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Holiday Tips for Confectionery Franchises

on January 1, 2020

Are you thinking about buying a confectionery franchise? As the holiday season arrives, confectionery retailers know it’s an ideal time to boost revenue and consumer loyalty.

Here are 5 tips for helping your confectionery franchise be merry in the holidays:

1. Create a Calendar

Defining “the holidays” and what promotions you want to run requires some careful planning. There are lots of “days” to consider and you should decide in which sales days you want to participate, including:

  • Thanksgiving
  • Black Friday
  • Small Business Saturday
  • Cyber Monday
  • Free Shipping Day
  • Christmas Eve
  • Christmas Day
  • Boxing Day
  • New Year’s Eve
  • New Year’s Day

2. Think Early

Once you’ve determined your calendar, you need to work backward to make sure that your promotions are scheduled so that you can fulfill orders in time for special occasions. You’ll also need to schedule emails, social media, print media and online advertising so that you hit your customers with offers several times in the lead-up to the holidays.

Continue working backward for your customer acquisition strategy. A multichannel approach to acquiring new customers may include paid advertising on social channels such as Facebook and Instagram, paid search on Google and other search engines, and organic search engine optimization strategies.

3. Be Different

Know that all of the strategies for acquiring customers and making sales are ones that your closest competitors are likely also using. That’s why it’s imperative that you have a strategy that differentiates your confectionery franchise site from your competitors. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Buy traffic well before Black Friday to build product awareness and prime your audience for holiday sales
  • Focus on keywords and phrases that focus on intent, such as product-specific searches, “buy [PRODUCT],” “best [PRODUCT],” and “best deal on [PRODUCT]”
  • Create customized offers for your confectionery products that bring customers in the door and online

4. Celebrate Loyalty

Be sure to make your existing customers feel special. Early discounts, special promos or refer-a-friend discounts help to boost your return business. Cultivating your existing relationships is a much easier, and less expensive, way to generate sales.

5. Segment Your Emails

Today’s savvy customers want a relationship with the brands they use. They expect brands to have a complete understanding of their products, interactions and needs. That means you need to segment your email marketing to target past behavior and desired future behavior.

River Street Sweets is a great franchise opportunity. Our popular lines of pralines, saltwater taffy, cakes, pies and gifts are a popular opportunity to own your own business. Learn more about our franchising opportunities by contacting us today.

Keeping Your Ice Cream and Confectionery Franchise Successful During Winter

on December 1, 2019

When you own a confectionery franchise that includes ice cream, sales can be a bit slower during the winter months. Cooler weather means that fewer people are looking for a way to beat the heat with a bowl of ice cream or an ice cream cone. However, you can make sure your franchise stays as busy as ever in winter with the following ideas.

Seasonal Flavors

Customers might not be in the mood for traditional ice cream flavors during winter, but seasonal flavors can be a big hit. Consider offering special flavors for the colder months that tie into the season, such as peppermint, gingerbread, apple cider or even egg nog. Highlight these seasonal flavors in your marketing plan for winter to draw customers to your franchise. Keep in mind that only making these flavors available for a limited time can encourage customers to come to your shop, so that they don’t miss out.

Holiday Gift Offerings

Since the holiday season occurs during winter, this gives you a great way to attract customers to your confectionery franchise. Offer homemade pints of ice cream or jars of homemade ice cream toppings in addition to candy holiday gifts. You can also sell holiday gift cards for your franchise that customers can give to loved ones, which helps you gain new customers.

Hot Toppings

Ice cream on its own might not be a cold weather treat, but hot toppings can change that. Hot fudge, caramel, blueberry sauce, glazed apple slices and other warm toppings can entice customers to stop by on a cold winter day, even if it’s freezing out. Draw attention to these toppings by offering specials on hot fudge sundaes and similar ice cream treats.

Ice Cream Cakes

If you don’t offer ice cream cakes already, consider adding them to your franchise. Customers look for these cakes for birthdays and other special events even in winter. Having a selection of ice cream cakes available that can be personalized can boost business for your franchise all winter long. If your franchise offers homemade candies, keep in mind that you might be able to use these as special toppings for ice cream cakes.

If you’re interested in purchasing a confectionery franchise, please contact River Street Sweets. Our franchise provides you with an opportunity to sell ice cream, homemade sweets and other treats in your area throughout the year.

