A South Yorkshire-based online sweet shop is expanding its product range and event hire services after securing a UKSE Kickstart Grant, delivered through RiDO, to support its early-stage growth.

Sweet Dreamz, founded and owned by Rachel Frier, is a home-based business offering a wide range of sweets and specialising in bouquet-style gift boxes for special occasions.

Since launching, Sweet Dreamz has grown from selling pick-and-mix sweets to developing themed gift boxes and expanding into event hire. The business now offers a sweet cart for parties and celebrations, with plans underway to introduce a crisps wall to create a complete hire package for events including birthdays, weddings and corporate functions.

To support the business, Rachel applied for the UKSE Kickstart grant, delivered in partnership with Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO) – UKSE provides finance of up to £1.5m to growing companies, as well as providing support for start-ups – which helped fund a sweet cart, move into event hire, and invest in marketing and a website.

Currently serving customers mainly across South Yorkshire, Sweet Dreamz aims to expand its reach further afield through improved marketing and a dedicated website, which is now in development. Looking ahead, Rachel plans to continue building the events side of the business, with aspirations to add a photo booth or selfie wall to the hire offering as demand increases.

Commenting on the successful start, Rachel Frier said: “The Kickstart Grant has made a huge difference to Sweet Dreamz.

“The advice and support I received through the process were fantastic, and I’d encourage anyone starting a business to apply and take advantage of the professional guidance available.”

Darren McDool from RiDO, said: “Rachel has made a promising start and is now taking full advantage of the free support available through the Launchpad start-up support programme to boost her marketing efforts.

“With this grant support from UKSE, she’ll hopefully be able to take things to the next level.”

Steve Lyon, Regional Manager at UKSE, added: “Sweet Dreamz is a great example of how a Kickstart Grant can help an early-stage business turn a creative idea into a growing venture.

“It’s exactly the kind of ambition and enterprise we’re proud to support.”

UKSE provides loans and equity finance of up to £1.5m to existing growing businesses, particularly those creating jobs – for further information, please contact the team on 0114 2700 933.