Selling sweets helps man, 24, conquer major depression

William Hale is only 24 and yet he has hit a half million pound turnover, just a year after being suicidal.

“I am blown away, said William, from Wilmslow.

“You wouldn’t think putting sweets in a bag and selling them on a website would make that sort of money.

“It’s quite amazing.”

William Hale has opened a warehouse for his online sweet business (Image: pickandmix.com)

After launching an online sweet business during the pandemic, he now owns a ‘pick and mix’ brand, recently opened a warehouse at Winnington Business Park and hopes to open a shop.

His phenomenal success follows more than 10 years of mental health struggles.

William dropped out of school at 16 and was housebound after being diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and, later, clinical depression.

The then teenager used his coding skills to start his first business, designing websites.

However, when Covid struck and everything stopped, it triggered a host of breakdowns and crises.

By the end of 2020, William had already attempted to take his own life twice.

William said: “Losing control of my mental health for a second time destroyed me.

“I was desperately trying to keep a positive front so customers at my web design business wouldn’t notice anything was up, but waking up with depression every day was exhausting, and I started to give up.”

After months of medication and intensive psychological help, William and his partner decided to start a project that they could run from home.

William said: "I needed to find something to keep myself occupied.

“We saw people selling retro sweets on TikTok.

“I decided to buy £1,000 of everyone’s favourite pick and mix sweets, build a cool website, and see if it would work.”

He now receives more than 5,000 orders every month and employs a growing team, operating the online business from a warehouse.

“Having a distraction has helped me,” said William.

“Every day there has been a new problem to deal with or something exciting happening.

“Everyone likes sweets. I’ve not had any difficulty selling sweets to people in this country.”

William has bought out a number of his pick and mix competitors and now stocks more than one tonne of sweets at any time.

Asked which brands were the most popular, he said: “It’s Haribos all the way.

“They go out as quick as they come in. We sell tons of Haribos every year.

“Pickandmix.com is a really strong model by operating online only.

“By the end of the year, I hope to have a shop. We are looking at different places locally.

“This business has helped me to find a way round my health problems and create a life worth having.

“I am proud of where I’ve got to.”

Asked what advice he could give to those struggling with depression, he suggested finding something to focus on.

William said: “Almost all the tips and tricks I was given didn’t work and changing medication numerous times messes around with my head.

“The one thing that helped me when I was living detached from the outside world was to focus on a project.

“Something that can’t be completed in a day or two.

“For me, it had to be something that required constant attention and distracted me every day.

“It doesn’t have to be a business, that’s just my passion.

“Anyone can find new distractions and passions to be passionate about.

“Never give up searching. It might be just the thing that saves your life for the better.”