Holly’s Lollies is closing

But this isn’t goodbye!

I started Holly’s Lollies when I was 23. Nine years ago! It grew fast. In a year I had....

- Made my first lollipops in my home kitchen.

- Moved in to my first commercial kitchen and premises.

- Outgrew my first premises and moved into a warehouse.

There has been huge, and amazing, moments running Holly’s Lollies.

I got to hire my sister and have her alongside me for the journey. I was on live TV. Twice. I also taught Kirtsy Allsop how to make lollipops on her Xmas show. Our products were sold in places I would never have dreamed of.

Of course, there have also been some huge lows...

The first warehouse we moved to stole our stock, keyed our cars, and threatened to break our legs. I was blackmailed by a huge, very well known, company into giving them free stock. There’s been endless unpaid invoices, production problems, and the worst thing for me... copycats.

But I’m so grateful for all the opportunities owning Holly’s Lollies has afforded me.

We grew - Kate and Laura joined Team Holly’s Lollies. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without my team. As a direct result of having Holly’s Lollies, I bought Slabb! I’m a real life Willy Wonka! I’ve travelled to China, and Germany for Holly’s Lollies, and done trade shows up and down the country.

So, why are we ‘closing’? Simplifying the reasons, it comes down to this:

- One of our main suppliers closed down, with zero notice. Half of our range was wiped out in a day. We haven’t been able to replace this supplier. This led us to have one production partner who we needed to order huge batches from to keep costs down.

- Huge batches meant huge storage costs, and at the same time all our money was tied up in stock. Alongside this, the rising costs of having a warehouse packing and shipping our products has become unsustainable.

- The cost of living crisis puts ‘luxury’ items like ours off limits to many people. Realistically we need to raise our prices, as we haven’t in nine years. However the product is already a luxury, and we have no way of diversifying our range to move with the times.

At the same time, Suck It and Say, a brand we launched in 2020, has grown year on year...

It started with our school lollipops, end of term and back to school. Our wedding collection grew from a couple of designs to over 30! We branched out into all areas of celebration and personalisation.

So with all that said, we are consolidating the two businesses into one. We are focusing on our personalised products through Suck it and Say, and we have so many ideas! We are really excited about this new chapter!! Holly’s Lollies is my baby, I could never imagine selling it, or it not being my main job every day, but a decision had to be made.I’ve put absolutely everything I have into it over the last nine years, and it honestly breaks my heart, but I know I am making the right decision to say goodbye.I want to go out on my terms


THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT

To be able to do this, we need to sell the products that are not coming with us to Suck It and Say, to make sure nothing goes to waste, but also to make sure everyone is paid, and we have the funding to carry on with Suck It and Say.


So what does that mean for Holly’s Lollies products? Going out with a bang and a HUGE sale of course.

It’s your last chance to get our stirrers, candy canes and lollipops. EVERYTHING on our website is 15% off - but that’s just the start! The more you buy, the more you saveBuy 2 -Save 18%Buy 3 - Save 22% All the way up to saving 45%! The shelf life of products is at least Spring 2025, but for most items it’s 2026, so you can stock up!

So there we have it! It’s goodbye, but it’s not the end. Thank you for your support over the last nine years. It has meant the world. This decision is the hardest I’ve ever had to make.The next step is an exciting one, but we still need to get there. Please browse our sale, and please share as far and wide as you can.

Holly x