Sweet Tooth Snacks expands direct to consumer and opens two storefronts

When contracts with national retailers were cut back, the destination for popcorn and all things snacking went from supplying gift baskets to big-box stores around the country to providing personal and corporate gifts directly to consumers. Jody Britton, Owner & CEO, Sweet Tooth Snacks, has since opened two storefronts and hired more than 25 employees to keep up with QC and national market demand.

Britton launched Sweet Tooth Snacks as a B2B company in Nov. 2018, doing fulfillment and packaging out of a production facility in Rock Island. Eighteen months later the COVID-19 pandemic hit her market. “Every order stopped,” she said. With a warehouse full of finished merchandise, she pivoted. “That could have been the end of Sweet Tooth Snacks but instead it gave us the perfect opportunity to showcase what we could do in the Quad Cities and go direct to consumer. It allowed us to fulfill a lot of needs that were not available at that time,” she said, adding they were able to supply gift baskets of specialty popcorn and snacks for Easter, graduations, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day from a storefront in Rock Island. “I hired 20 full-time employees just to keep up with consumer and business demand,” Britton said. “We were growing and growing and growing.”

The Chamber helped Britton work through drainage issues on the road in front of her Rock Island storefront by connecting her with the City, and the street was fixed. “The Chamber has been a great champion for us. It is great at connecting people and helping keep business local through those local connections,” Britton said.

In November 2020, she learned Heart of America Group was seeking holiday pop-up tenants within Elmore Marketplace in Davenport. “It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Heart of America was very generous, not only because they wanted to fill that space but they also really wanted to see a local business prosper,” she said. “It was a pivotal moment for me; I knew people would love us. We hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface in the QC market.”

Britton hired more employees, expanded her product line to include home goods and opened the store in less than three weeks. It did so well that she chose to make it permanent. “My vision for the store is to offer unique pieces because our baskets really bring the fun, and they are beautiful and cost-effective,” she said, adding that they also customize and personalize the packaging for holidays and events.

Sweet Tooth Snacks secured a second warehouse and continue to sell B2B, shipping full semi-loads to distribution centers for national retailers including Home Goods and Ross Dress for Less. Britton now has about 45 employees and said it is very likely she will hire 10-15 more this year.

“I get calls and emails every week from businesses wanting to partner with us for packaging and fulfillment,” she said. “I see Sweet Tooth growing exponentially. The possibilities are endless.”