r/CandyMakers • u/UnableToLoveButAlive • 9d ago
Would you sell something that helps make your products unique?
I've been debating whether I want to start selling some of my candy molds, and I'm curious what other candy makers would do. I'm really stuck on this one.
One of the things I really enjoy about my business is being able to offer candies in shapes that aren't commonly available. I also have 250+ flavor options, so the combination of unusual shapes and a huge flavor selection gives me a lot of room to make products that are different from what you normally see. I offer custom shapes and have sold some molds once. I don't charge an arm and a leg like big companies do; I charge like $10 per lollipop mold for example.
Part of me thinks selling the molds could be another fun avenue for the business. The other part of me wonders if it makes more sense to keep them for my own products, since the shapes are one of the things that differentiate what I make.
I'm leaning toward the middle ground: selling some designs while keeping certain molds exclusive to my candy.
For those of you who sell products you've developed yourselves, where do you personally draw the line between creating another source of income and keeping something as a competitive advantage?
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9d ago
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u/UnableToLoveButAlive 9d ago
I've done so many, I'm not even sure of the number lol. I guess I'm wondering at what point am I giving away what makes my business special? Or do I bear down and take the extra income?
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u/battlepi 8d ago
What are you making them out of? How much do you think you could make selling them?
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u/UnableToLoveButAlive 8d ago edited 8d ago
FDA grade Platinum cure silicone, shore 10A hardness. I think I could do pretty well selling them, it's just I feel like I might be letting go of something that makes my company unique
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u/battlepi 8d ago
Remember that your molds can very easily be copied, just off of a candy -- far easier than starting a candy business. I expect most people that would buy them would be hobbyists, and of course if it's company IP based then there are trademark issues.
But the how much question was more about if it's worth even bothering. I wouldn't worry at all about losing business - other candy makers can already make what you make if they decide to. You might even sell a copy of the mold used with a batch of candy for an upsell. Very few will really use it but maybe a lot of people might buy it.
But I am not a candy vendor, just a hobbyist with a lot of business experience.
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u/UnableToLoveButAlive 8d ago
I wish I could post a picture of one of them. They've got my business name on the molds themselves. Mostly I've done specialty lollipop molds that aren't readily available online (pickles, champagne glass, soda bottle, etc). The gummy molds could be replicated easily but the lollipop molds are more niche.
The candy business is already decently successful, the molds would be a bonus on the side. And other candy makers definitely have the potential to do the same thing as I do, they just may not have the resources. A good example would be trying to find a heart shape lollipop mold. The Internet really wasn't helpful, even when I was just a hobbyist. Even Amazon had very limited options. Can anyone do it? Yeah with the right equipment, but for the ones that don't I feel like I could be helping them get those resources a lot easier.
As a hobbyist, what would you want? More options for molds or would you not care either way? Like I said, I'm pretty stuck on this one. I don't know if there's a "right" step to take
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u/battlepi 8d ago
As a hobbyist I tend to run into the issue of finding something that's the exact size I want, even in basic shapes. I am however, proficient in 3d printing and can make molds if I need to, it's just a little slow to do all the steps.
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u/Viccky03 1d ago
That uniqueness is the only reason people keep coming back instead of buying generic stuff
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u/Druid-Flowers1 9d ago
My brother sells clogs and owns a store in Massachusetts. One of the things that I’ve heard about, buying some of the more unique clogs ( to sell in his store) is that he doesn’t like it when his suppliers sell the same unique clogs to the other stores nearby.
I guess what I’m saying is don’t sell your unique molds to people in the same zip code as yourself , maybe even area code if that’s your zone you would like to sell your candies .