Top: Edward and Ruth Wachenfeld, owners. (Christine Carignan)
Edward and Ruth Wachenfeld are sugar aficionados, so much so, Ed says he is becoming known as “the crazy candy man on TikTok” for his high energy videos he posts about his obsession with all things candy.
Since 2010, the Wachenfelds, parents of eight sons, have been growing their dream of running a successful candy company. But it wasn’t until their sons showed them popular TikTok videos of people dry freezing candy that the business really took off.
Originally, Ed, a former paramedic, and Ruth, a former restaurant waitress and manager, launched Snickers Sweets & Treats making gourmet popcorn and chocolate and selling their treats at craft markets. The business did well, but not enough for them to leave their jobs to devote themselves full time to the business.
That changed when they saw the TikTok videos. Before seeing the video, the couple bought a freeze-drying machine to make dog treats for their dachshunds. That’s when their sons asked of they could start making candy like in the videos. “We began experimenting,” says Ruth, who comes from a family of chocolatiers with a successful candy company in Manchester. “[Our sons] would bring it to their friends at school, and they wanted more.”
So, what exactly is freeze-dried candy? It is candy that is placed in a machine to remove all the moisture from treats like gummy worms, Jolly Ranchers, Nerds and even Milky Way candy bars. “Anything that is chewy and gummy turns light, airy and crunchy,” Ruth says, giving it a different texture and intensifying the flavors. Think giant Cheetos with candy flavors.
A variety of freeze-dried candy offerings from Granite State Freeze Dried Candy. (Christine Carignan)
Ed says freeze-dried candy is a way for kids with braces to get their candy fix as all that gummy and sticky candy they are not allowed to eat can be turned into a crunchy treat that won’t get caught in their braces. “I love food science. I can take a Starburst and make it into a fondant,” Ed says.
Freeze drying candy also turned out to be a game changer. Their new line took off when they began making TikTok videos and branded the line as Granite State Freeze Dried Candy. “We blew up overnight,” says Ed, who is not letting a recent stroke slow him down.
Wholesale business is quickly becoming the main part of their company. Granite State Freeze Dried Candy is now
being sold at Zeb’s Country Store in North Conway, Moulton Market in Amherst, and they recently struck a deal with the Common Man, with more orders rolling in from across the country, Ed says.
In August, the couple moved their business from an incubator to a new commissary kitchen in Manchester, The Smoothie Bus Station, which Ruth says provides them with the space they need for their growing business. Granite State Freeze Dried Candy offers 54 flavors of candies, and they recently ordered more, and bigger, freeze-dry machines to keep up with demand. “We are just getting started,” says Ed. For more information, visit gsfreezedriedcandy.com.
(Granite State Freeze Dried Candy will be exhibiting at the Made in NH Expo on April 14, 15 and 16 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Manchester.)
Current Issue - April 2024