Jamaica is a country that is slowly being introduced to several concepts that have existed for many years or even decades in more developed countries. As a result, things such as 24/7 peer-to-peer transfers, electric cars and services like Uber take much longer to reach our shores. However, there’s been a candy store operating for almost ten years that has been trying to satisfy the sweet tooth in everyone. This week in this series of Corporate Profile, we tell the story of The M Group Limited which trades as Candy Craze Candy Bar & Creamery, a candy retailer and distributor run by founder Melanie Levy.

In 2011, Melanie Levy was completing her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the Mona School of Business at The University of the West Indies, Mona, when she began to draw up plans for a space that served candy and ice cream with a nostalgic experience. At the time, Jamaica had no candy stores or spaces that reflected the joy she felt whenever she went into a store in the United States of America.

“I couldn’t get great, nice-tasting candy. I just loved the idea of being able to mix and match your candy and you are choosing what you want in your bag instead of buying three bags of candy, if you like three different types of candy. I want to be able to mix and match the candy that I have and also have more variety and options,” said Founder and Chief Executive Officer Melanie Levy in an interview at the company’s Fontana, Waterloo, St Andrew location.

While she did complete the business plan, she took a year off from school to explore life and see what the world had to offer. It was during this time that she married Matthew Kent Levy and began to consider bringing everything together for the idea. With the support and guidance from Matthew, Levy stepped out of her comfort zone and decided to challenge herself. This was at a time when she had never run her own company.

“I decided to create Candy Craze because I wanted to create a space that the entire family could enjoy. I wanted to create a space that was happy, fun, unique and dynamic. I love candy and ice cream and there was no space that had that nostalgic energy,” Levy added, regarding the vision she had for the business.

Thus, the Levy’s incorporated The M Group Limited on April 16, 2013 and registered the business name Candy Craze on July 18. She was able to secure a spot in Upper Manor Park Plaza and was able to bring in her first major shipment of candy over the coming months which she said had an “intoxicating smell” when the boxes were opened. On December 6, 2013, Candy Craze opened its first store and creamery. The company’s slogan is Life is sweet. Eat Candy, Be Happy.

“My most memorable memory is just physically opening my first location. The stress and exhilaration, but to see a concept come to life and see something in your head materialise. Candy Craze is a brand that excites, and people love,” Levy said as she reflected on the journey.

Patrons can mix and match as many candy offerings from the candy wall which is weighed at the cashier. This is on top of delights such as ice cream and powdered candy, along with other assortments in the store. Consideration is also given to a wide range of customers with dairy-free, gluten-free, low-sodium and fat-free options.

Although the store managed to hold its own with a range of younger and older customers, it took more time for people to remove their conservative veils and explore new concepts. Do it yourself (DIY) kits, candy bars and other dreams she had didn’t become instant successes, or took longer to roll out, as many people preferred certain concepts. This was compounded by Levy’s own personal challenges within the first two years of opening which limited the expansion plans.

“At the end of the day, everyone has their guilty pleasures, and you have to choose yours. It’s okay to have a guilty pleasure and it’s okay to enjoy something. Life would be boring otherwise,” she said.

Whenever individuals worry about the sugar in candy, she remembers key things mentioned by her 105-year-old grandmother about the guilty pleasures of life and indulging in them as needed. Levy also referenced the fact that many people have a slice of bread or a bowl of rice every day which still breaks down into sugars after consumption.

“The great thing about candy is that it’s not limited to a box, person, or time. It’s colourful, loud, exciting, passionate, fun; it’s an experience! It’s everything and much more and it can express everything! Embracing that and showing consumers the different avenues that they can take with it is exciting and thrilling for me. I want people to look at Candy Craze or candy in a different way,” Levy said.

After many years of navigating a steep learning curve, Levy’s Candy Craze was able to strike up an opportunity to be one of the stores that would be at Fontana’s Waterloo, St Andrew location in summer 2019. This also came a few months after a private label brand was started with Gummy bears being sold at Fontana and other pharmacies. This early success has since ballooned into Candy Craze becoming a bulk distributor of candy to different hotels in the country.

