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Visions of sugar plums do indeed dance in Frann Edley’s head, and not just at Christmas time. The owner of Sugar Plum is constantly dreaming up new concoctions for her hand-dipped Belgian chocolates.
And as anyone who has sampled her treats will likely tell you, her chocolate-covered popcorn and chips are to die for. But don’t take our word for it. Last year, Sugar Plum, whose factory and showroom are located on Dilley Street in Forty Fort, won a 2007 “Awesomely Addictive Award” from an online blog called Candy Addicts. The website has a staff who reviews candies and other treats and writes articles about them.
The reviewer said, “Leave it to Pennsylvania-based Sugar Plum to mess with my reality,” explaining that at first glance the company’s chocolate-covered potato chips didn’t particularly excite her. Then she took a bite and exclaimed, “These chips rocked my world. I cannot even express how delightfully delicious the combination of the salty ruffled chip with the dark chocolate is.”
Frann, wife of Attorney Elliot Edley and a mother of three professionals, is passionate about her candy business. She entered the work force in 1995 after her children were grown. Her son, Douglas, is a talent agent in California. Son, Neil, is a personal shopper in Manhattan; and her daughter, Jodi, of Kingston, designs her own line of jewelry.
“I needed something to do,” she said.
What Frann ended up doing was throwing her heart and soul into truffles, popcorn, and chips, all decadently drizzled in milk, dark, or white chocolate.
Formerly located on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre, next to the former Zimmerman’s bridal salon, Sugar Plum started out as a small, local business.
After she bought the store from the previous owner, Frann turned Sugar Plum into a worldwide enterprise - thanks in large part to the power of the Web and diligent management and persistent self-promotion.
A few years back, Sugar Plum’s website, www.sugar-plum.com , which is also found on igourmet.com, caught the attention of some of the planners for the star-studded Academy Awards. The local confectionery received the surprise call on a Friday, worked around the clock, and by that Monday was shipping out “thousands” of chocolate roses to Los Angeles. The edible flowers traveled in the same limousines transporting the Oscar-winner hopefuls to the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.
Thanks to the far-reaching power of the Internet, Sugar Plum also landed a large order from a Chicago company, Frann said, declining to name the firm. From Texas, a couple contacted Sugar Plum to furnish favors for its wedding. The bride and groom chose chocolate firetrucks, an untraditional wedding favor to say the least, but one that posed no problem for the Forty Fort company.
There aren’t too many themes, it seems, that Frann can’t accommodate. She has designed chocolate artist palettes, manicure kits, jeans, cork screws for wine lovers, and enlarged white chocolate aspirins for students to give to their teachers and coaches in thanks for “putting up with the headaches.”
From its current location, Sugar Plum ships its gourmet treats, not only throughout the United States, but also to destinations in Europe. Its confections are also in gift shops in some East Coast Marriott Hotels and in Macy’s flagship department store in New York City.
Everything is made at the Dilley Street factory, which is equipped with huge vats for mixing the chocolate and large steel tables on which the treats are hand dipped. Also on site is a small showroom.
Frann attributes her success not only to the Internet and networking with other business owners, but also to the high standards she has set for her business.
“I’m always thinking about what we can do better,” she said, adding that she’s a hands-on businesswoman. “I know every aspect of the business. I’m very creative and I love food, and it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass by.”
Chocolate lovers everywhere are undoubtedly glad she didn’t. |