The Benefits Of The Free Samples

on July 19, 2019

If you’re considering becoming a confectionery franchise, you need to know what sets a candy franchise apart from other potential business investments. The magic of candy is, in many ways, that it can sell itself. Most products will stimulate the sense of sight when someone sees it. However, with candy and other sweets you can stimulate the sense of smell and taste. In fact, few other franchise opportunities allow you to offer out free samples to potential customers. The ability to capture the attention of not only their visual senses, but their taste and smell receptors, gives you a distinct advantage over all other business types.

Take Advantage Of The Senses

A warm Praline sample and a sweet smile is an integral part of the guest experience.

People window-shop. This has been going on for hundreds of years. There’s a reason why stores pay designers big money to craft window displays. It’s designed to attract the attention of customers passing buy and draw them in. However, this is completely dependent on visual stimulation. While you can place great looking sweet treats in a window display, it is your ability to attract the other senses that will draw customers in. 

Having the door open on your store will send out tantalizing aromas of sugar, chocolate, and fresh made ice cream cones. This will help bring in customers. Once a guest is inside your store you’ve already increases your potential of making a sale.

However, there will be some who can fight the urge to see what’s making such a delicious smell. But chances are, they will not be able to turn down a free sample.

Everyone loves free stuff. So handing out free, freshly made chocolate or other sweets, can seal the deal and instantly draw the customers in. Ideally you’ll want to use something that is freshly made and matches the aroma they are already smelling.

You’ve already connected with their sense of sight and smell. The small free sample is enough to attract the sense of taste, which may be the last push you need to give to send them into your store. 

 Well Worth The Cost

Your product is the best form of advertising you have. Even if only one person ends up buying something from a full tray of samples you’ll be making money, spreading brand awareness, and creating a customer for life. It is also one of the main benefits of opting into a confectionery franchise. No other business type has a product like this that can sell itself to customers walking by.  

Best Franchise Types to Consider for Summer

on June 3, 2019

Investing in a food franchise gives you a great way to be a business owner while offering tasty treats to costumers. During summer, certain food franchises tend to thrive, whether they’re selling treats to help people cool off or providing delicious and convenient meals for a casual lunch or evening, The following food franchises are among the best types to consider investing in for the summer months.

Ice Cream

From hot fudge sundaes and banana splits to traditional ice cream cones, ice cream franchises have a lot to offer customers. These sweet treats can provide instant relief from the heat. Some franchises offer a wide range of ice cream flavors, as well as toppings, cone types and other options.

Candy

Walking into an old-fashioned candy shop can make adult customers feel like kids again while delighting younger customers. A confectionery franchise can bring back summer childhood memories or give customers a way to create new memories with kids or grandkids. Homemade treats, such as chocolate-covered nuts, or traditional summer sweets like saltwater taffy can offer sweet-tooth satisfaction for customers of all ages.

Smoothies

Smoothie franchises offer a way to help customers cool off with a more nutritious treat. Fruit smoothies, especially those made with real fruits and lower amounts of sugar, are a good summer treat for more health-conscious customers who are craving sweetness and looking for an escape from the heat or an afternoon energy boost.

Shaved Ice

Shaved ice provides a simple yet satisfying treat when it’s hot out. These franchises typically mean you’ll be dealing with fewer ingredients overall compared to ice cream and other franchises. Customers can enjoy cooling off with a cup or paper cone filled with shaved ice and their choice of flavoring.

Barbecue

Barbecued foods go hand in hand with summer. Having a barbecue food franchise means you can provide customers with an easy, seasonal meal when they don’t want to fire up the grill at home. From barbecue chicken and pulled pork to traditional side dishes, such as baked beans or mac and cheese, these franchises can hit the spot when customers want a filling yet quick lunch or dinner.

If you’re thinking of buying a confectionery franchise this summer, River Street Sweets® gives you an opportunity to sell homemade candy, ice cream, chocolate-covered strawberries and other sweet treats. Contact us to get more information on our franchise opportunities.

The importance of Social Media as a marketing tool

on May 23, 2019

As a candy franchise owner of River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, word of mouth and foot traffic both play critical steps within your marketing approach. However, gone are the days where you can simply rely completely on potential guests discovering your storefront based on location. Now more than ever before individuals in search of sweets turn to Facebook, look up images on Instagram, and investigate how toffee is made on YouTube. With the importance of social media, it is critical for your overall success to fully take advantage of the power of social media.

