Who: High-country sweet tooth Dianne Hickman
High in the Rocky Mountains, in a little white house with a barn, Dianne Hickman is building a huge stockpile – of candy.
Hickman, 51, and her mother, Marjorie Hickman, run Taste of the Rockies, a small, niche candy distributor. Hickman’s Hot Sulphur Springs barn houses a growing business that sells candy from St. Thomas to Seattle.
An unapologetic chocoholic, Hickman took over her parents’ candy business 10 years ago after operating her own pair of Winter Park sugar shacks called The Satisfied Sweet Tooth.
The nearly 70-year-old family business was founded by a Colorado Springs pharmacist and his wife, who developed Taste of the Rockies’ signature sweets, Souvenir Rock Candy: Delicious pebble-shaped jellybeans that bear a disconcerting resemblance to river rocks.
Are people afraid they’ll crack their teeth on the rock candy? We’ve heard that many times from customers. The original rocks truly were (realistic-looking). They were beautiful. It’s really kind of an art form, throwing the speckles on. Especially back in the ’30s, it was such a beautiful, original, wonderful thing.
Can you buy rock candy by the yard, like gravel at the landscaping center? No, we don’t sell them that way, but we do sell them to a lot of aggregate companies as giveaways. One marble company always keeps a big dish at the front. Other aggregate companies take them to their trade shows. One of our aggregate customers is actually a lobbyist in Washington D.C., in the mining industry. He’ll send two pounds of rocks to a geologist. He told me, “Well, Dianne, you know if I get them in the hands of George Bush, I’ll send you a picture.” That would be pretty good advertising.
Any big-time aspirations? We try and stay away from corporate as much as possible. We don’t want to be in 7-Eleven.
What’s your best-selling item? Probably anything chocolate. Chocolate-covered peanuts, peanut clusters – men love them so much that I put power tools on them – chocolate almonds. We sell probably 20 different kinds of gummies and we do a lot of the nostalgic stuff, like Canada mints, those funky pink mints. The Canada mints just crack me up because they taste like Pepto Bismol.
Willy Wonka: An inspiration? No … although I wouldn’t mind swimming in a river of chocolate, provided I wasn’t sucked up in a tube. But then, looking at Johnny Depp wouldn’t be too bad.
What’s your favorite candy? I am a devoted chocolate person. My father and I used to bond by eating chocolate bars on the couch. However, I do love Haribo gummy grapefruit. The cinnamon toffee peanuts really hit the spot sometimes.
Is it hard not to eat the candy at work? Up until I was about 45, I used to watch my weight, but I would always, whatever I was doing, save room for candy. If I was doing fat-free, I’d have 10 jellybeans a day. I have to have candy every day.
SWEET TOOTH
Though most of her business is wholesale, Hickman operates a small Taste of the Rockies outlet store at 121 Byers Ave. in Hot Sulphur Springs. For more information, call 970-725-1112 or 800- 544-4492 or tasteoftherockies.net.
