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After a reported decline in sales, Sugar Land, Texas-based CandyWarehouse.com filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, October 24. The company has been in business since 1998, and while it is not ready to close its doors, its filing is an attempt to revive it.
“Like many small businesses, the pandemic and rising costs hit us hard, and we haven’t fully bounced back yet,” president and CEO Mimi Kwan told Newsweek.
But the company has a ways to go. Court documents revealed that Candywarehouse.com estimated its assets at around $224,000 and its liabilities at around $2.8 million. The debtor generated $4.5 million in annual sales last year, which was a 10 to 20 percent decline from 2023, and the trend is expected to pick up.
The filing comes amid concerns that a rise in candy costs because of tariffs will scare away consumers. In fact, a September survey conducted by financial services firm Empower found that 57 percent of Americans are considering spending less on chocolate this holiday.
CandyWarehouse.com is not the only sweets company struggling. Mitchell Cohen, owner of Economy Candy, says its mission has always been to sell affordable sweets, but rising wholesale prices make that a challenge. But recent costs are worrisome, even for the oldest candy store in New York City.
“We are feeling it, but we hope that, you know, quarter to quarter, things will change,” Cohen says. “We’re hoping to stave off raising prices for as long as we can.”
Still, Americans are projected to spend a record $13 billion on Halloween this year, up around $1.5 billion from last year.
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Ava Levinson
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