In this article
The best Young Enterprise products cost under £3 to make, sell for £8-£15, can be made in batches by your team and solve a small problem people already have. Personalised items, eco swaps, school-themed gifts and anything tied to a season (Christmas, Valentine's, exams) sell best at trade fairs.
If your school is doing the Young Enterprise Company Programme, your team has to pick a product early and live with it all year. This list is built for that decision. Every idea comes with a rough cost per item, a typical selling price and who will buy it.
We Can Be isn't part of Young Enterprise. We help young people, especially girls, start real businesses, and these are the ideas we see work.
What makes a good Young Enterprise product?
A good Young Enterprise product is cheap to make, easy to make in batches, has a clear buyer and still makes money after your costs. Judges also look for a product with a story: a problem it solves, a sustainability angle or a link to your school or town.
Check your idea against these five questions before you vote on it:
- Can we make one for under a third of the price we'll sell it for?
- Can our team make 50 in a weekend?
- Who exactly will buy it, and where will we meet them?
- Would we buy it ourselves?
- Can we explain why it's different in one sentence?
If an idea gets five yeses, it goes on the shortlist.
Stuck for ideas? Our free AI Idea Machine suggests business ideas based on what your team loves doing, so you start the meeting with more than candles and keyrings. For more inspiration, see 24 business ideas for teens.
40 Young Enterprise product ideas
Costs and prices are rough guides based on buying materials in small batches. Check your own supplier prices before you set a price.
Personalised and gift products
| Product | Cost to make | Sell for | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personalised keyrings (wood or acrylic) | £1-£2 | £6-£8 | Students, parents, teachers |
| Custom phone grips | £1.50 | £6 | Students |
| Name bookmarks | £0.40 | £3 | Primary school parents |
| Teacher thank-you mugs | £3.50 | £10 | Parents at end of term |
| Personalised Christmas baubles | £1.20 | £6 | Families, grandparents |
| Pet portrait stickers | £0.30 | £3 | Pet owners |
| School-crest tote bags | £3 | £10 | Parents, alumni, staff |
| Photo calendars of your town | £4 | £12 | Local residents |
Eco and sustainability products
| Product | Cost to make | Sell for | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beeswax food wraps | £1.50 | £7 | Parents, eco shoppers |
| Upcycled tote bags from old T-shirts | £0.50 | £6 | Students, eco shoppers |
| Seed paper cards | £0.60 | £4 | Gift buyers |
| Bamboo cutlery kits in a pouch | £2.50 | £9 | Commuters, students |
| Reusable make-up pads | £1 | £6 | Teens, adults |
| Candles in reused jars | £2 | £8 | Gift buyers |
| Bird feeders from recycled bottles | £0.80 | £5 | Families, gardeners |
| Plant cuttings in decorated pots | £0.70 | £5 | Everyone |
School and study products
| Product | Cost to make | Sell for | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revision card packs by subject | £1 | £5 | GCSE students |
| Exam survival kits | £2.50 | £7 | Year 11 and Year 13, parents |
| Desk organisers | £2 | £8 | Students |
| Planner stickers | £0.50 | £3 | Students |
| Pencil case kits for Year 7 starters | £3 | £9 | Primary parents |
| Periodic table or maths formula posters | £1.50 | £5 | Students, teachers |
| Leavers' hoodies or memory books | Varies | Pre-order only | Year 6, Year 11, Year 13 |
| Locker magnets | £0.40 | £3 | Students |
Food and drink (check your school's food hygiene rules first)
| Product | Cost to make | Sell for | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot chocolate jars | £1.50 | £6 | Christmas gift buyers |
| Cookie mix in a jar | £2 | £7 | Gift buyers |
| Flavoured salt or spice sets | £1.50 | £6 | Adults, cooks |
| Dog treats | £0.80 | £4 | Dog owners |
| Homemade fudge in gift bags | £1 | £4 | Everyone |
| Smoothie recipe kits | £1 | £4 | Parents |
Wellbeing and lifestyle
| Product | Cost to make | Sell for | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lavender sleep bags | £0.80 | £5 | Adults, exam students |
| Lip balm in tins | £0.70 | £4 | Teens |
| Bath bombs | £0.90 | £4 | Teens, gift buyers |
| Affirmation card decks | £1.50 | £7 | Teens |
| Fidget keyrings | £0.60 | £3 | Students |
| Friendship bracelet kits | £1.20 | £5 | Younger children |
Services and digital (low stock risk)
| Product | Cost to make | Sell for | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gift-wrapping stand at Christmas | £10 of paper | £1-£2 per gift | Shoppers |
| Custom digital birthday cards | £0 | £3 | Parents |
| Social media starter packs for local shops | £0 | £30-£50 | Small businesses |
| Printable planners | £0 | £3 | Students, parents |
How to choose your product in one meeting
Put every idea on a sticky note. Score each one from 1 to 5 on profit, how easy it is to make, how many people would buy it and how well it fits your team's skills. Add the scores and keep the top three.
