Conscious Candy: Vegan Pick ‘n’ Mix
-
George Taylor
- 16th August 2020
- 8 minute read
Conscious Candy offers a mix of traditional candy – but without the animal products.
Laura Scott, a vegan with a sweet tooth, found herself yearning for some Pick ‘n’ Mix, but during her quest, she was surprised to find that the market lacked a good, vegan alternative, and so she set about creating one.
For hungry vegans looking for a quick and easy sugar hit – without having to navigate the dangerous waters filled with gelatin, insect bits, and other nasties, options had been very limited, up until now.
Pick ‘n’ Mix confectionery is surprisingly old. It bloomed from an idea American entrepreneur F.W. Woolworth had in the mid-to-late 1880’s. At the time, confectionery was a luxury, and so he wanted to lower the price, and bring it within reach of ‘ordinary’ people, which as you know – he succeeded in doing.
140 years later, Laura decided to do the same thing for vegans. To satisfy her own desire(s), and to provide this classic treat for the vegan community, she decided to launch her own company, The Conscious Candy Company, in November 2018, from her spare room:
“My mum always used to say “Laura, you’re not ever going to be a millionaire, you’re not going to always be the best and you’re probably not ever going to own your own business. Hearing all these things makes me so so determined to prove people wrong (sorry mum).“
Laura Scott, Founder of Conscious Candy
She had a full time job, as a Graphic Designer, at the time – but she wanted to create something of her own. She thought that the business would be a small part time hobby that would generate her some spare cash. She never imagined the quick growth that would happen within weeks of launching.
Laura used £2,000 of her own savings to purchase all of the stock required for her first orders and created everything else herself — including the branding, website, social media and the online shop.
She packed over 200 kilos of sweets, in her spare bedroom, on the first day of launching (yes, 200 kilos in one day). She quickly realised that a small bedroom in a flat on the 7th floor was never going to work long term. As a temporary solution, her partner’s Dad at the time would allow her to have pallets delivered to his garage.
Sadly, customers don’t get to visit a local store and scoop their own selections like the good old days, however – in our connected world, the company offers the next best thing — a 1kg box jam-packed with more than 30 different varieties of colourful, cruelty-free confectionery, carefully selected by Laura, and shipped out to lucky vegans.
Each £9.99 box contains bubblegum bottles, fizzy strawberries, cherry cola bottles, fizzy cherries, strawberry cheesecake foams, banoffee foams, and fizzy blue babies among others.
“I am incredibly passionate about every box, message and [bit of] feedback.
Our packaging is 100 percent recyclable, and our tissue paper is printed with soy ink which is more sustainable than regular petroleum ink.
We hope to be 100 percent plastic-free in the future and aim to work with animal charities and trusts.”
Laura Scott, from Conscious Candy
To date. the company has sold an astonishing 65,000 units in over 40 countries, since they launched, and are now stocked in several small independent vegan shops across the UK, as well as in many bakeries. You can also find their products on the Vegankind Supermarket, the largest online vegan shop.
Check out The Conscious Candy Company here.
