By Mary Ellen Psaltis
Did you know the coolest Ice Chips aren’t in your freezer? They’re the ones flying off shelves in health food stores, retail spaces, dental offices and the virtual shelves of online stores.
It’s not ice, but it’s candy with surprising twists. Instead of sugar, these tantalizing morsels contain xylitol, a sweetener made from birch trees, which is more tooth and diabetic friendly. Ice Chips are also made without GMO products, corn, wheat or gluten. You will find a rainbow of flavors such as spicy cinnamon, holiday eggnog, and baskets of juicy fruit flavors. Keep sampling until you find the flavor that hits the spot.
Here is what makes Ice Chips even more spectacular. The two owners and creators, Charlotte Clary and Bev Vines-Haines, live and work in Thurston County.
I missed their TV debut last November when they appeared on Shark Tank – an opportunity to promote your business in front of potential investors. I also missed the second chance when the show reappeared this spring. But, I watched the clip on their web page, which was fun to see. You can, too.
As it turns out, the ladies (self-titled Grannies) of Ice Chips did not consummate a deal with any of the Shark Tank players, which Clary told me was not uncommon. Instead, they are using the exposure from their TV appearances to grow their business to accomplish automation and expansion on their own.
The candy business started in a Yelm garage, and although they are in a much bigger facility now, the pots of candy brewing are relatively small and well tended. The tins are filled by hand and lined up for shrink-wrapping. Yes, a little automation really helps.
The sheets of candy – which do rather look like big sheets of ice – used to be smashed into pieces with a mallet, creating a piece of candy with a unique shape and size.
When the business partners were ready automate this process, they struggled to find a machine to cut the sheets. Instead, they recruited two people to fabricate a machine specifically for their candy cutting. That sweet machine saves them a full 24-hours.
It’s safe to say the ‘extra’ hours have long since evaporated into producing and packaging greater numbers of tins (more than 6,000 a day), dreaming up ideas for future products and travelling to speak about their business.
My interview with Charlotte Clary was delightful. She’s engaging, light-hearted and deeply committed to products that care for health in a natural, holistic manner.
Clearly, both Clary and Vines-Haines are inspired entrepreneurs who have knacks for paying attention to what is in front of them, seeing a need and manifesting a product. Their other business, Healing Leaf, provides remedies for “hard to heal skin issues.” The two greatest sellers remain the Eye of Newt Wart & Skin Tag Solution and one for foot fungus. Healing Leaf was also born in a garage. By helping family (the grandchildren count is now up to 41) and friends with skin issues, one remedy led to another. As Clary says, each product was “borne out of someone’s need.
Clary gave me a clue of her recipe for success. Know the basics. Friendly eye contact, a hearty handshake and a courteous “How may I help you?” It’s essential to have a passion and play on a team. These two Yelm grandmothers live with enthusiasm and integrity.
And, by the way, they employ 30 people, got their husbands off their knees from many years of contracting work, and make crazy videos you can find on their websites. I imagine they rarely, if ever, have a dull moment.
Ice Chips began with a ten-pound bag of xylitol and a desire to make candy. Now they use 2200 pounds every four days, order 50,000 packing boxes at a time and a half-million tins.
You have a chance to learn more about these unconventional women. Bev Vines-Haines and Charlotte Clary keynote speak at the South Sound Success Small Business Conference on November 5 at the SPSCC Hawks Prairie Campus Annex at 1401 Marvin Road NE, Lacey. The conference is for new and existing business owners. The cost for the daylong event is $45. Get more information at southsoundsuccess.com or call Daryl Murrow at 360-754-6320.
Holiday Alert! They’ve taken a stash of their peppermint ice chips and covered them with locally sourced chocolate just in time for the holidays. I was lucky to get a piece! I’ll be looking to purchase a tin on their website.
Eat Well – Be Well.
