and it works every time. Now go watch some clouds and see if you can find the little bunny sitting in the grass and
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start thinking creative thoughts. Dont look at it as a stick; see it as a beautiful fairy wand with leaves trailing on one end and a pinecone as the star. You can also look at clip art or pictures this way and change them a bit to make beautiful designs. To do this, you need to familiarize yourself with your graphics program really well. Say you have a picture of a flag, an, eagle and the Statue of Liberty. You can combine these three together and make a unique wrapper for the Fourth of July. You could put the flag in the statues hand and have the eagle flying above it, or you could put the flag in the eagles beak and have it sitting on the torch. There are so many ways you can get creative with graphics that you wont have any problems creating designs that are beautiful, unique and unlike any other offered elsewhere. (Just be sure the graphics you are using are Royalty Free and can be used for Commercial use) I know one lady that created a beautiful flower garden on one of her wrappers. She took a picture of a white fence, added pathway with flowers on each side and a beautiful willow tree. At the end of the pathway she added a bride and groom with a flowered arch. She wrote their names to look like clouds in the sky and added a small bird with a heart flying in its beak. Her wrapper turned out so beautiful that she is able to sell it at $5.00 per wrapper easily and have people ordering it like crazy. So get to know your graphics program well, learn it well and think of your wrappers as canvas and clip art as your paint. If you have any problems learning graphic design, dont worry, I thought of that as well. Wrapcandy continually adds new graphics to the support forum for Members. If you are not a member, you may consider using work from one of our graphic partners. Our current graphic partners are listed at the bottom of our home page: http://www.wrapcandy.com
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know that no one else will be offered the designs he/she decides to use. Now you want to design templates of the designs, so that you can easily change the information needed and get the order out fast, as a lot of these will be individual orders instead of bulk. Especially like for the florist. Say at Valentines Day you work with the florist to design three beautiful wrappers for her customers. She then decides to add one candy bar with one rose and one balloon to sell. She will take the orders, send you the customers information, you will print the wrapper, cut it out, wrap the bar and deliver it. She might send you 15 to 50 orders per day, based on how many orders she gets. You charge her a flat fee of $1.50 for each wrapper, and she will adjust her prices accordingly to make up for the cost. Some may even up the price a bit themselves. Once you get to know the business owners well, you will find that by working together, both of your profits will increase dramatically. After you create designs that are suitable to the business owner, then you will want to make a flyer out of a sheet of paper. Include your business information and the pictures of the designs. Dont put the prices on the flyer; just have something the owner can show the designs to her customers with. She will let them know the prices she wants to charge. Make sure you laminate the flyer, as it will be handled a lot. Now, there are a few problems you might encounter. One, a business might not want your information on the flyer, so that no one can see where she gets her products. If they dont, then design the flyer as they want it. For those that dont mind, you will probably get people calling wanting to order directly from you instead of the other business. If its a design that you offer that business alone, then make sure you tell them that they will have to order through the other company in order to get that design as that design was created for them only and you cant sell any wrappers using it to anyone else.
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Another thing you may want to do is stipulate that you must have at least 48 hours or more to fill orders and that if someone wants a rush order, they will have to pay extra for it. During some holidays, you might want to hire part-time help as well so that you can get the orders filled quickly. When you hire help, let them do the grunt work like going to purchase supplies, cutting, and wrapping, while you do the creative work and printing. And above all, MAKE SURE you check with your local chamber of commerce and get that business license you will need. If youre concerned about taxes, do as I do. I throw all my receipts into a big brown envelope and take them to H&R block. Copy all checks you get paid with, write down any cash you get paid, and keep accurate records. You can visit any local H&R block agency and one of the workers will be more than happy to help you in any way that you may need if you have questions.
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small romantic poem on the wrapper, and add a few candies to those baskets to increase the value of your product. You can also create a few other items that match the theme of the particular basket that is being sold that can be sold individually. Lets say that a husband wants a nice basket for Valentines Day for his wife. You normally sell baskets for this holiday that include items for a romantic night in the tub -Soap, candle (which can also be wrapped customized if candle is in a glass holder), candies that he can feed to her, bubbles, and a small bottle of oil that he can use for a massage. Well, you can also make another sale to this same customer if you have a bottle of Champagne that has a customized label on it along with two wine glasses with ribbons on the stems. Or how about some cheese and crackers on a tray that can be shared by the two? (Yes, you can even put customized wrappers on crackers). Once you sit down and start brainstorming, you will be amazed at the types of products that can be customized to bring you more profits in your business. You can do this for any type of product you already sell. If youre a florist, you can make candy flowers to include in your bouquets. If you make jams and jellies, then itll be simple to make customized labels for your jars. If you bake cookies, cover a box that holds your sweets. You can also use 74-pound card stock to make your own boxes. Youll be amazed at the results you get from just using the above techniques. There are other helpful suggestions in the tips, tricks and techniques section of this manual, but I doubt that you will have to advertise your business any other way to bring in customers. The above will have so many people calling to place orders that you just may not be able to keep up with the orders on your own.
