Handy Candy

Handy Candy: British confectionery retail from Glasgow since 2004

Handy Candy is an online sweet retailer based in Glasgow, Scotland, trading since 2004. The company was set up by husband-and-wife team Karl and Rachel, who combined an interest in confectionery with web design experience. It describes itself as one of the longest-established online sweet companies and states that it was the first website to sell themed gift boxes, to introduce luxury wicker sweet hampers and filled jars, and to offer an authentic Pick & Mix service modelled on the old Woolworths format.

Within six months of launch, according to the company, the operation had moved from a part-time activity to a sustainable business; within eighteen months it had its own warehouse and packing facility and a team of staff. The range now exceeds 400 different sweets, with more than 200 loose varieties weighed or counted into home-compostable Natureflex bags.

Product range: retro classics, pick & mix and gift formats

The catalogue is organised around several core lines. Loose sweets cover boiled sweets, bubblegum and balls, chews and chew bars, chocolate, foams and mallows, lollies and dips, old-fashioned sweets, pencils, belts and tongues, retro classics, sour and fizzy sweets, vegan sweets and gummy sweets. The Pick & Mix service allows customers to choose from over 100 different sweets to build a personal selection.

Gift formats include sweet hampers, gift boxes, sweet jars and pouches. The hampers and gifts section is grouped by occasion and recipient: birthday boxes and hampers, chocolate gifts, kids' gift boxes, romantic hampers, sharing gifts, gifts under ten pounds, and proper wicker hampers. Filled glass clip-top jars with personalised printed labels are offered as original gifts, alongside personalised sweet jars and Kind Candy vegan pouches.

Dietary options: sugar-free, vegan and gluten-free

Handy Candy states that it has one of the largest sugar-free sweet ranges in the UK. The sugar-free selection is divided into boiled sweets, chews and toffees, gummies and liquorice, and includes branded lines such as Brays Sugar Free Sherbet Lemons, Rhubarb & Custard, Fruit Drops and Chocolate Limes. The site also lists an extensive range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free sweets, with ingredients and allergen information for the entire range available on the website and included on the labelling of all sweets and gifts.

Plastic-free packaging and environmental commitments

The company describes itself as the first online sweet company to move to plastic-free outer packaging materials and states that it is pioneering the use of biodegradable products. Its entire sugar-free range comes in compostable bags, it has switched to glass jars, and it has launched a range of plastic-free vegan pouches, with proceeds from each sale going to the UK-based charity Ocean Generation. Loose sweets are packed in home-compostable Natureflex bags, marked with a Plastic Free symbol on the website.

Seasonal and corporate gifting

Beyond individual orders, the site positions itself as a one-stop shop for seasonal gifts, covering Christmas hampers, Father's Day sweet gifts, Valentine's Day deliveries, Mother's Day gifts, Easter chocolate hampers and Halloween trick-or-treat sweets. A separate corporate sweet gifts line is listed for business customers.

Delivery, standards and company information

Handy Candy offers UK-wide shipping from £3.49, with faster delivery options available. The company states that it holds a five-star food standards rating and is a member of the ICO, the UK Information Commissioner's Office, in relation to customer data protection. Handy Candy Ltd is registered at Unit 32, Abercromby Business Centre, 279 Abercromby Street, Glasgow G40 2DD, with registered company number 05667395.