1. Instant Answers
Modern consumers want instant answers. They don’t want to pick up the phone and call in hopes of a knowledgeable representative answering. They also don’t want to email and wait days for a reply. If they are unable to receive a quick reply they will turn to the competition. With social media you give guests the ability to connect and communicate with you instantly. Whether through comments on posts or through direct messages, this is an easy way to ask you questions and to begin the guest experience long before they enter your doors. You just need to make sure and reply quickly. You never know when someone will need last minute treats for a party or wants to know if the candy contains nuts.

Posting pictures of fresh candies, as they are made, is a great way to draw attention to locals and potential visitors to your city.

2. Your Pictures Sell
People love food photographs. There are entire social media accounts based completely on snapping pretty pictures of food. As a candy franchise owner that’s essentially your business. Sharing photographs of sweet treats, snacks, new creations, and anything else you sell is a great way to highlight what sets your candy shop apart.
Your pictures can also highlight the fact that you hand make a number of your treats in-house. There’s a good chance no other candy shop in the area does that. Guests may not have known this before you posted the images, which will draw them into your store.

3. Another Search Engine
YouTube not only is the second largest social media platform but it’s also the second largest search engine as well. By creating videos and posting to YouTube you can share the images on Facebook, share video links in email ads and on your homepage. You also will improve your Internet footprint as now users will be able to find you on both Google and YouTube as well as many other search engines.

Updating followers and connecting with potential guests through social media gives your candy franchise free advertising. It increases the potential of a new client discovering what you have to offer. So from answering questions posted on Facebook to highlighting your latest creations on Instagram, by using social media in your store’s marketing approach you will drive brand-new traffic to your brick and mortar location. If you’re not yet a franchise owner now is the time to act!

Our Franchise Marketing team is on your side with support for all your social media needs. We set up social accounts for your location and assist in monitoring and posting!

4 Reasons Why a Candy Store Franchise is a Smart Investment

on February 14, 2019

If you’re seeking to buy into a franchise, you owe it to yourself to consider a candy store franchise like River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen. Candy making and selling is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, and there’s no better time to invest in this lucrative and rewarding business.

1. Market Demand is Always High
The Strickland Family has been consistently successfully successful with their two candy businesses, River Street Sweets and Savannah’s Candy Kitchen for over 40 years. Market demand is always high when you offer premium candy products and superior guest experiences, as you would be able to do with a River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen franchise. While other business markets ebb and flow according to the ups and downs of the economy, the candy business retains its demand. If anything, the public flocks to quality candy stores to find familiar and soothing comfort when times are tough.

Our Lancaster, PA Franchise location, owned by the Hoffman Family.

2. Diversity of Product Offerings
With a River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen franchise, you would be able to deliver a diversity of product offerings that is unique to the industry. As a savvy businessperson, you know that diversity is essential for long-lasting success. This has been part of the recipe for success all along. You would never be relying on just one style of candy to sell in your candy store franchise. Instead, your customers could choose from a wide variety of candy flavors, textures and combinations to satisfy their sweet tooth. You will also be able to offer more than just candy. With our successful addition of an ice-cream model, as well as fresh popcorn in a variety of flavors, you’ll be able to appeal to an even wider audience as your guests delight in trying something new each time they visit.

3. High Profit Margins
The candy store business offers investors the potential for high profit margins on every product sold. When you invest in a River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen franchise, you’ll be advised on tips for finding the best sources for all your supplies and ingredients like chocolate, sugar and more. Through careful measurement and proven recipes, you’ll know exactly how much profit is made on every single piece of candy you sell. And, due to the unique nature of candies made and sold with a River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen franchise, your customers will be happy to pay premium prices on specialty candies.  After all, the candies are freshly made, right in-front of your guests as part of the River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen experience.

There’s joy for even the youngest of connoisseurs!

4. Joy in the Product
Finally, making and and selling candy is a joyful business. Customers are always happy when they purchase and consume candy. It’s a joyful product that you’ll be proud to stand behind! A candy franchise is a smart investment for these four reasons as well as many more.

Why not contact us today to learn more? We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, and to send you additional information.

Questions To Ask Before Buying a Candy Franchise

on February 14, 2019

Stan “The Candy Man” Strickland, teaching the art of the perfectly dipped praline at the Greenville, SC Pre-Grand Opening training week.

