Hard candy, brittle and toffee are packaged against humidity: sugar pulls water from the air, and candy left open turns sticky and soft. Let it cool and set completely, break or cut it, and seal it. A cello bag with a twist tie is the cheapest way to show it off, fine for candy sold within days in dry weather. A heat-sealed bag keeps humidity out for weeks, which a shop shelf or a shipped order needs. A tin lined with wax paper is the holiday gift, and its price has to say so. Snack bags of a couple of ounces sell at a register. Every package carries the label your license requires, with peanuts, tree nuts and milk the allergens to check. In the example below, an Alabama peanut brittle maker prices four options: 12 to 80 cents per 8 ounces. Below are the options, the label, the example, and a free cost calculator.
The short version
- Let candy cool and set fully before packing.
- Humidity makes sugar candy sticky; seal it.
- Markets, dry weather, sold within days: a cello bag with a tie.
- Shops and shipping: a heat-sealed bag.
- Holidays: a lined tin, priced as a gift.
- Registers and impulse buys: 2 oz snack bags.
- Label with the required lines; peanuts, tree nuts and milk are the allergens to check.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and date, and the packaging in every batch's cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Seals out humidity | Looks like a gift | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cello bag and twist tie | No | Some | Markets in dry weather |
| Heat-sealed gusseted bag | Yes | No | Shops, online orders |
| Lined tin | Yes, lid on | Yes | Holidays, gifts |
| 2 oz snack bags | Yes | No | Registers, impulse buys |
The label
Packaged candy carries the label your license requires: the name, net weight, ingredients, allergens such as peanuts, tree nuts, milk and soy, and the name and place of business, plus your state's cottage food statement if you make it at home under a cottage food law. How Alabama's rules work for the example is in Alabama cottage food law, and starting out in how to start a candy business.
An example: four options for a peanut brittle maker
Old Mill Brittle Co., the made-up peanut brittle maker in Dothan, Alabama, I use in these examples, makes brittle in its home kitchen and sells about 150 pounds' worth a week in the holiday season, in 8 oz bags, 1 lb tins and snack bags:
| Option | Parts | Per 8 oz | 150 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cello bag and twist tie, 8 oz | Bag 8¢, tie, label | $0.12 | $18.47 |
| Heat-sealed gusseted bag, 8 oz | Bag 11¢, label | $0.15 | $22.50 |
| Tin, 1 lb, per 8 oz | Tin $1.50, liner, label, per 8 oz | $0.80 | $120.53 |
| Snack bags, four per 8 oz | 4 bags, 4 labels | $0.27 | $40.57 |
Online orders and the craft fair get heat-sealed bags, because Alabama humidity reaches brittle in a day; the tins are December's gift at $16 a pound; snack bags sell at the market register. Three cents more for a sealed bag is the cheapest insurance on an $8 bag. The business is in peanut brittle business plan, and every packaging cost in packaging cost per unit.
Get the calculator
Download the candy packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many 8 ounces uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per 8 ounces and per week at your volume, with notes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A holiday season of bags, tins and gift boxes from the same batches, and tins that have to be bought before the rush. A cost sheet doesn't say how many tins are left, or which batch is in which tin.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and date, and the packaging in every batch's cost.
Each batch dated. A batch of brittle records the peanut lots it used, automatically, gets a lot with its best-before date, and lot labels print with it.
Packaging in the recipe. The bag, tin and label are items in each product's recipe, so every batch uses them up at the price you paid, and the tins left are counted by every batch.
What each product earns. Margins show by product, so a tin, a bag and a snack bag are compared plainly.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which peanuts went into a batch | Not recorded | Lots recorded on the batch |
| Tins left before December | Counted when you run out | Used by every batch |
| What a tin earns | A guess | Margin by product |
Lots, batches, recipes and true cost are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.