For most of us, the question is not if you ever wanted to make or sell candy for a living, but when. Perhaps it was the first time you saw Willy Wonka step onto his magical factory, or the Saturday afternoon your grandma gave you five dollars and a ride to the sweet shop.

It should be of little surprise, then, that so many young entrepreneurs go into the candy business. The other unsurprising fact? Many of them experience some truly sweet success. 

Here are just a few of our favorites: 

The Candy Shop that’s 10X as Old as its Owner

In the North Yorkshire village of England sits a sweet shop – shoppe, that is – that’s been in continuous operation since 1827. It’s so old, in fact, that it maintains a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Yet its latest headlines aren’t due to old age, but a young age: the spritely age of its newest owner. The entrepreneur who just took the reins is only 23 years old. 

The chocolatier to the stars was once a Biz Kid.

A former Biz Kid runs one of the most coveted chocolate brands on the planet: Compartes Chocolatier.https://www.youtube.com/embed/0d1uyj4hSyo?wmode=opaque&enablejsapi=1

From Candy to Lightbulbs

Before Thomas Edison brough incandescent light to households everywhere, he was bringing candy to people on trains (or so he tried.) His first entrepreneurial endeavor was going seat to seat, selling candy. As he explained, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”