Are you thinking of starting your own business as a candy franchise owner? The opportunity to use your experience, skills and expertise in new ways is an exciting, enticing consideration. For would-be franchise owners, questions can arise about how to best prepare for franchise ownership.

Here are 6 questions to ask before buying a candy franchise.

1. What expertise do I need?
Successful candy store owners bring drive, energy, commitment and enthusiasm to the table. At River Street Sweets, we’ll handle the rest! No experience as a candy-maker is required to start your own franchise.

2. Will I need to make my own candies?
When you become a River Street Sweets candy store franchisee, you’ll receive hands-on training on the time-honored tradition of making River Street Sweets candies. You’ll learn to make our gourmet southern candies in your franchise’s onsite location using our tried and true proprietary recipes.

3. What training will I receive?
When you become a franchisee, you will spend some time in our Savannah flagship store, learning about our history, operations, and management, in hands-on training sessions. You’ll learn about our policies and procedures, concept and brand values. And when your store opens, we provide at least 7 days of on-site support and training.

4. What funding options are there for franchises?
Like with any franchise, there are many options available to finance your small business. While River Street Sweets does not offer direct financing, we can help refer you to qualified lending and financing options.

5. How do royalties work?
When you become a River Street Sweets franchise, you will pay an initial franchise fee of $40,000*.  This does not include the costs of acquiring a retail location. Franchisees will pay 5 percent of gross sales for the preceding week, a monthly technology fee of $250*, and up to 2 percent* of gross sales from the previous week for marketing. These fees help River Street Sweets provide our franchise owners with ongoing support and training, system improvements, and the creation of new products and services. Our marketing strategies help you promote the brand and build and execute local marketing campaigns to drive more business and sales to your retail location.

6. What products should I sell?
We have decades of experience delivereing high-demand products to our customers. Our signature pecan pralines, chocolates, ice-cream & gelato, pastries, and popcorn, offer something to satisfy every sweet tooth.

To learn more about what it means to become a candy store franchise owner, contact us today to get started

(* Values and percentages are accurate at the time of this post. Any future changes that may occur will be noted in your agreement prior to signing.)

How We Support Your Candy Franchise Endeavor

on February 14, 2019

The key ingredient in any successful franchise is the training and support that you receive from your franchisor. Without that, a new franchise owner could waste considerable time, effort and money while they try to learn everything it takes to succeed in that particular franchise. At River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, we believe that our franchise owners deserve the best training and support that we can offer. That’s why we are committed to providing a variety of training and support methods to help our franchisees succeed in their new business enterprise.

Online Sessions
The beginning of your training starts with online sessions conducted by our trainer, Rebecca Anderson. Rebecca is highly esteemed at River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, and she knows as much—or more!—about the company as anyone who’s ever worked here. Rebecca’s online sessions go into detail about the history of the company, the basic processes of RSS•SCK’s candy creation, as well as store operations and procedures. The sessions also include the fundamentals of running a candy store franchise and job training in all areas and store stations. “It’s important for a candy store franchise owner to understand every aspect of the business.” says Anderson.

Feedback
Of course, no training is complete without an assessment of what has been learned. After each segment of the online sessions, franchisees take a short quiz to test them on what they’ve absorbed. This is an excellent way for the trainer to identify areas that need repetition or perhaps another viewing of the training session.

Franchise Training Team at Greenville, SC conducting live training prior to the Grand Opening on February 8, 2019.

Hands-On Training
The next step in the training and support process is for some in person, hands-on training at either our headquarters, or in one of our existing stores. There, the candy franchise owner, manager and key personnel are trained in candy making, one-on-one. This portion of the training, which takes about three weeks, is conducted by the resident expert in that certain confection; be it chocolates, fudge, pralines or something else. The owners and accompanying parties learn everything about the candies, including the recipes and the cooking/creation of the confection. In
addition, safety and maintenance protocol is covered in depth, so that safe equipment operation can be practiced at all times. Extended training is available if the standard three weeks training proves insufficient.

On-Location Training
Once your store is ready to start filling the cases and the grand opening is near, our dedicated training team comes to your store to conduct live training, and in-depth guidance in all areas of your new candy franchise. We are with you every step of the way.

