candy kittens

Candy Kittens, the confectionery brand founded by Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing, has rebranded its range of gourmet sweets.

The new look features polka dots and “emoji-inspired semiotics” to play into the brand’s technology driven consumers. Candy Kittens chose the designs by consulting with consumers through online focus groups and its social media following, which after four years now exceeds one million followers.

The packaging will launch in Waitrose stores nationwide from 24 August (rsp: £2.49), and will be on a half price promotion at £1.25 until 20 September.

The brand has also secured new listings for its products, in WH Smith Travel, Deliveroo, Thomas Cook and Norwegian Airways.

“We started out in this business as complete amateurs. It’s been a steep learning curve but we’ve involved our community at every stage - from choosing new retailers, to pop-up shop locations and even new flavours,” said Ed Williams, managing director of Candy Kittens.

The brand, which the reality TV star launched in 2012, secured a “significant injection of private capital” in March after opening a crowdfunding campaign. The pitch opened in November and asked for £300,000 investment in the hope of raising money to capitalise on the brand’s listings in 350 Tesco stores. But the campaign was closed early after receiving an offer from an individual angel investor of close to the brand’s target figure.

“I truly believe we understand our consumers better than anybody else in the market and social media has given us that advantage. We want to be the best sweet company in the world, and we’re moving closer to that target every day,” said Williams.