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Leeds TikTok famous sweet store Candy Works turns over £1.4 million in first year
Viral TikTok pick 'n' mix videos launched the success of Candy Works, but one year on, the company have had more orders than they could have possibly imagined.
Candy Works, a pick 'n' mix store in Leeds, have just announced a turnover of £1,400,000 during their first year of sales.
Husband and wife duo, Ryan and Sophie Taylor came up with the idea of building their own business whilst out of work over the pandemic period.
Starting with just £400 work of sweets, the couple used TikTok, a relatively new platform at the time, to share their new business venture. It didn't take long for their videos to pick up traction and their pick 'n' mix videos went viral, landing them over 1000 orders overnight.
Working out of their spare bedroom, the couple worked tirelessly to find suppliers and meet the unprecedented demand.
There were what felt like hundreds of pop up sweet shops that started online over lockdown but it was the array of international sweets that Candy Works offers that helped their success.
The company import holiday favourites like Lays crisps and American classics such as Mike & Ike and Chips Ahoy! and sell them as standalone products or as part of their pick 'n' mix selection.
Orders are then packaged up and shipped across the world to their customers. Candy Works post addictive '#PackAnOrderWithMe' videos where viewers can see exactly what others are buying.
This series, along with Q&As and 'Sweet of the Day' videos make up their daily TikTok content. Due to the incredible following of 1.2 million users, the couple have accumulated 35.4 million likes since the launch of their business, an undeniable factor in their success.
Since their November 2020 launch, they have officially turned over £1,400,000 and employ twelve members of staff to help run Candy Works.
To recognise their efforts, Sophie and Ryan Taylor have won the Lloyds Bank Small Business Award for 2021 and were ranked the third business on TikTok, just behind Tango Ice Blast who have a cult following of 137,700 followers.
Moving forwards, the company plan to expand across the UK and increase the number of staff to keep up with orders.
To check out the latest sweets available from Candy Works, check their TikTok and use their website to place an order.
After closing for the entire second day, The Warehouse stage at Leeds Festival has once again been forced to evacuate.
One of the most anticipated dance acts of the day has been cancelled due to health and safety concerns just moments before the set.
Sheffield DJ Silva Bumpa was due to take to The Warehouse stage today at 1:30pm, but the set was cancelled due to overcrowding.
It's not the first time this has happened at Leeds Festival 2026, as yesterday Omar+'s set was cancelled due to the same issue and the stage was subsequently closed for the rest of the day.
The Warehouse stage is completely new for this year, and supposedly is designed specifically for dance music...which is quite ironic.
Announcing the news to Instagram, Silva Bumpa said: "So so sorry Leeds Fest but due to over crowding my set was cancelled last min I was just behind the stage and got told right before such a massive shame."
Prospa, another prominent DJ who's set was cancelled at Reading on Friday afternoon, spoke up on the situation: "We are disappointed in The Warehouse stage closure at Reading Festival. We were told it wasn't possible to play whilst on the way. This was due to too many people outside the stage.
"We have seen this happen before at larger festivals in the UK. It's time to double the capacity of tents or put dance music on the main stage."
It comes after another dance stage, LS23, was closed mid-set last night due to a health and safety hazard when all the lights suddenly switched off and ravers were forced to evacuate.
If yesterday is anything to go by, we wouldn't be surprised if The Warehouse was closed for the rest of the day which means anticipated sets from Rossi and Mall Grab will also be cancelled.
‘Actually lost for words’ – huge artist speaks out as Leeds Festival set is cancelled due to overcrowding
Clementine Hall
For the second day in a row, a huge set has been cancelled due to overcrowding at Reading and Leeds Festival.
Day two of the festival and there's some pretty disappointed ravers hanging their head as one of the biggest dance music sets of the day is cancelled.
Omar+, a rising British electronic DJ and producer, was due to play on the brand-new Warehouse stage at Reading yesterday and Leeds today.
Yesterday's set was cancelled last minute due to overcrowding, and low and behold the same has happened here in Leeds.
Announcing the sad news to his story, Omar+ said "Actually lost for words. My Leeds set has been cancelled due to overcrowding."
He then went on to show a screenshot of a text message, reading: "I've never seen something like this in my entire life where two shows back to back are cancelled due to overcrowding."
The Warehouse stage is completely new for this year, and supposedly is designed specifically for dance music...which is quite ironic.
Prospa, another prominent DJ who's set was cancelled at Reading yesterday, spoke up on the situation: "We are disappointed in The Warehouse stage closure at Reading Festival. We were told it wasn't possible to play whilst on the way. This was due to too many people outside the stage.
"We have seen this happen before at larger festivals in the UK. It's time to double the capacity of tents or put dance music on the main stage."
It comes after another dance stage, LS23, was closed mid-set last night due to a health and safety hazard when all the lights suddenly switched off and ravers were forced to evacuate.
Sophie Smith -
18th October 2021 
