This past week on my personal travels, I’ve once again being reminded of just how much a part of the fabric of many British communities the traditional sweets and snacking world is.

There’s no greater evidence of this than the sight of the independent confectionery store, including one I’ve seen this week in Ryde, Isle of Wight, which continues to fly the flag for the region’s classic confectionery lines that remain staple family favourites.

Such outlets may not be numerous these days, yet have somehow found a way to survive in many British towns, particularly in seaside locations, where tourism remains a key economic driver, and are a fantastic reminder of cultural heritage from decades past.

Significantly, confectioners like The Olde Ryde Sweet Shop, are facing financial tests as never before – rising costs of retail space costs, weaker consumer demand due to constraints on many household budgets, and an uncertain economic outlook have all combined to hurt Britain’s wider retailing sector significantly over the past decade. That’s even before we get on to the topic of the impact of living in an ‘Amazon world’ where things are available at a click of a computer mouse, or Alexa voice activated command.

Ultimately, this is a very simple equation which I’ve made before, and happy to raise again’ that with small stores, it’s a question of ‘use them or lose them’ – and it would be a great shame if we do continue to see smaller store owners that offer something distinctive and genuinely representative of manufacturing in our own region, and that of others too. Clearly, these are designed as stores to be enjoyed on an occasional basis, but the world would certainly be a lot poorer without their presence in our combined retail landscapes.

Neill Barston, editor, Confectionery Production magazine

• keep in touch at [email protected] or via our social media channels @confectionprod and Linkedin pages