International Candy E-commerce Website

[Twiizlar]

Hello all! I have a new project that im working on. I am basically creating a ecommerce website that sells candy all over the world. The website will sell candy from all over the world. The website will show the best sellers in each country so if someone wants to try one from another country they can know whats popular.

Currently i have made an excel sheet and have researched and found about 50 candies each popular in their own country. I have about 16 countries right now. I will expand in the future. I created a shopify store and adding each candy has been such a pain. Finding the right description, picture, and price takes some time. Right now i have about 13 entries in.

For right now i have found the candy on amazon. I know i need to find my own suppliers but just to test the market i am using amazon. If i want to use suppliers i have most likely have to find a supplier for each country (which will take some time). So for now my prices are higher than they are on amazon.

Now i have a couple questions.

1. How do i keep the candy in stock? I dont have much money to work with ($150) so buying each candy im going to sell will not work.

2. How should i market this website?

3. Is there a faster way to enter the products into shopify (this process is slowing me down the most)?

4. What can i do about pictures? Since i dont have the candies on hand i cant take them myself. I am currently using pictures i find on google but they are all different size/quality.

Thank you for reading this and i will keep you guys updated.

 

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[Deon]

Just so you know... I would buy from you. I live in the US and sometimes miss some candy from home.

I don't know how I can help you with those questions, because I'm not experienced enough... but if you have any questions about french candy/chocolate/cookies, etc let me know.

Good luck!

 

[Ninjakid]

I actually like his idea a lot. So if yo have something up and running, I will totally be a customer.

To be honest with you, $150 is not really enough to start selling a physical product. Also I don't know what the regulations are like in your area, but you may need to pass inspection because you're handling food. Again, I'm not sure, so you should look into this.

If I were you though, I would buy some exotic type candies that you can't find in stores where you live, and sell those. You can market your site as selling really unique candies that people would be interested in. The design of your page should be very inviting, kind of like a candy store.

Also make sure the prices are reasonable to not deter customers.

As for pictures, show the pictures when you actually have the products. Not before.

 

[Ravens_Shadow]

Here's a good example of a competitor. http://www.americansweets.co.uk/

These types of websites appear to buy in bulk, but they would obviously have some sort of forecasting and projection of sales gathered from data over time to prevent expiration.

The main problem that occurs with buying items like this is the expiration dates and having unsold, soon to be expired candies.

I'd recommend you hustle a fair bit more cash before you go into this venture as you do need to deal with international shipping costs, compensation for melted candy, and other random charges and money draining things you'd never think of.

However, to test the waters you could make a website asking customers what types of candies they would like on the website, how many they would buy etc. Basically pre-sell your candy before you even have it. As a matter of fact, you should have most candies listed before you even own them to see if people will even buy them. From these various clicks you can gather data on how many people actually want to use your service.

Once the customer clicks, don't just say "lol sorry, just a test", and let the lead go cold, never to return. Keep their lead and get their email, say we will email you as soon as your candy is in stock!

If you could create an international site that hosts all candies of all possible countries and ship to all possible countries you could have a fairly good business on your hands.

If not that, market very niche type candies that are hard to find.

 

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[JoeB]

Just so you know... I would buy from you. I live in the US and sometimes miss some candy from home.

This is a bit like your Mum telling you your new business idea is a good one.

You say you would buy, but have you ever bought? I'm sure there are loads of companies who will ship candy to the US if you know what you want.

 

[Polarbeans]

I come from Sweden. We are the people in the world who eats the most candy per capita (at least were, can't say exactly for 2014).

We have probably one of the highest standards in the world in regards to flavour/color/taste etc. In Sweden, people buy candy per weight.

Like this:

1. You go in to a candy store or grocery store
2. pick a small paper bag
3. take a ladle
4. pick the candy you want from the (probably) 75+ boxes of different types
5. pay by the weight

You should read up on studies done in the Swedish candy-market. If you could take this concept, put it online and introduce it to the rest of the world, it would be more than you can handle alone.

"Lol we have this too!" - Yeah I know this exists in many other countries, but not like in Sweden. I have visited many countries in Europe. I've lived in the US and I've been around in Asia. I have never seen it.

Yet, when I lived in the US, my mom sent me 4.4 lbs of "our type" of candy. People from the whole dorm came to taste it.

This could be some guidance for you


Oh and I know there is a Swedish couple living in NYC who has opened a candy store that sells swedish-type of candy. I don't remember the name though..

 

[Polarbeans]

The main problem that occurs with buying items like this is the expiration dates and having unsold, soon to be expired candies.

I totally agree with this

 

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[Lauryn]

This is exciting.

In terms of photos, grab a buddy or college student with a camera, order some of the candy and have a photo shoot.
Create a brand around delicious stories featuring the rich cultural history of said candy.

 

[Ronnie]

Candy isn't my thing, but I think it would work if you find the right products. How about contacting artisan candy makers from different countries?

Also, did the cleaning, car detailing, sneaker classifieds and phone repair ideas work out for you?

 

[Twiizlar]

Candy isn't my thing, but I think it would work if you find the right products. How about contacting artisan candy makers from different countries?

