FROM KITCHEN EXPERIMENTS TO A VIRAL CANDY SENSATION: Meet Florida’s YumNums

DELAND, FLORIDA — Florida is home to plenty of entrepreneurs, but one small business is putting a whole new spin on an old favorite: candy!
Meet YumNums, a Black-owned, family-run candy business based in DeLand, Florida, that’s building a following with its unique take on freeze-dried sweets.
What started as experimenting with snacks, flavors and textures eventually grew into something much bigger.
Instead of traditional candy, YumNums uses a freeze-drying process that transforms familiar treats into light, crunchy, puffed-up creations with an entirely different texture.
Among its featured products are Shapow Sticks, Watermelon YumNums and Sour Blast, each offering a different twist for candy lovers.
According to the company’s story, its growth has taken it from kitchen experiments to schools, TikTok and customers across the United States.
The business focuses on small-batch production, with candy made and packed in Florida.
YumNums is also highlighting an important part of its identity: being a Black-owned, family-operated business building its own lane in the competitive candy market.
In a world where major corporations dominate the shelves, stories like this show how creativity, social media and entrepreneurship can help smaller businesses reach customers far beyond their hometowns.
And if you’ve never tried freeze-dried candy, YumNums might give you a reason to rethink what your favorite candy can taste and feel like.
Want to see what all the crunch is about?
Visit YumNums online: https://yumnumscandy.com/
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