Why All of TikTok Looks Like a Candy Store | Eater

"Born from a pandemic pivot by founder Nema Causey, this online candy shop turned to TikTok to survive COVID-19 shutdowns and quickly built a massive following. Videos of Causey packing nostalgic, old-school items (wax bottles, vintage candy buttons) and sampling new or novelty treats helped the business explode—especially after the viral jelly-fruit-candy trend, when the shop was one of the few sellers able to move entire pallets and repeatedly sold out. The account highlights a wide range of offerings, from imported Puchao candies and Japanese Pocky to gummy Nerds clusters, chamoy-drenched dulces enchilados (and Gushers coated in chamoy and Tajín), spray sour candies, unicorn-poop-shaped confections, gigantic gummies, fizzy Zots and lemon drops. Causey set up an online store within two weeks of the initial surge and now relies heavily on creator-style marketing (the account grew to over a million followers), which can drive thousands of orders when content goes viral but also leaves revenue vulnerable to algorithm shifts and potential platform bans; her background in wholesale distribution (her father runs a large candy distribution company) informs her contingency thinking." - Amy McCarthy