Online sweet shop and gift boxes

Gift buyers, people missing nostalgic sweets, party and wedding planners, and small businesses buying corporate gifts.

You sell bags, boxes and bundles at a mark-up on wholesale cost, with postage charged or built into the price. Gift boxes and subscriptions can raise the average order.

• Setting up a simple web shop
• Photography and social media
• Careful packing and order handling
• Customer service by email or chat

• Food business registration with your local council, plus a possible hygiene inspection of your home set-up, check what applies
• Labelling, allergen and ingredient information for pre-packed sweets sold online, check the current rules
• Distance selling rules on returns and cancellations for consumers, though some food items have exceptions, check the details
• Permission from a landlord or mortgage lender if you store stock and pack at home
• Melting chocolate and damaged parcels in warm weather, plan packaging and postage carefully
• Public liability and product liability insurance

Startup costs are typically around £500 to £3,500, depending on how much stock you buy, how your web shop is set up and what packaging you choose. Treat this as an estimate and price your own plan.

Monthly revenue is typically around £200 to £3,000, depending on your niche, how many orders you pack and how well you market the shop. These are estimates, not guarantees, and revenue is not the same as profit.

Check whether you need to register as a food business with your local council, and whether a hygiene inspection of your home set-up applies. Also check the current labelling, allergen and ingredient rules, and distance selling rules on returns.