Crowland mum swaps NHS stress for V-Candy business dream

A Crowland mum has swapped the stresses of working for the NHS during the pandemic for the sweeter side of life.

Mum-of-three Victoria Hosier has built her very own candy empire by setting up her online store.

The pick and mix website - V-Candy - has gone from strength to strength since it first launched earlier this year, with Victoria committed to giving something back.

Victoria, who worked in pharmacies and medical centres, said: “I worked in the NHS for six years and it was particularly stressful through the pandemic. Stress levels were really high.

“This is something a bit different.

“I wanted a job where I could work from home while looking after my kids.

“It’s very stress free and I hope my children can be proud of what I’m doing too.”

V-Candy already offers a choice of more than 100 sweets which can be bought in small, medium and large pouches.

In a bid to ‘give something back’, among the pouches for sale is a special charity offering.

Victoria explained: “Mental health is something which is really important in our family.

“We have started selling a pouch from which we give ten percent of the proceeds to mental health charity Mind.

“It’s a really good charity and I wanted to give something back.”

Other products on offer include festive, pride and sour pouches, platters for Christmas and Halloween alongside a wide range of other spooky offerings for trick or treaters.

Business has been booming for Victoria, who runs the business alone from her home with plenty of support on hand from customers.

She said: “We have expanded quite quickly already. As well as the broad choice of sweets online we also cater at events such as weddings and parties.

“We also recognise that there are lots of people with special dietary requirements so we have halal and vegan pouches and cater for vegetarians too.

“We have access to some really good wholesalers so we’ve not had any issues getting stock in, but the Royal Mail strikes were difficult in terms of our deliveries as they did delay us.

“But I am so lucky to have been supported by the local community and we have customers dotted all over the country.

“Social media has been an amazing too.”

Victoria now has her sights set on further expanding the business.

She added: “We are five star rated on TrustPilot as it is, so now we want to keep building and expanding to ensure we have the largest possible selection available to our customers.

“I’m never temped to try any myself though - the smell is so strong in the office.

“It’s like walking in to Candyland.”