We are delighted to share our involvement in the Northamptonshire Council’s Supporting High Street campaign.
Additionally, check out the fantastic write-up they’ve featured about us at The Shop – we believe it perfectly captures our essence.
We love the stories behind small businesses, and ahead of Small Business Saturday UK we want to share them with you. With such a heart-warming purpose, we know you will enjoy being introduced to The Shop in Kettering town centre 
Stocking over 450 products, you can find this haven of traditional, retro and the latest trend sweet treats on Gold Street, it’s a shop full of delicious-ness and you’ll be greeted with a smile and a mouth-watering sweet aroma when you step through the door 
If you enjoy traditional sweets, a variety of fudge, chocolate, pick n mix and more, this is the place for you 
The Shop isn’t your average confectionery place, because this fantastic local business has a mission to support young adults with additional needs, providing the opportunities they deserve to help them grow and thrive. And what a sweet industry to offer that in! 
Run by Claire and her amazing team, with the support of her partner Geoff, The Shop has a vibrant spirit of inclusivity and opportunity. With Claire’s extensive experience of working with individuals with special educational needs, and Geoff’s business background, they are focussed on inclusivity and opportunity, to help others to shine 
Claire told us: “Here at The Shop we work to break down barriers and create opportunities for people who have a learning disability. We are here to support them on their journey to a sweet and fulfilled future.
“We work with around 25 adults and young people who face a variety of challenges, and they are the heartbeat of the business. We love seeing their confidence grow and how they develop in a working environment, they are a vital part of what we do.
“The team are involved in all sorts of day-to-day tasks, and we tailor these to their individual needs. This could be packaging up orders, serving customers, working behind the scenes with technology, cleaning tasks, and more! We give them the chance to thrive and we want to make a difference for them – and it works.
“We provide a bridge between leaving full time education and entering the workplace and have several success stories. For example, one of our young adults now works in a local coffee shop where she makes the drinks and serves customers, it’s a testament to her hard work here at The Shop. She continues to use our services, building her skills and confidence even further.
“We provide a safe and supportive environment for our team, and what could be better than working with sweets! They are fully involved in the business and are encouraged to put forward ideas for future projects, input into themed window displays and help at the community events we support. We also take our sweets on tour to some local care homes where we set up a traditional sweet shop for the residents which is always very popular!
“We have a huge range of customers, those with a sweet tooth who visit on a regular basis, people who stop by for gifts, children coming after school for a treat and lots of teenagers and older people. Everyone is welcome at The Shop, we’ve built up brilliant relationships with our customers and know lots of them by name now.
“We love to chat to them and advise on products and what makes a great gift. We even have one man who used to come in once a week to stock up on sweets, he now comes in every day to see us as he’s often feeling lonely and wanting a friendly face to talk to. It’s lovely that we can make heartfelt connections like this.
“A stand-out moment for The Shop is when one of the team Billy, who has Down’s Syndrome made it to the national and local news. It was another proud moment for us seeing him shine! He was recognised for raising over £1,300 for the charity that has supported him by selling sweet pouches. He is amazing and deserved all the attention, and he definitely let us know about it!
“We’re very busy now preparing orders for Christmas for regular and new customers. The team are working hard and are particularly enjoying making up the bags of sweet treat rewards for people doing the Hi Santa Stops festive trail around the town.
“It’s challenging at times running your own business, and it’s not always easy but we get so much joy from what we do, particularly because we are supporting young ambitions and making a genuine difference which we see every day. We believe in our team and it’s brilliant that we can provide them with a safe space where they have the chance to grow in the community, and that for us is what sweet success looks like.”
Claire and her team’s dedication to others makes their small business stand out, and if you have a sweet tooth, or know someone who does, we know you will love The Shop as much as we do!
Make sure you take a trip to Kettering town to stock up on pick ‘n’ mix, sweet hampers, fudge, chocolate and more from The Shop, and don’t forget to find Santa’s magical clue while you are there and pick up your free bag of festive treats for the Hi Santa Stops festive trail 
Support this wonderful local business by:
Liking them on social media The Shop
Visiting the shop on Gold Street in Kettering
Visiting their website www.sweetfutures.co.uk
Leaving a positive review online
Telling your friends about them
Find out more about our campaign at www.northnorthants.gov.uk/histreet