Art of Sucre in Fairlawn elevates nostalgia of cotton candy with 'new spin on sweet'

Emily Harpel has made a business of adding sweetness and shimmer to people's lives.

The entrepreneur, founder of Art of Sucre in Fairlawn, started her gourmet cotton candy business with the goal of giving the childhood treat a chic upgrade. She's putting "a new spin on sweet," as her website says, with hand-spun, small batches of cotton candy in unique flavors.

"I think it's so whimsical. There's something so fun about it that you really can't experience in any other dessert form," Harpel said.

She offers nine cotton candy flavors in $12 pouches equivalent to four large cones: Watermelon, Manhattan, Peach Bellini, Champagne, Raspberry Lemonade, Cookie Dough, Birthday Cake, Strawberry Bubble Gum and Island Punch. Art of Sucre also rotates limited edition flavors.

Her company's best known for its cotton candy glitter bombs, which have gone viral on TikTok. They're puffs of cotton candy wrapped around edible glitter that shimmers when dropped into liquid. The cotton candy dissolves and adds some sweetness.

Glitter bombs should be served in a clear glass with champagne or any clear, bubbly beverage. The bombs are champagne-flavored and come in 10 colors.

They came about in 2018, when Harpel was making cotton candy at a Cleveland fundraiser and a woman asked her what would happen if she put her cotton candy in her champagne. Harpel said it would just dissolve, and her glitter bomb idea was born that day.

Harpel soon started adding edible glitter to cotton candy to put in drinks at events. The glitter, made of rice powder and mica, has no flavor or texture.

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Art of Sucre goes viral on TikTok

Harpel, 30, brainstormed Art of Sucre while traveling home from her honeymoon in 2016. Researching for her wedding, she noticed cotton candy favors were lacking in cute packaging, flavors or colors.

Art of Sucre started out as an events-based gourmet cotton candy business. After the pandemic hit, Harpel transitioned her business to an e-commerce model with the help of TikTok.

Around the time Art of Sucre reached 1 million followers on TikTok, she decided to move her business online.

The glitter bombs that Harpel created live at events did so well on video, online demand happened naturally. To date, 42 of Harpel's in-house TikTok videos have gone viral, with more than 1 million views.

"I created this massive demand for a product that didn't even really exist or wasn't able to ship yet" before her 2021 online launch, Harpel said of her packaged glitter bombs and cotton candy. "I'm showcasing a cool product and people want it and will find a way to get it."

During those early days of TikTok, when teens used it to create dance videos, it wasn't common for businesses to be on the app. Harpel reached the 1 million mark in October 2020, four months after she started posting multiple daily videos on TikTok.

"I followed my gut, knowing that it was going to be much larger than anybody was anticipating as far as growth in social media," she said.

Harpel also created TikTok content sharing her process of building her e-commerce business, which included developing the right packaging for delicate cotton candy.

She launched online March 15, 2021, selling out of more than 4,000 units of cotton candy in 40 minutes.

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Harpel is a graduate of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and the University of Akron, where she studied psychology. She grew up in Copley and lives in Wadsworth with her husband, Drew.

Now, her bright, 30,000-square foot cotton candy studio in a Fairlawn office building is her production base. Harpel has four full-timers and 20 part-time spinners who help her make the magic happen at Art of Sucre.

St. Patrick's Day the Art of Sucre way

The business is offering St. Patrick's Day fun with the new Shake Your Shamrocks glitter bomb ($22 for a box of four), which features green iridescent flecks and melts down to bright green.

Pot of Gold ($22) is a green glitter bomb but three lucky winners will get a gold glitter bomb inside to win free cotton candy for a year. Harpel also offers limited edition Irish Cream ($13) and Cerealisly Lucky ($13) marshmallow-flavored cotton candy for St. Patrick's Day.

Online orders are processed within 24 to 48 hours and local orders will arrive the next day with ground shipping. Shipping costs $9.50, or free for orders of $150 or more.

The science of cotton candy

Cotton candy is simply flavored, spun sugar. One large cone has just two teaspoons of sugar, which is the equivalent of one Jolly Rancher, Harpel said.

"I actually don't have the biggest sweet tooth in the world," she divulged.

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Harpel, who loves to put smiles on folks' faces through cotton candy, makes sure she keeps a glitter bomb in her purse at all times. She adds them to a drink when she's out with friends or shows people what she does for a living when they ask.

Art of Sucre takes custom orders

Harpel takes many custom orders from couples for their weddings, including cotton candy flavors and glitter bomb colors.

Custom orders also are made for baby showers, gender reveal parties and other special events. Custom creations, limited to only the client's imagination, require a minimum order of 50 units.

Art of Sucre, which does not have a retail space, is a small manufacturer. The business hosts periodic sip and shop events at its Fairlawn location; see artofsucre.com to sign up for email or text updates.

Harpel is now working toward selling to big box stores and wholesale clients. In October, her glitter bombs went into American Girl cafes nationally, where they're used in kids' mocktails. Next week, Harpel and her team will visit American Girl in New York to create social media content there.

She's also developing evergreen glitter bomb collections for life occasions including weddings, bridal party gifts and gender reveals.

"If you make a drink glitter, people are gonna love it," she said.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Fairlawn entrepreneur puts new spin on cotton candy with glitter bombs