Cat-shaped confectionery brand Candy Kittens’ taste of sweet success

It’s no secret that young professionals have begun to prefer the flexibility of working from home.

But the power of in-office work is far from being left behind – at least, that’s what entrepreneurs Jamie Laing and Edward Williams think, who run the cat-shaped confectionary brand Candy Kittens.

Jamie Laing, who rose to fame on the reality TV show Made in Chelsea and now presents a Radio One show alongside Matt Edmondson, started Candy Kittens with co-founder Ed Williams in 2012.

The company, which specialises in vegetarian and vegan sweets, has since struck deals with retailers including Tesco, Boots, Sainsbury’s, Asda and John Lewis and launched collaborations with major brands like Brewdog and Netflix.

It has experienced rapid financial growth over the past few years, recording revenue of £12m in 2023, up from £9.4m in 2022.

It also became one of the first B Corp-certified sweets brands in October of 2022, with a 30 per cent year-over-year increase in brand awareness in 2023.

The Sweet Factory

As I sit with the two co-founders in their recently-opened Marylebone headquarters, which is un-ironically dubbed The Sweet Factory, I come to find that their focus on good work culture might just be part of the secret behind the brand’s latest success.

The Sweet Factory is home to a diverse portfolio of ventures in addition to Candy Kittens, including Laing’s podcast group Jampot Productions and investment firm Tuckshop.

“I think we do our best work when we’re happy,” Williams, 35, says.

“People used to go to an office and couldn’t wait to get back out again, [but] people actually want to stay here and I think that’s the difference.”

Housing all three brands under the same roof might raise some questions about what a day in the office might look like, but both Laing and Williams seem confident that their concept of (rather colourful) collaboration seems to work out in their favour.

“People talk about offices being dead and I dispute that in the same way that people talk about retail being dead – retail is dead when it’s done badly,” Williams says.

“Offices are dead when they’re sh*tty old offices… but we’re proof that offices are alive and kicking,” he adds.

Setting your ego aside

One might question why Laing, 35, would enter the confectionery sweets space after building a rather lengthy and influential career on television.

When he met Williams at a pub well over a decade ago, however, everything began to fall into place – especially given that he had the idea and Williams had the plan.

“We kind of had two different sides of the same idea and it came together from there and just snowballed,” Williams says.

“What was so great is Ed and I both had a huge appetite for risk. We were always going to be entrepreneurs,” Laing adds.

But while the two are confident in the fact that “everyone brings their own thing to the table,” Laing – who has always been seen as the face of the brand – says the most important thing from the start was to set the concept of ego to the side.

He adds: “We removed the ego straightaway, which I think is so important. I think the reason why lots of businesses fail is due to ego.”

Building for the long-term

It took nearly two years to develop Candy Kittens’ first product, but that didn’t stop the two from connecting with their desired audience right from the beginning through growing social media channels and various in-person pop-ups.

“When the product eventually came out, they wanted to buy it because they wanted to support the people, not because they were desperate to try a new sweet,” William says.

In order to achieve their goal of becoming a successful and leading sweets brand, it all came down to creating a strategy that was sustainable for long-term growth.

He adds: “We didn’t just rely on Jamie’s name and profile. If we had, we could have slapped his face on the front of a bag, sold a million bags of sweets and been like yeah, done, happy days.

CV

Name: Jamie Laing
Company: Candy Kittens
Founded: Candy Kittens
Title: Co-founder
Age: 35
Born: Oxford
Lives: London
Studied: Leeds University
Talents: Random facts
Motto: The safe bet kills ambition
Most known for: Being a great conversationalist
First Ambition: To open a sweet shop
Favorite book: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
Best piece of advice: Business is paid in two currencies, cash and experience, take the experience first and the cash will come later

Name: Ed Williams
Company: Candy Kittens
Founded: Candy Kittens
Title: Co-founder and CEO
Age: 35
Born: Caerphilly, South Wales
Lives: Oxfordshire
Studied: Loughborough University
Talents: Spotting trends and building brands
Motto: Better is possible
Most known for: Being Jamie Laing’s sensible business partner
First Ambition: Always wanted to be an architect
Favourite book: Bread and Butter by Tim Roupell
Best piece of advice: There are no shortcuts, hard work beats talent!