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A Word on Pricing
Charge $1.75 to $5.25 per wrapped item if the included item is a simple candy bar. For example, if you charge $2.00 per piece and you get an order for 200 pieces to be distributed at a wedding reception, and charged $75 for the custom design fee, you would gross $475 on that particular order. You will charge more if the item is gourmet candy or wine. The larger the order, the lower the per item price. If at that same wedding reception, the order was for 500 pieces instead of 200, you might charge only $1.50 per piece, grossing yourself $825 including the design fee As with any creative business, you must distribute your product whenever you have the opportunity. Design wrappers for your family and friends in order to get your name out. Word of mouth will be your primary form of advertising. Beyond that, contact wedding consultants, public relations departments, and event planners. You will need business cards and brochures, as well as samples that you can show off when visiting potential clients. The cost to create your candies is very little. You can pick up candy by the bags at your local department store or warehouse. If you are a member of Sams Club then you can get them even cheaper. When determining your costs, youll have to take into account what type of candy you are creating, the cost of the candy and the time involved in designing the wrapper. I usually charge $4.00 for the designing of any type wrappers and then charge a set fee based on which type of candy it is they are ordering for. If they require a photo, then I charge an additional $1.00 for this, as the photo usually requires cropping and shaping. Of course, the customer will need to provide the photo in .jpg or .gif format, unless you have a scanner and can scan the picture yourself.
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If they order from a template that is already designed, I do not charge the $4.00 fee.
For each candy, I usually charge the following: Regular Size Candy Bars Life Savers Kit Kat Snacks Dentyne and Trident Mini Candy Bars Mint Books Suckers $1.75 - $3.50 $1.00 - $1.25 $1.00 - $1.25 $1.00 .60 .35 - .60 .55
You can also take the cost of the candy, and triple it to come up with a base price.
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from people who would not normally buy them already wrapped. Some potential customers that like to buy wrappers only are churches (they let the Sunday school classes do the wrapping), schools (they let the students do the wrapping), and mothers. Mothers like to purchase wrappers for birth announcements and birthday parties so that they can add something personal in the creation of the candies. Nursing homes have been known to buy wrappers as this gives the residents something fun and creative to do while raising funds for outings. By selling wrappers only in bulk, your profit margin increases dramatically. Plus, you save a lot of time by not having to wrap them yourself. When selling wrappers only, I usually have a minimum order of 25 wrappers and charge according to the type of candy. I also charge the regular fees if they need photos or designing.
What I normally charge per wrapper: (I charge a little more for Photo paper) Regular Size Candy Bars Life Savers Kit Kat Snacks Dentyne and Trident Mini Candy Bars Suckers $1.25 $0.50 $0.25 $0.50 $0.35 $0.35
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Considering that most of these types of businesses usually order 100 or more wrappers, then this is very profitable and time saving as you just create the wrapper, let your printer run, and cut them out. You can have 100 wrappers ready to go within 30 minutes if you cut while the others are printing.
New Offerings
Some women put on childrens birthday parties and make party favors. They use those pop up ice cream cones and wrap them up with childrens names. They throw parties for neighbors and friends at a price, of course. You can purchase party supplies on line from wholesalers. You can create party packages and get the names of each child. Balloons, party favors and even wrapping can be found at discount prices when you buy in bulk. Many of these outlets come and go, or one day they have what you want, and the next day they have other things. Because of this, I will keep an updated page for you on http://www.wrapcandy.com/supplies.html where you can find easy things to purchase. You are also invited to join www.fazzles.com for free so that you can receive a twice a month newsletter that has all kinds of goodies for working at home and general fun crafting ideas, recipes, car tips, household tips and parenting tips. You can go there and see some back issues before deciding if you would like to sign up. Your email will never be abused, and if you no longer want to receive the newsletter, its a click away to say good-bye. Join our forum at www.wrapcandy.com/clipartforum you will meet other people who are enjoying the wrap candy for fun or for profit. As you grow your business either through online auctions, from talking to your local merchants, friends and neighbors, there are ways to create an income online.
