The Salty Road to Growing a Brooklyn-Based Candy Company

What is universal about candy?

(rhythmic fun music)

It is like magic.

You know, life is really hard, and it's tough

and I feel like it's amazing to have something sweet

to take away some of the bitterness of just regular life.

My name is Marisa Wu, and I'm the owner of Salty Road,

a Brooklyn-based candy company.

Salty Road's taffy is different than other taffy-makers,

mainly because we add in real flavorings,

and we also put large grain seal salt in all of our taffy,

and you can really taste the difference.

The basic gist of it is we have a base

which is sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk,

and we'll add a fruit purée or a spice

and then it cooks off, we pour it onto the cooling table.

Once it's about like 98 degrees, we pull it,

with a taffy puller.

Once it's fully aerated, we rest it for about 15 minutes,

and we put it in the batch roller,

which makes it into a cylinder,

and then from the cylinder we hand-pull it into

the cutting and wrapping machine,

which we have named Harriet.

Harriet cuts and wraps it, and then it goes into a bin

and we package everything ourselves.

I think I've always wanted to be a candy-maker.

I've always wanted to be just around candy,

anyway that I could.

When I was in middle school,

I started making lollipops by hand

and I sold them in the playground and I got detention.

So it's like been in my blood since I've been small.

I started the company in the summer of 2011,

my friend had asked me to start making saltwater taffy

because she couldn't find any that was local and natural.

So that very night, I went home, and I made

my very first batch of vanilla with real vanilla beans,

and large grain sea salt, and it was the best taffy

I've ever tasted,

and that was when Salty Road was born.

I think for Valentine's Day,

it's such a big chocolate holiday,

I think it's cool to have something for people

that aren't as into chocolate as everybody else.

So for this Valentine's Day,

we're making a special hard candy,

it's a pink pineapple

and a sweet and spicy cinnamon drop.

It's the first time that we've ever made hard candy,

so we're really excited about it,

and because it's the first time,

we're only gonna be selling it to people

that have stores in Brooklyn.

So it's like coming back home, and staying local,

trying it out, seeing if people really like it.

It's been super fun to make,

and it's just for Valentine's,

so it's gonna be just this two weeks.

I see making candy as bringing people together,

and putting a pause on all of the hard things in life,

and being able to enjoy something

that's been made really well,

and that tastes really good.

It's at treat, so don't eat it everyday,

but when you do eat it, eat the best,

and really enjoy it.

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