Then test those three for a week. Make a sample of each, show them to 20 people outside your team and ask: "Would you pay £[price] for this?" Go with the one that gets the most real yeses, not the one your team likes most.
The free Market Research Hub walks you through four ways to find out what customers want, including how to ask questions that get honest answers rather than polite ones.
How to price your Young Enterprise product
Price your product at three times what it costs to make. That covers materials you'll waste, stall fees, card payment fees and still leaves profit for your shareholders.
| Example: beeswax wraps | Amount |
|---|---|
| Materials per wrap | £1.20 |
| Packaging and label | £0.30 |
| Total cost per item | £1.50 |
| Price (x3, rounded) | £5 |
| Price people will pay at a fair | £6-£7 |
| Profit per item at £6 | £4.50 |
Selling 150 wraps at £6 makes £675 profit. Bundles help too: one for £6, two for £10.
Put your own numbers into the free Profit Calculator. It shows how much you'll make at different prices and sales, so your finance director can bring a real figure to the pricing vote. Once you're selling, Budget Boss tracks every pound in and out, which makes your end-of-year report much easier.
Where to sell
Most Young Enterprise companies sell in four places:
- Trade fairs run in your area. Bring a card reader, price labels, a bright banner and stock at three heights on your table.
- School events: parents' evenings, Christmas fairs, sports day and open evenings. Ask your teacher for a stall at each one. Our Christmas business ideas help you plan the busiest fair of the year.
- Online: a simple Instagram page and pre-orders through a form. Your school or your business adviser will tell you what's allowed.
- Local shops and cafés: many will take a few items on sale or return if you ask in person.
Who does what in your team
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Managing director | Runs meetings, keeps everyone on track |
| Finance director | Tracks every pound in and out, sets prices with the team |
| Marketing director | Social media, posters, the stall design |
| Sales director | Plans trade fairs and sales targets |
| Production director | Buys materials, organises making sessions, checks quality |
| Company secretary | Takes minutes, handles shareholders |
Small teams can combine roles. What matters is that everyone owns one number: units made, sales, followers or profit.
Not sure who should take which role? Ask everyone to do the free What's Your Entrepreneur Type? quiz first. Visionaries, creatives and strategists suit different jobs, and it stops the loudest person picking for everyone.
Ideas that judges remember
Judges see a lot of candles and keyrings. To stand out:
- Solve a local problem. A product for your town, your school or a local charity has a story.
- Show your numbers. Know your cost per item, profit and how many you sold by heart.
- Show what you changed. Say what didn't work and how you fixed it. That's what real founders do - see how 250+ UK women founders started.
- Give back. Many winning companies give part of their profit to a cause their customers care about.
Get the basics right before your first fair. The Business Name Generator helps you find a name people remember, the Brand Kit Creator gets your colours and logo ideas in one place, and the Elevator Pitch Studio helps you build and practise the 60-second pitch judges will ask for.
Common mistakes
- Picking a product nobody on the team can make well.
- Buying all your stock before you've sold a single item.
- Pricing to be cheap rather than pricing for profit.
- Leaving marketing until the week of the trade fair.
- Choosing food without checking your school's hygiene rules.