Also, did the cleaning, car detailing, sneaker classifieds and phone repair ideas work out for you?

Sneaker classifieds didn't work. I couldn't get enough of a community. This was my first business so that's why I think it failed. I still think it will work I just need a partner or an investment for more marketing dollars.

The cleaning business was tough. I had everything set up (website, employees) but I just couldnt get any clients. I tried multiple channels but it didn't work out. Also I moved away from the city for college so I just dropped it. Same thing goes for the detailing business.
The phone repair idea was half-assed. I didn't even try on that one.

 

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[exclusives88]

Something you may consider is making it into subscription based business. Market the business via facebook ads, adwords and try to get pre-orders one month in advance. You can use the revenue to buy your candy. Otherwise, I don't think $150 is enough for inventory. Maybe raise money from family and friends?

 

[Deon]

This is a bit like your Mum telling you your new business idea is a good one.

You say you would buy, but have you ever bought? I'm sure there are loads of companies who will ship candy to the US if you know what you want.

Ok Mr. Smarty

I was not saying it's a good idea because I would buy, that's why I added the "just so you know". I just said I would personally buy. We all read TMF and we all know that people telling you they would buy is not a good indicator.

 

[Twiizlar]

If i buy the candy as a "gift" on amazon and send it to the buyer on my website will they know that its from amazon or the price?

 

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[Twiizlar]

I dont have much time to work on this for this week and next week because it is finals week in my college. I did add 16 products which took some time. I have 26 more to go. I have not even touched website design. I am simply trying to add all the products first. Also some products have 4-5 flavors so i add those in too.

 

[jmac]

1. How do i keep the candy in stock? I dont have much money to work with ($150) so buying each candy im going to sell will not work.

2. How should i market this website?

3. Is there a faster way to enter the products into shopify (this process is slowing me down the most)?

4. What can i do about pictures? Since i dont have the candies on hand i cant take them myself. I am currently using pictures i find on google but they are all different size/quality.

1. You can't keep products in stock, you don't have the funds to do it. You need to find drop shippers. But with drop shipping, having a low average order value is not worth the time and effort of processing so many transactions. Dropshipping in my experience works best with products in the $150-$300 range. If margins are only 10-20% for drop shipping a $150 product you will make GROSS $15-30 per transactions. If you do 100 transactions you can make anywhere from $1,500-$3,000 GROSS profit (not net after advertising costs which you will need to start). In contrast if your average order value for candy is $15 (that could be high) and you make 20%, you will make $3 per order GROSS (not net) profit). You will need to process 5 to 10 more orders to make the gross profit. That is 5 to 10 more customers who need tracking, who want to know where there order is, who you have to check for fraud, who you have to keep products in stock, who may complain their chocolate bar melted, who may want to return, etc. etc. etc. I have seen it all with customers. The more you can make per transaction the better off you are. (law of effection - you read Millionair Fastlane, no?)

NET PROFIT = Units Sold (Scale) X Unit Profit (Magnitude)
@MJ DeMarco (2011-01-04). The Millionaire Fastlane : Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime (p. 145). Viperion Publishing. Kindle Edition.

For drop shipping you want to leverage Magnitude of unit profit to cut down on the time it takes to make the same amount of money allowing you to provide more value to each of your customers.

How can you increase magnitude? What about gift baskets of candy from each country that are in the $150 range? Work with a drop shipper and focus on gifting of these products.

2.Google AdWords, Bing Advertising, Google Product Listing Ads, Amazon Product Ads, Google Re-targeting, Email Marketing (retaining customers that you paid to acquire from the previous activities), SEO Best practices (don't focus on hacks, just follow the best practices and offer something amazing that people will link to and you can attempt to get press about.

3. Import the products in a CSV file, http://docs.shopify.com/manual/your-store/products/import-products
Pay someone on Elance.com $4-8 per hour to input them in for you or create the csv from overseas. Preferably the Philippines as from my experience they speak the best English and can understand what you want to do the easiest. Make sure you document your procedures, make screen casts, and monitor their work closely in the beginning to make sure they do exactly what you want. Use a time tracker that screen shots their screen to see what their doing and don't pay them if they were doing something else for a certain time.

4. Use the images from Google, make some sales, save up your funds, and then buy the product and take the pictures or hire a photographer to take beautiful pictures of your gift baskets.

This is how I would approach it and I actually own an online store and have done everything I said above. If you want more details on drop shipping check out - EcommerceFuel.com and download their free ebook on Drop Shipping. Andrew that runs the site is a straight up ecommerce beast and I also recommend taking his class, save up your money from every sale and invest in advertising that returns profit and then make sure to leverage retention techniques to push it further.

Good Luck @Twiizlar !

 

[jmac]

@Twiizlar - Sorry forgot to mention one thing, with advertising online you want to focus on minimum 400% ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) this normally can produce enough profit to justify the cost of acquiring a customer, just make sure you have a solid retention plan in place that continues to communicate value to the customer after they purchase and can re-activate them to buy more and increase their lifetime value.