“I had gotten the opportunity to open up a location inside of Fontana, and their vision aligned with our vision, and it’s a great brand. It has been such a great decision so far. Fontana has great products, they’re a great company overall and I’m really happy to be a part of the experience,” Levy opined on the Fontana location which opened on October 7, 2019.

With some lessons learned from the first five years at Manor Park, Levy approached the development of Fontana differently. This involved the focus on alluring to the various senses and making every customer feel special each and every time they enter, regardless of the occasion.

As a result, there is a theme song sung to everyone who enters the location. This is combined with the bright colours, the aroma from freshly baked goods and taste of the different offerings. The Fontana launch also saw the company introduce candy mocktails, which is a cool non-alcoholic drink.

With a target to open four stores within the coming years, Candy Craze was set to open at the Progressive Plaza Liguanea on Barbican Road a month after the Fontana opening. However, the location wasn’t complete in time for the dream to be realised. This miss was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 that effectively disrupted the traditional model of business, as everyone was at home under curfews and lockdowns.

“COVID kind of held us back a bit. It was a great learning curve. What did COVID teach us? It taught that you need to diversify more, which has always been part of my business plan,” Levy said.

This pushed the young company to evaluate the market and understand where it stood in terms of interacting with its young and older customers. Matthew assisted her in tackling the stay-at-home market, which involved kerbside pick-up for orders, incentive packages and activity kits for parents to reward their kids and online workshops, along with cupcake decorating kits for virtual birthday parties. This not only assisted the company in keeping people on staff, but also ensured that it was able to further build its relationship and brand with a growing client base seeking to manage the challenges of isolation.

“Everybody was hopeful in 2021 that COVID would be over and, by summer, it would be all done. Opening a location in the middle of COVID was challenging. COVID [overall] was a challenge. It was a challenge emotionally, financially, mentally. We are here [however], still standing, innovating and making life sweeter each and every day,” Levy added.

With her focus on bringing Candy Craze to the Kingston 6 area, the third store was opened on July 24, 2021, at Progressive Plaza. This also came with the introduction of a loyalty card programme, working with more local bakeries on expanding the dessert options and retooling for a larger business.

“What we want to do is to continue to capitalise on that and really showcase what we can do at Candy Craze. We’re going to be offering a lot of in store birthday party packages that persons can get and we’re diversifying our product offerings. Instead of just having candy and ice cream, we have a lot of dessert options now. We’re all about creating fun experiences; we love the sweet space and doing things fun and different is who we are,” Levy said as she looked at growing the business forward.

As part of her 2023 focus, she will be offering a lot more dessert options such as Belgian waffles dipped in chocolate, crepes, birthday packages, candy workshops, bulk retail distribution, and working more with corporates for gift giving with external customers and staff members. There are several other planned expansion plans surrounding candy bars and in-store packages, but Levy said that more will be revealed in short order.

Candy Craze is currently having a paint and sip for children with all the material being edible. This is in addition to themed days, such as Waffle Cone Wednesdays, to further bring in customer traffic. The candy retailer will also be collaborating with other brands to bring more unique experiences.

Levy is thankful to have made it past nine years, and is looking to the celebration later this year with her team members. While she had the vision of Candy Craze as a graduate student, she’s grateful for her three daughters and learning from all her experiences.

“I want to show my kids that you can do whatever you set your mind to. In life, you get what you give,” she added.

“Just when you feel like you want to quit, keep going. The difference between a really successful person and a non-successful person is sheer determination and grit. If you have a vision and you’re passionate about it, you don’t have to be great at it, but you just need to believe that you have something special to offer. When things get tough, that’s more when you need to focus and double down at that point in your life. You need to find that grit from within, keep going and pushing,” were Levy’s words of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.