As you can see, at River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, training and support are an integral part of what we offer with our franchise opportunities. We understand that your success depends on your knowledge and ability to learn our proven concepts, and we’re determined to pass that on to our valued franchisees. To learn more about franchise opportunities with us, please contact us today!

Choosing the Right Location

on February 14, 2019

Lisa Warriner at her Greenville, SC ribbon cutting February 8, 2019
Lisa Warriner at her Greenville, SC ribbon cutting February 8, 2019

River Street Sweets has been a Savannah staple for years. Locals and tourists alike all love walking the cobblestone paths of River Street as the smell of freshly made candy fills the air, bringing them into the world class candy store. From toffee and fudge to bear claws (Loggerheads) and chocolate covered nuts, this family owned candy store is as much a part of Savannah as Forsyth Park, horse drawn carriages, the Girl Scouts, and the Mercer House. And now, you can bring a little slice of Southern heaven into your own neck of the woods by taking advantage of a franchise opportunity.

As is the case with River Street Sweets, location is so important. It’s not just about setting up shop anywhere. You need to be where the people are! Where the smell of warm, caramelized sugar and chocolate fills the air. Have you ever walked past a bakery with no intent on buying bread but that wonderful smell caught you by the nose and pulled you in? That’s what you want with your candy shop. You want to be around foot traffic, where pedestrians walk past and see you making the candy and, just as important, smell you making the candy. You then seal the deal with a free sample and they just can’t stop at one bite.

So when searching for a destination for your very own River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, you need to search for the right location. Where do people walk? Is there a favorite location in town where workers, families and visitors to town commonly visit and walk past? If so, that’s where you want to be. Because while people have access to candy throughout the day, it’s the sweet smell of freshly made handmade candies that brings them in.

Inside the Greenville, SC franchise location.

Opening Your Own Candy Franchise Heaven Has Never Been Easier.

Running a candy franchise is fun! When you were a kid, if you could have opened a candy shop, wouldn’t you have? As the owner of a River Street Sweets • Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, it’s your job to put smiles on faces. People from all walks of life, having all kinds of days, will walk past, and the moment they smell what you’re making and taste a bit of buttery, sweetened heaven, they’ll forget their troubles and know there really is a heaven, because they just bit into it. That’s what owning a candy shop is all about and why it’s so important to find that perfect location to share your joy with those around you

4 Advantages of a Candy Store Franchise in the Holiday Season

on November 29, 2018

There’s never a better time to run a candy store franchise than during the holiday season! Your candy store will be one of the most popular stops when you leverage the following four advantages during the holiday season!

1. Candy is a Popular Gift Item

From stocking stuffers to party hostess gifts and presents under the tree, candy is a popular gift item during the holidays. Your customers will flock to your candy store to find quality and one of a kind confections to give to family and friends. As well as gifts that can be ordered in your store and shipped anywhere in the US, using our state of the art shipping facility that supports your candy franchise store seamlessly.

2. Diets Are Put on Hold During Holiday Season

Indulgence has always been associated with the holidays. Even Charles Dickens’ famous novel, A Christmas Carol culminates in Scrooge joining the Cratchit family around a large feast along with Tiny Tim and the rest of the family. Diets are put on hold during the holiday season as people freely partake of their  favorite indulgences. Your candy store franchise offerings will be popular for use as candy bowl fillers, sweet recipe ingredients and dessert dishes.

3. An Opportunity to Introduce New Confections

As more people visit your candy franchise store during the holiday season, some of them will be long and loyal customers, but many of them may be first time visitors. Whatever their status, the holidays are the perfect time to introduce new products. Your customers may be more likely to want to experiment with beautiful and interesting confectionery temptations. If you have anything new up your sleeve, now’s the time to put it on display!

4. The Chance to Hold a Holiday Event

Parents are always looking for festive events around the holidays to entertain their children of all ages. This is an opportune time to hold a holiday event at your candy store franchise. Consider having a small tree lighting ceremony in your front shop window. Or have customers sign up for mini candy making classes. You could even host a visit from a certain person from the North Pole for the smaller children. Make the most of these holiday events by passing around trays of free samples of your sweet treats. This will help boost sales long after the holidays!

If you’re still on the fence about opening up a candy store franchise, just take a look around you during the holidays. Everyone is stocking up on their favorite confectioneries. Why wait? There are holidays to celebrate all year round and there’s always a good reason to celebrate with candy!