Iconic Brisbane confectionery store, Tom’s Confectionery Warehouse, has been acquired by local businessman and entrepreneur, Adiel Ben-Karmona.
Thomas Jeanes, who started and ran the well-known store for more than 40 years, sadly passed away in early 2021, and the business needed a new owner.
“I used to buy at Tom’s Confectionery and I always thought it was a really great business. Unfortunately, Tom passed away and the business went into receivership, and I just knew that I was the right person to bring it back to life,” explained Ben-Karmona.
“I had just turned 40 in the same week, and I said to my wife ‘maybe it’s a good present to myself’ so, like a kid in a lolly shop, as soon as I saw it, I took it.”
With an investment of around $1.5 million, Ben-Karmona plans to revamp the 1300sqm warehouse into a fully immersive, must-visit destination with various themed pavilions displaying and selling more than 6,000 lines of confectionery from all over the world. It will also feature a coffee shop, an ice-cream stand, an 18+ section, a replica Batmobile and a real aeroplane hanging from the roof.
It’s not just consumers that Ben-Karmona caters to, he offers a private labelling service allowing businesses, such as convenience retailers, around the country to select products and customise their labels to their own requirements. Tom’s Confectionery Warehouse will also wholesale its huge range of products.
“We can give them a one-stop shop. Anything they want in any quantity they want. We supply lollies to anyone in any way, shape, or form. So, instead of them going to 70 suppliers, they can just come to us!”
Tom’s Confectionery Warehouse will continue to honour the company’s creator, Thomas Jeanes, with its own brand of high-quality chocolate called Tom’s Chocolate Bar, which will appear in an exciting new section of Tom’s Confectionery Warehouse.
“We’re going to have a whole area dedicated to Tom’s Chocolate World. In this area it will be Willy Wonka style. Very cool looking; there will be a lot of lights, lasers and holograms.”
Ben-Karmona sees Tom’s Confectionery Warehouse not just as a lolly store but as an experience not to be missed.
“It’s going to be an experience that people are going to talk about and want to come back to. That’s the whole idea of it. I can’t beat Woolies and Coles on the price of the Cadbury chocolate, but Woolies and Coles can’t beat me on the experience we’re going to give to people. So, the question is, do you want to save $2 on Cadbury chocolates or do you want to come and spend $2 more and have an experience like no other?”
Tom’s Confectionery Warehouse is hoping to open its physical store before Christmas. In the meantime, you can visit the online store.
Good luck to you guys.
I’m sure you will have a tremendous following.
Lovely to see you continuing with the business name.
Disappointing change for me I’m afraid. There’s not the same range, and Easter offerings were limited. I hope others like the changes, but I won’t be back – to me, it appears more commercial and less personal/family run local. I actually thought upon entry that it may have been bought by a National company. Although, Pilpel isn’t exactly “run of the mill local”.