For some customers, a visit to Swirleeze is a trip down memory lane while for others it’s a new, exciting taste experience.

This little sweet shop tucked away in High Street, Odiham, has an intriguing mixture of the past and the present with varieties of sweets which many older customers remember from their childhood days and some which most people will never have seen before.

The shop is owned by sisters Michelle Jones and Elizabeth Light, with Elizabeth being the sales and business manager and Michelle the maker of the chocolates, cakes and other delicious goodies on sale.

Since its opening in November last year, the shop has proved so popular that already space inside the premises is rapidly running out as new products are added and customer demand increases.

The shop started life as a venture into the world of candy floss, which the pair sold at events from an inflatable stall.
But this was no ordinary candy floss, as Elizabeth explained.

“My husband has a bouncy castle business and my brother makes carp bait for large companies and knows all about different flavourings.

“We linked these together and came up with the idea of selling flavoured candy floss from an inflatable stall alongside the bouncy castles.

“We developed 21 different flavours, which was no mean task. It took us months of searching and then a great deal of trial and error as we had to find ones which not only tasted nice but would also withstand the high temperatures involved in making candy floss.”

After much experimentation and a lot of tasting, eventually the women were satisfied with the products. But with inexperience of marketing and developing a business, they hit on the idea of going on BBC 2’s popular Dragon’s Den programme.

Elizabeth continued: “We contacted Dragon’s Den and they were keen for us to go on the show. We had only been in business for four weeks and we wanted to sell our bags of candy floss to cinemas and shops.

“We didn’t really go on the programme for backing, but more to get advice, and Deborah Meaden in particular was very helpful.

“At that time, our packs of candy floss were too big for cinemas and didn’t have a long enough shelf life.

The dragons liked the idea and thought we could make money, but this was the sticking point for them.

“Although sugar doesn’t go off, the problem was keeping the candy floss inflated for long enough storage periods. However, we have since rectified this and our candy floss will now keep unopened for a year. 

“Initially, we hadn’t intended to have a shop, but we realised we couldn’t do the stall all year round so when the shop came up, we went for it.”

Developing the candy floss, which comes in flavours such as peanut butter, coffee, banoffee, licorice and strawberry cheesecake, proved to be a wise move.

Elizabeth said: “The flavoured candy floss has been very popular and at the first event we did, which was the Reading Festival, we didn’t stop serving for seven hours.

“Ordinary candy floss is just sugar and colouring but our varieties taste exactly as their names would suggest. We find boys like bubblegum and cola flavours best and girls like ice cream and cherry.

“Our candy flosses don’t contain any artificial colours and we keep our flavourings natural wherever possible.

“And contrary to general opinion, candy floss is an ideal low-calorie, fat-free snack. A two-litre tub lasts for ages and only contains 200 calories.

“In fact, under the Weightwatchers points system, it is equivalent to a digestive biscuit.”

But of course, a shop can’t exist for long on such a specialised product, so the women decided to offer something else which, like the candy floss, was a little bit different.

“We started selling unusual items, such as chilli flavoured chocolate, freeze dried berries covered in chocolate, and chocolate sticks called choc au lait which you put in hot milk,” Elizabeth continued.

“We also hit upon the idea of selling old-fashioned sweets which people can’t find so easily any more.”

The numerous jars which line the walls of the shop bear names long forgotten after the passing of years, such as sweet tobacco, clove rock, ginger creams, army and navy, and cinnamon balls.

Michelle said: “Older people love to see all the sweets they remember from when they were young and we have grandparents bringing their grandchildren in to introduce them to these kinds of sweets.

“We’re starting to see a pattern now. We have the older people in the shop in the mornings, the office workers who do the sweet run at lunchtime and then the children come in on their way home from school.

“Then at the weekend, we have the walkers coming in for ice cream. But as word spreads, we are also seeing people coming from quite far away specifically to buy the sweets.”

But for customers who want the latest in sweet treats, the two women have developed marshmallow ‘lollies’ which are dipped in chocolate, praline or caramel and coated with various toppings.

“As far as we know we are the only shop in the UK doing these,” said Michelle.

American Whirly Pops — large round swirly lollipops seemingly straight out of Willie Wonka’s factory — are also popular, as are the sweetie cones which the sisters make up in a number of sizes with varying contents, making them ideal for presents or party bags.

Elizabeth said: “If there is a particular sweet which someone would like but we don’t have, we will try our best to get it for them. 

“We are always changing our stock and constantly keep on the lookout for new products. We have lots of exciting plans and we just want to make this shop a really fun place for our customers.”

Contact Swirleeze on 01252 395110 or visit its website, www.swirleeze.net