The biggest mistake I see people make is not knowing advertising systems. They just say, when I have money I will start AdWords and set it up. Even when I had no money I spent my time and learned Google AdWords on my own. I hustled and went out to dry cleaners, cab companies, pet grooming and services and other companies and got accounts to setup their advertising on Google and learn it. I got paid to learn the system, I got a Google Agency account and Google paid for my $100 fee to take the AdWords test and now I am AdWords certified. When you don't have money you will have time, use that time wisely and spend time learning all the advertising systems and test some things out, even if in the short term you need to find a client and use their money to learn it (while of course providing value and return for them). Learn all the systems I mentioned above now and be prepared when you are ready to invest your cash into ads. The difference will be having a minimum 400% ROAS or being the business owner who says, Google AdWords and Facebook Ads don't work for my business. No they could work for your business but you thought you could put $500 in and spend 15 minutes crafting an ad with no thought into your landing page and not testing different versions of your ad and that would return. Sorry you need to be on your grind when you launch an ad campaign, you can't just sit back and think all it takes is money. It takes strategy, execution, and optimization bro.

Again, good luck, hopefully this is all helpful for you.

 

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[~Phil]

I helped my son with a candy fundraiser for his baseball team. We bought candy at the local Walmart and then resold it. You could start in a similar way to build up money for inventory. When you get an order, pick it up at Walmart or Costco. This will also allow you to send fresh product and not worry about your inventory expiring on you.

Also look locally for a specialty bakery or candy maker you could jv with them. I live in a very rural area and we have at least 2 specialty candy shops in my area

 

[camcam]

Candy from around the world subscription service? Take it and run.

 

[jaykla]

>>>see next post

 

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[jaykla]

Candy from around the world subscription service? Take it and run.

That would be something like this, no?
https://bocandy.com/

 

[Bila]

@Twiizlar - Sorry forgot to mention one thing, with advertising online you want to focus on minimum 400% ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) this normally can produce enough profit to justify the cost of acquiring a customer, just make sure you have a solid retention plan in place that continues to communicate value to the customer after they purchase and can re-activate them to buy more and increase their lifetime value.

The biggest mistake I see people make is not knowing advertising systems. They just say, when I have money I will start AdWords and set it up. Even when I had no money I spent my time and learned Google AdWords on my own. I hustled and went out to dry cleaners, cab companies, pet grooming and services and other companies and got accounts to setup their advertising on Google and learn it. I got paid to learn the system, I got a Google Agency account and Google paid for my $100 fee to take the AdWords test and now I am AdWords certified. When you don't have money you will have time, use that time wisely and spend time learning all the advertising systems and test some things out, even if in the short term you need to find a client and use their money to learn it (while of course providing value and return for them). Learn all the systems I mentioned above now and be prepared when you are ready to invest your cash into ads. The difference will be having a minimum 400% ROAS or being the business owner who says, Google AdWords and Facebook Ads don't work for my business. No they could work for your business but you thought you could put $500 in and spend 15 minutes crafting an ad with no thought into your landing page and not testing different versions of your ad and that would return. Sorry you need to be on your grind when you launch an ad campaign, you can't just sit back and think all it takes is money. It takes strategy, execution, and optimization bro.

Again, good luck, hopefully this is all helpful for you.

That was my mistake, 2 facebook ads with no return ( not enough anyway ) ......for sure next time, will read more

 

[Silverhawk851]

The biggest mistake I see people make is not knowing advertising systems. They just say, when I have money I will start AdWords and set it up. Even when I had no money I spent my time and learned Google AdWords on my own. I hustled and went out to dry cleaners, cab companies, pet grooming and services and other companies and got accounts to setup their advertising on Google and learn it. I got paid to learn the system, I got a Google Agency account and Google paid for my $100 fee to take the AdWords test and now I am AdWords certified. When you don't have money you will have time, use that time wisely and spend time learning all the advertising systems and test some things out, even if in the short term you need to find a client and use their money to learn it (while of course providing value and return for them). Learn all the systems I mentioned above now and be prepared when you are ready to invest your cash into ads. The difference will be having a minimum 400% ROAS or being the business owner who says, Google AdWords and Facebook Ads don't work for my business. No they could work for your business but you thought you could put $500 in and spend 15 minutes crafting an ad with no thought into your landing page and not testing different versions of your ad and that would return. Sorry you need to be on your grind when you launch an ad campaign, you can't just sit back and think all it takes is money. It takes strategy, execution, and optimization bro.

This.

But also, don't get discouraged either. I lost thousands, but kept on grinding till I figured out strategy to make it work.
Alot of times, it is tough selling physical products on FB, or any type of display advertising.

The question you need to answer is...how much to I need to spend to get 1 customer to buy, which is your Cost Per Acqusition.

spend however much you need to figure that number out.

Then you figure out how to bring that number lower... changing ads, landing pages, angles, etc, I.e Optimize.

When your CPA is lower than your Profit per customer, your making bank i.e, Basically your spending $1 to make $2.

Good luck, great idea.

Btw, they have these Jelly Cola candy they make in Middle East/asia, by the company Haribo. I'd buy a box for sure

 

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