Digital Candy dot UK has rebranded as Domain Manage – and with the help of a nimble pivot, the move has created an exciting opportunity to execute a whole host of development plans for parent company.
CEO Ryan Ewen decided to make the switch after becoming aware there was an issue operating in the dot com space due to a trademark infringement with Digital Candy INC. The focus fell on the problem with the acquisition of DNforum in February 2023.
Mr Ewen acted swiftly and flew to Washington DC for discussions with Stevan Lieberman, a name well known in the domain industry, owner of Greenberg & Lieberman / EscrowDomains & Digital Candy, Inc, to resolve the matter that arose through Digital Candy UK facing potential difficulties promoting the business in America.
Mr Ewen explains: “I visited Washington to discuss with Stevan and ultimately, he runs an established business which would have been inconvenient to rebrand. He is also heavily tied to the brand. Both Stevan and I are members of the ICA – a non-profit advocating for the rights and interests of domain name owners and related service providers– and we agree to their code of conduct so it was an easy exploratory conversation.
“It was a tough decision to let go of the Digital Candy brand but without being able to develop the site and promote it freely we realised it was a necessary step. Acquiring Domain Manage in September 2023 enabled us to execute our development plans and pivot quickly.”
Domain Manage, established in 2014, was seen as aligning with a focus to offer domain name specific services rather than the broader ‘digital space’. And Mr Ewen adds: “2023 has seen exceptional growth with the acquisition of 25,000 com domains and multiple R&D projects coming to fruition, coupled with the launch of The Dot UK Group including www.brandable.uk and www.flip.uk.
“Brandable has pre-registrations totalling 200,000 UK domains and is our flagship offering in terms of technical capabilities and brand creation. It is an example of what is to come in 2024 under the domain manage brand.
“Parent company EW3N has seen gross sales reach $5million. We have completed several domain name loans and will launch our Affiliate Domain Parking platform in early 2024 along with our fractional ownership product later in that year.”
The Digital Candy dot UK acquisition had come about in 2019 in auction prior to an entrance into the digital asset space with a vision to creating a trusted brand that lay people could identify with and feel safe buying and selling digital assets.
Mr Ewen adds: “The reason behind choosing Digital Candy was to encompass the whole digital space and include websites, domain names, social media, apps and was broad enough to grow into anything digital that was to come.
“The original company grew from Falbros Group – a financial services company that was founded in 2012 and while specialising in financial services the digital side of things saw a growth of over 500 websites, a team of 150 people and insight into SEO, design and social media.”
Mr Ewen says that what became apparent with Falbros Group was that if a premium domain name was paired with a website a leader in a market could be created: “This resulted in huge growth by deploying several premium domain names like bridging.com, expatmortgage.com and a host of uk premium domain names like privatebanks.uk. These sites had exceptional designs and a premium domain name took them to another level.
“Over the years Falbros Group grew a huge digital asset base so it was strategic to create a marketplace to sell some of the unwanted or underused assets.”
Reflecting on the life of Digital Candy UK, launched in December 2020 with a branded offering that people really identified with, Mr Ewen cited headline sales including mayfair.com and newz.com as evidence of its success.
He notes: “While not a core offering of Falbros Group there was a real business opportunity identified and in December 2021 Falbros Group restructured to allow a real focus on Digital Candy dot UK. 2022 saw $950,000 in gross sales which for a first year of business was exceptional, particularly from a standing start with little experience in a new market.
I look forward to seeing what both EW3N and Stevan’s Digital Candy do in the coming years.”
One way or another, a sweet deal all round proving candy can help flavour successful business arrangements!
