Local candy and snack delivery route

Convenience stores, gift shops, cinemas, gyms, small grocers, school fundraisers and vending machine operators.

You sell cases at a markup over your buying price. Repeat orders from a steady set of customers on a weekly or fortnightly route build up revenue.

• Sales and relationship building
• Stock control and ordering
• Route planning and driving
• Basic bookkeeping

• Before trading, check with your provincial and municipal public health authority whether you need a food premises permit or registration for storage, and with your municipality whether you need a business licence
• Check with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency whether you need a Safe Food for Canadians licence, especially if you import or sell across provinces
• Label rules apply to what you sell, and Quebec has French-language requirements, so check them for your area
• Commercial general liability and vehicle insurance, plus product liability cover
• Margins are thin and you may wait on customer payments, so manage your cash flow carefully
• Chocolate melts in summer heat and pests can ruin stock, so plan for cool, clean, sealed storage

Startup costs are typically estimated at around $6,000 to $30,000, depending on your bulk stock, storage space and delivery vehicle. Margins can be thin and customers may pay late, so plan your cash flow with care.

Estimated monthly revenue is typically around $4,000 to $20,000, depending on how many customers you serve and how often you deliver. That is revenue, not profit, so factor in stock costs, fuel and storage.

Check with your provincial and municipal public health authority whether you need a food premises permit or registration for storage, and with your municipality about a business licence. Also check whether you need a Safe Food for Canadians licence from the CFIA, plus label rules and Quebec's French-language requirements.