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Getting a Website
Most people who love crafting will also love creating their own websites. They express their own unique identity through color, graphics, style, and content. Like any new skill, it takes practice to master but is not terribly difficult to learn. Your website will act as your storefront and I strongly recommend you have one.
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Microsoft FrontPage is a good HTML editing program for beginners because it works a lot like Microsoft Word, with icons and a strong help system to guide you. It is reasonably priced at around $100. Dreamweaver is another web editor that works very well. However, it is quite a bit more expensive and requires advanced skills to get the most from its many features. Cash-strapped entrepreneurs on a limited budget may want to use the free web editor that we offer at: http://www.startpack.com/ Once you create your site, you will need a web host in order to get your website in front of the public. Hosting can range from $3.00 to $25.00 per month. Hosting companies generally sell domain names for about $18.00 per year. For the best overall value, we recommend the following domain registration and hosting company: http://www.wrapcandy.com/godaddy/. Go Daddy offers hosting services that start as low as $3.00 per month. You can also register your domain name there for under $8.00. Its important to select a domain name that is easy to remember and that contains your business name or activity, such as CandyWrapper.com, or ExpressWrap.com (if Express Wrap is your business name). Remember that your site can only be accessed through your web address, similar to the way people reach you at home using a phone number. If your number is hard to remember, you may not get called: the same thing is true with your web address. You want visitors, so make yourself easy to find. You need your own domain name as opposed to one of the free domain names in order to establish credibility and professionalism. Which web address sounds like it belongs to an established business: WrapperService@hotmail.com or Service@CandyWrapper.com? A personal website provides you with income flexibility. I make a nice living at home doing various things on the web and enjoy what I do It takes time to get started, but once it gets going, Ive found that the income increases with your efforts. You might find ways to make the extra dollars you need to support your candy wrapping business.
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concern for those who plan to do a lot with their site, not necessary for those featuring products and providing information. Also referred to as virtual hosting, shared hosting is not as bad as it might sound. Youll get the basics: o Basic server features o Internet connection services o Domain name registration o File storage and directory services o An e-mail account with related services. Most providers of shared hosting provide web site and web page design. Youll like the price of shared hosting better than dedicated hosting and will usually be offered 24 hour support and the option of a short term commitment. Youll get to try it all out without worry. In addition to the sites I have already recommended, you can easily set up a web site by using a service like godaddy.com or yahoo.com. Theyll first ask you to choose a domain name. Then, you sign up and download their software. The software is generally very user friendly and made for those with limited knowledge in web site building. Youll be walked step-by-step through setting up a website. You will also be provided instructions on how to maintain it. This is important because you dont want outdated material and the same old content from month to month -- you want your visitors to come back time and time again. Youll want to provide reasons for them to visit beyond simply purchasing your product. Questions to ask yourself when putting together your site include: Is it easy to navigate? Would Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) help your potential clients towards a purchase?
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Does it look credible? (avoid cheesy graphics, misspellings, and grammatical errors) Is the content is targeted to your audience? If you are using it to sell your candy wrappers, you want to think about the things those who buy candy wrappers might like to see or read about.
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Conclusion
There is no doubt that the candy wrapper business is lucrative, exciting, and full of real income potential. Creative types get the freedom to experiment with their original ideas, and accounting pros get plenty of cash to count there is an element for everyone. This manual provides all the information you need to get started. But most of all, our candy wrapping software sets you on the path to success, by providing the templates and instructions you need to start producing great products today. Self-employment can be a wonderful thing. You get to live life on your own terms, while doing the things you love and generating the cash you need. While there are many home businesses that are quite capable of providing the creative and financial desires of most of us, candy wrapping and sales presents the unique opportunity to explore our creativity with minimal risk. ###
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Resource Page
Our Candy Wrapper Software Program: http://www.wrapcandy.com Wholesale Paper, Adhesive, Ink, Printers, Foil and more for your candy wrappers: http://www.wrapcandy.com/supplies.html Hosting and Domain Registration: http://www.wrapcandy.com/godaddy/ Candy Wrapper Sayings: http://www.wrapcandy.com/sayings.html