How to make candy bouquets

Candy bouquets are a new take on the candies and flowers we normally give as gifts or tokens to friends and loved ones. And it can be a good sideline business, too, especially on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and other occasions.

Candy bouquets are also hot items for sale in online stores, so check out the Web to earn dollars from retail websites selling padala items.

Jhoanna Gan-So, president and head of research and design at Businessmaker Academy, says candy bouquet making is a good complement business to gift basket making, selling baked goodies and sweets, and doing balloon arrangements.

MATERIALS AND APPROXIMATE PRICES:

• a pair of scissors
• measuring tape
  
• mini glue gun
• 1 mini glue stick (P2.46)
• 7 pieces of chocolates (preferably the Ferrero Rocher brand) (P14.67 each)
• 7 balloon sticks and caps (P2.75 each set)
• 1 flower accent (P10 each)
• 7 flowerets (P3 for a bunch of 5)
  
• curling ribbon (11/3-yard long)
• 0.65 yard ribbons (one-inch wide) (P10.50 per yard)
  
• a bow (P11.75)
• floral tape (3.5-yard long, size 12mm x 33m) (P40 per 33-meter roll)
  
• 2 sheets of non-woven wrapper (P16.50 per sheet, which can make 22 pieces)
• scotch tape (18mm x 25m) (P7 per roll)

PROCEDURE:

Step 1: Cut the balloon stick in two. Glue one end of the stick to a balloon cap.

Step 2: Wrap the balloon stick with floral tape to make it look like a real stem. Stretch the floral tape as you cover the length of the stick to make its adhesive hold more firmly.

Step 3: Glue the tin-wrapped chocolate to its paper wrapper and then to the balloon cap.

Step 4: Cut the non-woven wrapper into 8 cm by 18 cm pieces. Wrap this piece like a cone around the balloon cap. Secure it to the balloon stick with a 17- cm curling ribbon. Curl the ribbon's ends.

Step 5: Glue a floweret between the ribbon curls. Follow the same steps for the number of chocolate flowers you'd like in the bouquet.

Step 6: To make a bouquet, gather several candy flowers and tape the sticks together tightly, forming it into a pyramid.

Step 7: Wrap the candy flowers in two layers of non-woven wrappers to create pleats.

Step 8: Tie an inch-wide ribbon around the bouquet to secure it. Attach a bow over the ribbon.

Step 9: For a fancier bunch, add artificial flowers at the lower portion of the bouquet.

To compute its selling price, simply add to the production cost a 150-percent mark-up for a per-stick sale, and 40 percent to 75 percent mark-up if sold per bunch. Hence, a candy flower costs P21.97 to make and can be sold for P55. A bunch of seven candy flowers costs P207.40 to make and can be sold for P300 to P350.

TIPS to improve your bouquet-making skills:

• Experiment with different styles of candy bouquets, using various candies like lollipops.
• Re-use flower accents, flowerets, bows, and ribbons from old stocks.
• Take photos of your creations and use these in replicating designs or in presenting to clients.
• Browse the Web for sites and companies where you can market your product.
• Buy materials in bulk at Divisoria or Quiapo where these are cheaper.

Contact details:
Businessmaker Academy
Telephones: (02) 687-4445, (02) 687-4645, (02) 687-3416
Website: www.businessmaker-academy.com

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph