Here’s the small confectionery companies making life a little sweeter

Taking time out from our busy lives for a break is something that is vitally important for us all, with the chance to recharge your batteries and switch off from a digitally-dominated age being extremely welcome.

I felt very fortunate to do just that with my family, as we ventured down to Devon for a fresh set of adventures, but it wasn’t too long before the very lovely site of a traditional confectionery store greeted us by the sea, with the delightful name of “Toffee Nosed.”

While I had made a point of switching off, this was an instant trip down memory lane from the 80s, to a time when sweets were still sold in jars as was the way since Victorian times in the UK, with a host of sweet treats on offer, from cola bottles and candy sticks, through to quirky offerings in the form of Marshmallow kebabs and “Seagull Poop” for that quintessentially quirky British summertime experience.

As I’ve previously remarked on, it has been heartening to see in the past few years that as far as Britain is concerned at least, we have seen a slight return for such traditional confectionery stores in recent years, which have been founded on wave of nostalgia.

Though I doubt you’ll ever find that any of these admirable enterprises are destined to have significant financial turnover, can you actually put a price on delivering the kinds of smiles and sheer enjoyment that residents and tourists alike gain from visiting such shops?

I’d say they are entirely welcome in the fact that they offer a unique experience that simply walking into a large retail store can’t provide, and as such, they really do need to be supported as much as possible. Here in the UK, small businesses are presently feeling the pain of national insurance tax hikes – which are perhaps inevitable given the stretched state of our UK finances. But it’s clear that those very same companies that collectively form the lifeblood of our nation’s economy have to be offered some clear incentives to enable them to stay in business amid ongoing challenging times.

With all the extremely concerning events that are going on in the world right now, indulging in an occasional treat is something we could all do with right now, so here’s to the smaller companies around the world that are helping make life a little sweeter.

• Neill Barston, editor, Confectionery Production.  Keep in touch at [email protected] or @confectionprod or our Linkedin pages