Freeze-dried treats are seeing surge in popularity and these social media stars deliver the sweet crispy satisfaction here in Spokane
Ken Hess once stuffed bears for a living, but now he is freeze-drying them. A lifelong crafter and purveyor of DIY Chalk Couture items, the former Spokane Build-A-Bear Workshop manager has discovered his newest airy niche dabbling in the universe of crispy freeze-dried confections.
At the heart of this sugary mission: a beloved golden retriever named Riley.
“She got really bad pancreatitis,” said Hess. “The doctor stressed everything needs to be low-fat.”
Freeze-dried dog treats fit that criteria. To save money, Hess invested in a freeze-drying machine with his longtime partner and Ken’s Kreations business associate, Sean McCoy. The pair later began to experiment with Skittles and other candies, which they offered to online followers.
Their loyal audience gobbled up that delectable bait.
“I thought it was just going to be a little thing,” Hess said.
McCoy had bigger dreams.
He ditched his day job as a school bus driver and their fledgling candy business exploded. A self-proclaimed influencer, Hess racked up thousands of views with his campy “Ken From The Car” YouTube videos which touted the satisfying crunch of Jolly Puffs, Nerdy Clusters and other freeze-dried goodies he and McCoy had created from popular sweets.
“Live changed everything for us,” Hess said. “They got to see the authentic me. They got to see Sean. They got to see the relationship. They got to see our dogs, so it turned into a lifestyle brand of people wanting to follow us and stuff.
“We did extremely well on TikTok. We had some videos go viral in the millions and we were doing 600-800 orders every two days,” added Hess, who has since opened a store in the Small Biz Shoppe of River Park Square. “We just kept growing and growing.”
Available for decades, freeze-dried candy has seen a recent surge in popularity.
“I do think it’s trending and I think it is an item that some people still haven’t discovered. When people actually try them (the candies) they’re addicted,” Hess said. “It does not change taste. You’re not adding any flavor. You’re not adding anything. However, what I always tell people is it’s hitting your senses differently. It’s a mental thing.”
Hess is happy to hand out free samples of Laughing Taffy, Twixy Bars or Atomic Bites to customers who enter his Spokane store. Despite the fun names, these products are not geared entirely toward children.
“I found it to really be teenagers and young adults that are big. There’s a thing called ASMR where people love the crunch. That is what has really propelled the freeze-dried candy,” Hess said.
Your teeth will thank you for that choice as well.
Hard, sticky candies become lightweight and puffy during the freeze-drying process and that’s great news for people wanting to avoid dental work.
“It’s been known and we’ve heard – especially with orthodontics – if you really need to have a piece of candy do freeze-dried, because it dissolves and crunches. It does not get caught in your teeth or braces and stuff,” McCoy said.
The fluffy candies might even help dieters with portion control.
“You’re eating less, because it’s expanded, so it’s a mind trick,” Hess said.
A finicky product sensitive to extreme heat, humidity and air, the creation of freeze-dried candy is an expensive, time-consuming venture. Hess and McCoy take on the majority of that tedious work themselves.
“Our machines were about five grand. You have to unwrap (the candies) with gloves. Put them in a machine for two to 12 hours. Take them out. Inspect,” Hess said. “We do all of our own packaging, labeling, sealing. You’re really actually paying for the fact that this isn’t something an average person could do at home.”
Over the upcoming fall and winter holidays, his robust inventory will enlarge to include freeze-dried candy corn, Caramel Apple Pops and enough marshmallow Peeps to satisfy any sweet tooth.
The discovery of that next viral freeze-dried treat is an engaging process of trial and error for these spirited Spokane taste testers.
“We’ve only done candies, but we want to expand it doing ice cream and cheesecakes and fruits and stuff like that,” said Hess, who has even experimented with frostings.
At the center of this lighthearted endeavor sits a piece of equipment which has fascinated both young and old alike.
“The freeze-drying machine is so intriguing … especially to kids. They want to see it expanding and all of that stuff and they just want to try everything. ‘Can you freeze-dry this? Can you do this?’ For me, it’s been fun in the fact it’s really brought a lot of our friends closer to us, because they enjoy the process,” Hess said. “A lot of our friends call us their little Willy Wonkas.”