Free tools and courses for your Young Enterprise company
Every stage of the Company Programme has a We Can Be tool that does part of the work for you. The tools are free and work in a browser on a phone or a school laptop.
| Stage | We Can Be tool | How it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Finding an idea | AI Idea Machine | Suggests ideas from your team's interests when the brainstorm runs dry |
| Testing the idea | Market Research Hub | Four simple research methods to check people will buy before you spend shareholder money |
| Naming and branding | Business Name Generator and Brand Kit Creator | A name, colours and logo ideas your marketing director can build on |
| Pricing | Profit Calculator | Shows profit at different prices, so you price for profit rather than guess |
| Tracking money | Budget Boss | Tracks money in and out for your finance report |
| Business plan | Lean Plan Builder | Puts your whole business on one page, in about 25 minutes |
| Pitching | Pitch Builder and Elevator Pitch Studio | Helps you write and practise the pitch for trade fairs and judging |
| Questions at 10pm | Blaze | A safe AI business coach for 9-18 year olds that answers questions on pricing, branding and pitching with UK-specific advice |
Want to go further than the programme? The Trailblazers Academy (ages 15-18) has 10 startup-style modules on testing an idea, working out the numbers and growing an audience. Younger teams can use the Innovators Academy (ages 12-14). The first module of each is free.
Teachers running Young Enterprise or an enterprise club can join the We Can Be educator waitlist to be first to hear when our educator kits launch. In the meantime, our enterprise day ideas for schools work well alongside the programme.
Frequently asked questions
What are good Young Enterprise ideas?
Good Young Enterprise ideas are products you can make for under £3 and sell for £8 or more, such as personalised keyrings, beeswax wraps, revision card packs, candles in reused jars and Christmas gift jars. Choose one your team can make in batches and that has a clear buyer.
What sells best at a Young Enterprise trade fair?
Gifts under £10 sell best, especially personalised items and anything seasonal. Christmas fairs are the busiest, so plan your biggest batch for November.
What can students sell at school?
Students can sell crafts, stationery, revision packs, plants and seasonal gifts at school events. Food usually needs permission, so check your school's rules first.
How much profit should a Young Enterprise company make?
There's no set target. Aim to repay your shareholders and make a profit on every item. Pricing at around three times your cost gives you room to do that.
What is the Young Enterprise Company Programme?
It's a programme run by the charity Young Enterprise where students aged 13-19 set up and run a real company in school, from 12 weeks to a full school year, usually with support from a business volunteer.
Is We Can Be part of Young Enterprise?
No. We Can Be is a separate UK platform that helps young people, especially girls, start their own businesses.
Keep going
- 101 business ideas for kids
- Business ideas for teens
- Enterprise day ideas for schools
- Physical business workbook - £12.99
Running a Young Enterprise company this year?
Dream it. Be it. Biz it! is a physical business workbook for ages 10-14, with 10 missions from idea to pitch. It costs £12.99 and is posted from the UK.
See the £12.99 workbookFrequently Asked Questions
What are good Young Enterprise ideas?
Good Young Enterprise ideas are products you can make for under £3 and sell for £8 or more, such as personalised keyrings, beeswax wraps, revision card packs, candles in reused jars and Christmas gift jars. Choose one your team can make in batches and that has a clear buyer.
What sells best at a Young Enterprise trade fair?
Gifts under £10 sell best, especially personalised items and anything seasonal. Christmas fairs are the busiest, so plan your biggest batch for November.
What can students sell at school?
Students can sell crafts, stationery, revision packs, plants and seasonal gifts at school events. Food usually needs permission, so check your school's rules first.
How much profit should a Young Enterprise company make?
There's no set target. Aim to repay your shareholders and make a profit on every item. Pricing at around three times your cost gives you room to do that.
What is the Young Enterprise Company Programme?
It's a programme run by the charity Young Enterprise where students aged 13-19 set up and run a real company in school, from 12 weeks to a full school year, usually with support from a business volunteer.
Is We Can Be part of Young Enterprise?
No. We Can Be is a separate UK platform that helps young people, especially girls, start their own businesses.
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