Everyone’s heard of this one – candy bar fundraisers are perhaps the most common and most popular way to fundraise. This is because everyone loves chocolate – in fact, Americans consume 3.4 billion pounds of chocolate annually! These fundraisers are extremely easy to organize as well, and you can make a fair profit for your organization. Candy bar fundraisers are popular with schools, and everyone’s seen the high school kids going door-to-door with cases full of chocolate for the football team. The best part is, candy bars have an inexpensive price, so many people will be happy to shell out two dollars for a delicious piece of chocolate (and for a good cause). This is especially true if the participants in the fundraiser are kids.

How does it work?

First of all, you’ll need to choose a candy bar company to provide your group with candy to sell. There are several good companies that you can choose from, but make sure you do your research so that you can find the perfect fit for your group. Candy bar fundraisers typically take the form of an on-hand fundraiser, which means that you order the product upfront and they ship it to you, and then you sell it to your customers. Some companies will allow you to order the product on credit and then pay them out of your proceeds. However, with others, you may have to pay the cost of the candy upfront. Also check out the cost of shipping, because that can eat into your profits or require overhead costs.

Secondly, once you’ve chosen a company, you need to choose your candy. Some companies will carry brand-name candy to sell; others will offer their own house candy. There are pros and cons to the latter. On one hand, it can be cheaper and many companies allow you to put information about your organization on the label; on the other hand, the chocolate may taste a bit inferior compared to brand-name bars, which can decrease sales. Most candy comes in a carrying case that you can give to each participant to make door-to-door sales a little bit easier.

Before you start to sell, you need to decide how many candy bars each participant will have to sell. Set a fundraising goal and decide how many candy bars it will take to reach it. If you can, you may want to provide an incentive to get your participants more motivated about selling. Make sure that your participants are given a number of cases to sell and a date to sell them by. Also include an envelope for them to put money into. Send a letter home, if your participants are younger children, and tell them about this fundraiser so that there’s no chance of lost money or inventory.

How much can I make?

This type of fundraiser has the potential to earn 50% to 200% profit. You can earn more if you have the ability to set your own prices, which some companies will allow you to do. However, if you price the candy bars too high, your sales may go down. If the prices are already set, check with the company as to how much you’ll make in profits. Candy bar fundraisers are good money makers, and the best thing is, they can be done at any time of the year. Beware of melting chocolate in the summer, though!

Pros and Cons of Candy Bar Fundraisers

Candy bar fundraisers have pros and cons, but the good thing is, there are more pros than cons. Chocolate is consumed by almost everyone and is very popular, and because of this, you can host multiple fundraisers in the same year and probably do quite well. You can also sell candy bars almost anywhere, since they’re really portable. However, if you’re going to have schoolchildren go door-to-door, make sure you put safety measures into place, like chaperoning. If your local grocery stores and malls will let you, you can also sell candy bars on tables outside of these venues and maybe get sales from the community.

However, candy bar fundraising does have its disadvantages. For one, you’ve got to be careful where you store the bars, because chocolate melts in hot weather. As well, if you’re dealing with younger participants, they’ll probably need help tracking (and not sampling!) their inventory. You will also need to keep careful track of who has what so that you won’t end up losing inventory and having to take a financial loss. Motivating people to sell can be hard – door-to-door selling is rough going sometimes. However, incentives do the trick, especially for younger participants.

Candy bar fundraisers are popular for a reason – they’re easy to put on and the profits that they bring in are almost as sweet as the chocolate itself.

Featured candy bar fundraising company

eFundraising Candy Bar Fundraisers

Efundraising.com offers a wide range of fundraisers for your group.  If you choose to have a Candy Fundraisers, they have a few options for you.  Choose from World’s Finest Chocolate brand with milk chocolate, caramel, almonds and more to Hershey’s Variety Packs.  They offer candy at the $1, $2, and $5 price points, offering something for everyone.   Get a fundraising case for everyone in your group, picking from variety packs or single item straight packs. 

Each participant will have an easy goal of selling one case of candy, making it easy (and profitable) for everyone.  They also offer a Personalized milk chocolate crisp Hockey Puck that your sports team could sell for raise money.  Have them put your team logo right on the label for a completely custom product.   Earn up to a 50% profit.  There is a minimum order of 10 cases, but you can mix and match different types of candy bars within the product lines.  Call their experienced Fundraising Consultants today!

Candy bar fundraiser companies

Hersheys

Sell Hershey’s Candy bars for your next fundraiser.  Earn fast and easy profits selling their candy bars for $1.  They offer variety packs and single product cases.  Each candy bar wrapper contains a free coupon to Subway and a ‘buy 2 candy bars get 1 free’ coupon, adding extra value to your fundraising product.  Hershey’s candy cases convert into a counter display, which is perfect for offices, businesses, and selling candy at special events.  For every 8 cases that you sell, you will receive a free 5 pound Hershey milk chocolate bar, the perfect reward for top sellers.  Each case also contains a free Crayola Color Explosion marker and color-reveal paper, as well as a Sony Connect code good for 5 free song downloads.  Over $40 million was raised last year by groups raising money using Hershey’s candy.  Hershey’s will help you find an experienced distributor to work with your group and all the right questions to ask them.

Fundraising Zone

Fundraisingzone.com is a Tracy Hamilton company that has been in business since 1965.  Use their years of experience to have a successful fundraiser for your group.  They offer Assorted Lollipops, Hershey’s Candy and M&M’s/Mars Candy.  Earn up to 50% profits on this direct sale fundraiser.  Lollipops come in a wide variety of themes from sports to holidays, as well as traditional round lollipops.  Hershey’s Candy is available in 4 different variety packs and you will receive free shipping from a local distributor, so you will receive your order quickly.  M&Ms and Mars candy are available in variety and single item fundraising packs.  Choose from M&Ms milk chocolate and peanut, Skittles, Snickers, and Starburst candy.  Shipping is free and from a local food service delivery company.  Order a case for each participant in your group to sell to give everyone an easy goal to meet.  Order extra cases to sell at special events to increase your group’s profit.