Candy Kittens
| Candy Kittens Limited | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Candy Kittens | |
| Industry | Confectionery |
| Founded | 20 January 2012[1] |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Marylebone, London , England |
| Brands | Graze |
| Revenue | £14.9m (2024[2]) |
Number of employees | 60[2] |
| Website | candykittens |
Candy Kittens is a British vegan confectionery company founded by Jamie Laing and Ed Williams in 2012.[3] Candy Kittens is B Corp certified and produces vegan sweets made without gelatin.[4][5] The company has signed deals with supermarkets including Selfridges, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Waitrose.[4] Katjes International manufactures the sweets and holds a majority share in the business.[2]
History
[edit]
Candy Kittens was co-founded by television personality Jamie Laing and entrepreneur Ed Williams. They first met at an event in Loughborough in 2012, where Laing shared his aspiration of opening a sweet shop. Williams suggested that Laing should produce sweets instead, and the pair spent two years developing the product. This was partly funded by selling branded merchandise, leveraging Laing's social media following.[2] Laing, a television personality known for Made in Chelsea, is the great-great-grandson of Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Baronet, who created the McVitie's digestive biscuit.[6]
In 2022, Candy Kittens became the first sugar confectionary brand in the UK to be B Corp certified.[7] The business acquired snacks brand Graze from Unilever in 2025.[8] The founders also run Tuckshop London, an investment agency that has invested in chewing gum Nuud and Niko Omilana's brand Shades by Niko.[9][10]
Products
[edit]
Candy Kittens' products include their flagship sweets with flavours including Eton Mess, Tropical Mango and Wild Strawberry, alongside spin-offs such as "Smittens" and "Gourmies".[11][12][13] Supermarket Aldi produced a knock-off version of Candy Kittens in 2020, but later apologised and stopped selling the sweets.[14][11]
The company has collaborated with brands including BrewDog and Netflix, as well as mochi ice cream brand Little Moons.[7][15] Candy Kittens also launched Treets (owned by majority stakeholder Katjes) in the UK in 2025, under the label "Candy Kittens Introduces".[16]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Incorporation". Companies House. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Jacobs, Emma. "Jamie Laing on building sweet brand Candy Kittens: 'I don't really like weekends'". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Taylor, Guy. "Unilever sells Graze to Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing's Candy Kittens". The Times. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- 1 2 Murray, Amber (2 December 2025). "Candy Kittens: 'We want to be the Unilever of challenger brands'". City A.M. Archived from the original on 10 April 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Conway-Wood, Sian. "Sian Conway-Wood: What Candy Kittens can learn from the cult of Percy Pig". The Drum. Archived from the original on 13 May 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Pantazi, Chloe (27 April 2016). "'Made in Chelsea' star Jamie Laing discusses being heir to the McVitie's fortune, his candy business, and how much of the show is 'real'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- 1 2 Wales, Bethany (10 July 2024). "Profit surge for Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing's Candy Kittens". City A.M. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Chia, Osmond (2 December 2025). "UK snack brand Graze to be sold to Jamie Laing's Candy Kittens". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 March 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Devlin, Ed. "Candy Kittens outlines plans for 'unshackled' Graze". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 28 January 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Leonard-Bedwell, Niamh. "YouTube star Niko Omilana launches Shades confectionery brand". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- 1 2 Leonard-Bedwell, Niamh. "Candy Kittens founder Ed Williams on how the brand axed its Playboy purr". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 3 February 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Leonard-Bedwell, Niamh. "Candy Kittens launches cheaper Smittens sweets into Tesco". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 14 January 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Woolfson, Daniel. "Candy Kittens makes gummy sweets debut with 'Gourmies' trio". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Woolfson, Daniel. "Candy Kittens mulls legal move against 'copycat' Aldi". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Smith, Rachel (12 August 2026). "Little Moons has turned an iconic Candy Kittens flavour into vegan mochi". Vegan Food & Living. Archived from the original on 22 August 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Leonard-Bedwell, Niamh. "Candy Kittens brings German confectionery brand Treets to UK". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 8 December 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2026.