CLEVELAND (WJW) – A part of the candy business for 40 years, Tom Scheiman, the owner of b.a. Sweetie Candy Company has faced many challenges along the way.
“When I bought the existing company in 1982, we had about 350-400 items. That’s it. Today, we’ve got 5,600 items,” said Scheiman.
Scheiman says his company has 190 total suppliers but right now, not all of them are completing their promised orders.
“It’s tough because our customers expect us to have this huge selection of products,” explained Scheiman. “We ordered a thousand cases back in April, the truck showed up, we got 650.”
For example, a company that sells soda pop to Sweetie’s, couldn’t cap all of its bottles for a while. Another company had trouble making the container to hold their candy.
“We are spending more time now trying to manage our product lines and wondering when they are ever going to show up,” shared Scheiman.
Their own product has suffered as well. When the price for sunflower oil skyrocketed, Sweetie’s homemade popcorn didn’t pop.
It has led to a drastic supply shortage that is hitting their shelves hard.
“Our inventory value on any given day is just over 3 million dollars on any given day. Right now, it’s about 2.7 million. It’s down about 10 percent,” explained Scheiman.
However, this supply shortage won’t stop Sweetie’s shop. In fact, there’s a good chance you’ve bought candy at a local grocery store supplied by them.
With that in mind, Scheiman has a message to shoppers with Halloween right around the corner.
“If you see your favorite Halloween candy, no matter where it’s at, try to buy from a Cleveland company if you can. Buy it now,” said Scheiman.