First sugar free vegan candy floss manufactured by mum from Greenwich

A single mum from Greenwich is the first UK manufacturer of vegan sugar free candy floss.

Gbemi Shitta, 49, from Kidbrooke, is the founder of SweetDoughThings, which became the first company in the UK to make the famously sugary treat sugar free.

Miss Shitta started her confectionery company in her own kitchen by repackaging other manufacturers products, now she manufactures her own products which are stocked on retail shelves in the UK and abroad. 

Miss Shitta said: “During Covid I needed to find a product that people enjoyed, but healthier.

“It was a sentimental thing. I found baking therapeutic, that was what started the business, but i’ve always wanted to manufacture my own product.

“Growing up by the seaside in Scotland, me and my brother would beg my mother for candy floss. These were the fondest memories of my childhood, so it was a no-brainer to make my own.”

To make the candy floss, Miss Shitta researched healthier alternatives to sugar and brought a £20 candy floss machine from Amazon. Eventually she found a recipe that worked and reached out to a manufacturing centre for product development. 

The candy floss, as well as other baked treats and sweets are now made in a factory in Lincolnshire and sold from the SweetDoughThings office in Creative Road, Deptford.

Miss Shitta was celebrated as exporter of the year last Monday at the London final of the FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards.

Pictured Top: Gbemi Shitta with her vegan sugar free candy floss (Picture: Gbemi Shitta)