Portsmouth's biggest sweet shop: 19 pictures of Hancocks which supplies more than 4,000 types of confectionery

Hancocks cash and carry, in Claybank Road, Copnor, has been supplying local businesses with a wide range of confectionery for 13 years.

The depot is a popular stop for retailers, leisure outlets, theme parks and holiday parks across the south and a go-to supplier for seafront kiosks and fairgrounds.

The store has recently undergone a complete renovation, including improvements to the floors, roof, heating, offices, IT systems, and indoor decor. The wholesaler has also implemented changes such as clear signage, welcome boards, branded aisles and specialist areas to provide easier in-store navigation. The store is now laid out in a familiar supermarket format, with directional signs on top of all aisles. The new specialist areas called out in the store include bestsellers, multi-buy options, new products, vegan sweets and kids novelty.

NOW READ: Havant's 19 Fourteas tea room reopens in new West Street home

Depot manager Darren Bailey said the store stocks more than 4,000 lines of sweets, soft drinks and crisps.

Speaking to The News last year, Darren said: ‘Local businesses come in, buy the sweets for their shops, take them away and sell them. The pick and mix is the most popular section, for us as a depot, moreso than the branded chocolate bars. I’ve been doing this for 30 years and my favourite sweet swaps over time but at the moment it’s the watermelon slices – I do like the gummy sweets.

‘The trends have changed over the years. For example, liquorice used to be a massive product- not quite so big any more. Kids’ novelty sweets have made a big rise in popularity and bon bons is another one which has evolved over the years. It used to be the toffee bon bon, it used to be the strawberry bon bon – now it’s the blue raspberry tongue-painting bon bon which is the most popular by a long way.’

NOW READ: Charity gig 'Never Forget Festival' at Southsea's Wedgewood Rooms raises £2,380 for Cancer Research UK

Darren estimates that the outlet is frequented by 500 different business in and around Portsmouth. He noted that ‘novelty sweets’ such as PEZ and Brain Lickers have experienced a sharp rise in popularity in recent years, in part due to being shared on Tik Tok.

Here are 19 pictures of what is for sale in Hancock’s.