Wanting to start a business

[DadofGlutenfreedaughters2]

Good morning/evening wherever we all are I'm new and having been stuck indoors on furlough because of the pandemic has got me wanting a whole new career change, I have been thinking for a few months now I'd like to create an online Gluten free sweet shop as my daughters are gluten free/coeliac and I'd like to just give the coeliac amongst us the carefree visit and purchasing of sweets etc without having the worry of picking something contaminated etc and just being able to shop at ease and with confidence at an affordable cost as well any information you guys have on this would be entirely grateful and any self input on what sweets you'd like to see and how you'd like to shop/purchase basically just any inputs would be great. 

Hope you're all having a great day

All the best and stay safe 

Dadofglutenfreedaughters 👍🏻

[cristiana]

Hi there,

I remember that Coeliac UK used to list gluten free sweets in their printed Food and Drink Guide but unless I'm missing something, those listings no longer appear, although they do list supermarket own products.

Of course they may be trying to discourage us coeliacs from eating sweets for dental health/waistline reasons (!) but I have to say, as a non-drinker and non-smoker I enjoy a nice piece of chocolate!  

I think what people would like most, in my opinion, is a shop where absolutely everything is gluten free and that would be an amazing treat for a child who is normally told, "You can't have this, you can't have that".  It reminds me of the old gluten free ads (was it for Tesco?) where a child's party was thrown where absolutely everything on the table was from the Gluten Free Range.   The look on the child's face said it all.

It might be worth contacting Cadburys and finding out if you can source gluten free chocolate from them direct as for some reason, gluten is in some of their chocolate products but not others.  They do periodically produce individually wrapped "squares" of Dairy Milk and indeed put them in their Roses collection all year round - but they don't seem to be in the shops all the time?  Strange?  

That said, I'm hoping that when their production line returns to the UK from Germany, they are going to make it ALL gluten free!

From a parental point of view, small bars, small sweet rations rather than huge bags.   I think children love the old idea of sweets in jars, so small quantities can be purchased in old fashioned paper bags. 

And I believe all or most Swizzles of Matlock sweets are gluten free- my children always loved those.  

Lastly, perhaps you could consider working with a local gluten free baker to produce birthday cakes, too?

 

Cristiana

 

 

 

 

[DadofGlutenfreedaughters2]

1 hour ago, cristiana said:

Hi there,

I remember that Coeliac UK used to list gluten free sweets in their printed Food and Drink Guide but unless I'm missing something, those listings no longer appear, although they do list supermarket own products.

Of course they may be trying to discourage us coeliacs from eating sweets for dental health/waistline reasons (!) but I have to say, as a non-drinker and non-smoker I enjoy a nice piece of chocolate!  

I think what people would like most, in my opinion, is a shop where absolutely everything is gluten free and that would be an amazing treat for a child who is normally told, "You can't have this, you can't have that".  It reminds me of the old gluten free ads (was it for Tesco?) where a child's party was thrown where absolutely everything on the table was from the Gluten Free Range.   The look on the child's face said it all.

It might be worth contacting Cadburys and finding out if you can source gluten free chocolate from them direct as for some reason, gluten is in some of their chocolate products but not others.  They do periodically produce individually wrapped "squares" of Dairy Milk and indeed put them in their Roses collection all year round - but they don't seem to be in the shops all the time?  Strange?  

That said, I'm hoping that when their production line returns to the UK from Germany, they are going to make it ALL gluten free!

From a parental point of view, small bars, small sweet rations rather than huge bags.   I think children love the old idea of sweets in jars, so small quantities can be purchased in old fashioned paper bags. 

And I believe all or most Swizzles of Matlock sweets are gluten free- my children always loved those.  

Lastly, perhaps you could consider working with a local gluten free baker to produce birthday cakes, too?

 

Cristiana

 

 

 

 

Hi Cristina 

Thank you for your response definitely alot of things to take on board there so thank you and ideally I'd love to start off as a like sweet shop and then gradually build up to having everything that's gluten free it's definitely crossed my mind that's for sure so thank you for your time and reply I will definitely be taking everything you have said in mind and be trying to put this plan into place that's for sure 

Hope you have a great day 

Many thanks 

Dan 

[Scott Adams]

Not to discourage you, but I can say starting any online retail business now is harder that ever, mainly because of how huge Amazon and now Walmart, have become for online shopping. 

[DadofGlutenfreedaughters2]

1 hour ago, Scott Adams said:

Not to discourage you, but I can say starting any online retail business now is harder that ever, mainly because of how huge Amazon and now Walmart, have become for online shopping. 

I appreciate your response but it won't discourage me I live in the UK so Walmart means nothing to me and as with amazon they are just a gluten free based company so people still have to search and search and search whereas with a gluten free only website or online store its all there waiting for you to find it without having to search half as much so it won't discourage me I had a cardiac arrest last year at the age of 32 and I'm not letting anything beat me so I will conquer this and I will make a dream become reality but thanks for your input have a nice day 

[AlwaysLearning]

I think the most important thing would be to have a dedicated, gluten-free facility in which to make your product. One of the things that most of us struggle with are products that are labeled as being gluten free, but actually are contaminated because the production facility not being entirely gluten free. The better you are at being gluten free, the more likely you are to react to even the parts per million that are supposedly the acceptable levels.

I would compare your idea to starting a gluten free bakery. A bakery also has the benefit of having a walk-in customer base as well as being able to supply to your local restaurants. And would expand beyond sweets, which would also diversify your client base. 

Most of us who are truly gluten free, can't eat out at restaurants, so we love it when our gluten free bakery adds on services such as a deli counter where we can get a sandwich, crepes, or even a cup of tea or coffee without the fear of the employee's hands cross contaminating our cups.

Anyway, I know much of my thinking would require a post-covid economy, but if you are going to start a business, think long-term, not short. Don't just work on sweets, but think about other products. Many of the gluten-free products out there taste pretty awful these days as manufacturers screw up their recipes trying to get the texture right but ruining the flavor. So there is demand for things other than chocolates. Soft pretzels. Croissants. And also, plan on selling your products through grocery stores where you'll have to consider how it will freeze. 

When considering your options for what sweets you can make as part of an online business, shipping is likely going to be the biggest consideration. Not many types of sweets will survive the shipping process. So look at what other companies, not just gluten free, are doing. Compare local to national as you consider what can be dropped off via car versus what can be sent via shipping services. And how can you market your product for special events, such as weddings (though the gluten-free bakeries are already targeting this audience).

If you are serious, there is a ton of research you have to do before you can determine if it is a viable business idea. But keep in mind that your target audience is only 1-3% of the overall population, so you are going to have to diversify in some ways to make it work. And you're going to have to comply with laws and regulations as they apply to food sales. To be labeled gluten free, there are additional requirements depending on where/how you are selling. What works at your local farmer's market may not work for an online store making deliveries wherever.

Consider if your products can appeal to a non-gluten free audience as well. For example, we have a brand of gelato here in the states that is sold alongside all of the other products in the grocery store. Most people probably don't even realize that 80% of their flavors are gluten free.

But in the meantime, you can use your own kitchen as a test kitchen to find some recipes that work for you and your girls. Enjoy the process, and don't get too fat!