Each year, candy sales spike as consumers flock to stores to buy goodies for their Easter baskets. In fact, Easter is the second top-selling candy holiday of the year—topped only by Halloween. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, 9 out of 10 consumers who celebrate Easter will purchase candy for the holiday, and each will spend an average of $20.66 on sweet treats alone. Check out our infographic at the end of this post for some more interesting Easter candy statistics. There’s no question that Easter creates big business for candy manufacturers, retailers, and all other parties involved in the confectionary supply chain.
The confectionary supply chain is interesting and complex, involving thousands of contributors and many inventory storage points. For example, chocolate products—like the chocolate bunnies we see this time of year—start with raw materials such as sugar, cocoa, and milk produced from farms around the world. From there, these raw materials are sent through distribution agents to large-scale manufacturing facilities. Next, they get refined and sent to product manufacturing facilities. Brand management companies then combine these materials to make the products we know and love. The products are often stored in warehouses before they are shipped off to retailers. Needless to say, this process requires a lot of coordination and an efficient material flow network to keep costs down and make sure products arrive in stores on time (Kong and Allen).
At Capstone, we work closely with our confectionary customers to understand their supply chain requirements, such as shipping products at the correct temperature, meeting strict pick-up and delivery times, and adhering to their customers’ specifications. Whether you’re shipping products months in advance and need a drop trailer program to accommodate warehouse loading, or you need surge capacity for last-minute retailer shipments, our goal is to make sure your products arrive according to your standards.
Do you ship confectionary products, or other goods with a similar profile? Contact us to find out how we can help with your next shipment.
