Treat local with Hancocks: 60-year-old Lancashire confectionery kings on every sweet shelf in the UK

As a general rule, Hancocks is the answer to those wide-eyed questions from your childhood, such as ‘where does this sweet come from?’ or ‘who makes this chocolate bar?’ Based out of Carnfield Place in Preston for the past 13 years, the branch supplies countless independent retailers, online businesses, and leisure outlets across the North West.

“We’re delighted to be celebrating the 60th anniversary of Hancocks and look forward to welcoming our customers and suppliers into the store,” says Preston branch manager Alex Pemberton. “For any business to reach such an anniversary is a real milestone, even more so after the changes we’ve had to make to adapt to the challenges of the pandemic.

“We’ve seen our customer base evolve during that period - there’s been an influx of different businesses adding on confectionery for online sales and delivery options,” adds Alex, who has been in the role for six months and whose favourite sweets are jellybeans. “And our unrivalled range means we’re able to offer great value and top quality products.”

Originally established in the Midlands in 1962 by Ray Hancocks and his wife Elizabeth, who sold sweets wholesale from their small sweet shop, Hancocks now boasts some 14 depots across the country as well as an online shop. The company now has over 1,000 members of staff the length and breadth of the UK, ensuring we can all grab a treat every now and again.

“The 60th anniversary is testament to the company’s hard work and to the team we have at the top, who know the business inside and out,” says Paul Gilmartin, Hancocks Area Manager for Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Preston, and Liverpool. “This year has been tough in terms of supply issues because vegetable oil is in a lot of jelly sweets and, with Ukraine being hit badly, that’s hit availability hard.

“But we’re still in a good position, so it’s full steam ahead,” adds Paul, who has worked for Hancocks for just over three years. “Even when times are tough, sweets are a cheap treat and seasonality is big for us: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Summer, and Christmas, with Halloween getting bigger every year.

“And, as area managers, we see the new lines first and actually test them out to see if they’re good enough for us,” he continues with a smile and a chuckle. “My favourites are still Golden Cups from years ago! We get test boxes from our marketing team and open it up to try so we can tell customers when it’s like first-hand.

“We’re also big distributors for a lot of American brands like Pez, so the amount of people we ultimately supply is huge - we’re probably in every shop in the UK some way or another and we even have new vegan and vegetarian ranges.”