Despite significant headwinds generated by the escalating war on sugar and increasing consumer preferences for healthy products, the confectionery industry is holding its own with sales climbing 1.2% in the last year to reach a whopping $25 billion, according to market research from IRI.

Launching a food business takes more than secret family recipe – it also takes money, equipment, space and in-depth knowledge about regulations, distribution and marketing, which can be hard for some startups to coordinate by themselves.