Two Jersey microgreens growers find a sweeter spot in freeze-dried candies
Two friends from their college days have partnered in an artisanal candy venture in South Jersey that seems to have caught a wave among younger consumers.
A contractor from Philly and a musician from Jersey were cultivating micro versions of spinach, radishes, and broccoli part-time last spring to make more money for their families. But these were just salad fodder. Friends, entrepreneurs, and dads Phil Kramer and Tommy Sandelier turned to something new: making freeze-dried candies with names like Banana Floofy and Peach Puffoids.
The two produce the candy by hand at their Sugar Crunch Candy company in Lindenwold, Camden County.
Their start-up buys marshmallows and salt water taffies, as well as branded candies such as Skittles and Nerds, and transforms them in commercial-grade vacuum drying ovens into new sweets with names like Scrunchums and Cosmic Clouds,
Kramer and Sandelier credit social media as well as their own kids for inspiring their candy business.
“‘The future of candy’ is our tagline, so everything has a futuristic vibe,” Sandelier said. “We’re making up words and we used AI to generate suggestions.”
“We had a video call with all the kids to brainstorm the colors of the logo and the packaging,” said Kramer. “We wanted our logo to pop, and to have the kids agree on everything.”
Kramer and Sandelier started selling the candies online and from their Micro Sprout Farm booth at farmers markets in Haddon Heights and Haddonfield. Their sweets are now being distributed by the Casani Candy Co., a wholesaler founded in Philadelphia in 1865.
“I saw freeze-dried candy last year, and it never really struck my fancy. But this year I started hearing more of a buzz,” Casani owner Joe Lees said. The company is now headquartered in Pennsauken, where Sandelier began buying candy in bulk last spring.
“Customers were telling me they had kids coming in their stores for freeze-dried candy, and I asked Tom to bring some in to see we could do with it,” Lees said.
“And it just took off from there.”
Somewhat similar to cotton candy, and conceptually related to the freeze-dried Astronaut Ice Cream introduced in 1974 and still on the market, freeze-dried candy has had a surge on social media.
A Google search yields hundreds of posts — most made during or since the pandemic — by Amazon.
“I saw the candy trending on TikTok in 2020,” said Ariana Kramer, 13, from behind the Micro Sprout booth recently at the Haddon Heights Farmers Market where she was helping out her dad.
“I thought our candy was going to do well, but not this well,” she said. “I didn’t think it would blow up this big this fast.”
That puts Sugar Crunch right on trend. According to the National Confectioners Association, non-chocolate candy is increasing in popularity, with sales up nearly 14% since 2021. Chocolate and other candy sales in the U.S. reached $42.6 billion in 2022. Most customers find new candy on social media.
Sandelier, a 40-year-old father of two who lives in Gibbsboro, Camden County, prefers the term “vacuum-crafted” for Sugar Crunch creations.
“The candy is heated in a vacuum, in the oven, which draws out the moisture and makes the candy pop,” he said. “The candy isn’t frozen as part of the process. But everyone knows this type of candy as freeze-dried.”
Sugar Crunch “hits your taste buds all at once,” said Kramer, 44, who lives with his three children in Philly.
“The gummy candies are more of a crisp. The Skittles are definitely a crunch, and the Jolly Rancher are more of a crunch, not a crisp.”
According to a 2022 analysis by Grand View Research, a nationwide consulting firm based in San Francisco, the annual American candy market is expected to continue growing through 2030.
Kandy Hughes, who owns Kelly’s Kandy and Nuts in Collingdale and Kelly’s Kandy in West Chester, said Sugar Crunch “is totally different from anything I’ve seen” during 40 years in the family business.
“My 15-year-old daughter, Jo, keeps me up on everything that’s hot on social media, and she told me, ‘Mom, you need freeze-dried candy in your stores,’” she said.
“That was almost the same time that [Lees] reached out to me about it. I’ve known him for 40 years and he knows what we love to carry. He knows that if it’s new and fresh, I’m going to jump on it.”
Sandelier, who grew up in South Florida, came to Philly in the 1990s to attend the University of the Arts, became a professional musician before finishing his degree, and continues to perform as a wedding band guitarist for a living. And as a single dad with two daughters, he has tried his hand at a number of entrepreneurial ventures, including making soap and other personal care products.
He also said that while the microgreens business will continue for the time being, “I could see it going away” at some point.
“On April 22, at the Ales on Rails event in Mount Ephraim, we sold 45 bags of the candy,” said Sandelier.
“Last week, between Casani and the farmers markets, we sold over 1,600.
“I’m not surprised that candy sells better than health food,” he said.