Emily Harpel – Wild Business Growth Podcast #251: Cotton Candy Clevelander, Founder of Art of Sucre

Starting your business is easier than you think. You might even be able to do it during a car ride. That’s the story of this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Emily Harpel. Emily is the Founder and CEO of Art of Sucre. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 251: Emily Harpel – Cotton Candy Clevelander, Founder of Art of Sucre

Emily Harpel, the Founder and CEO of Art of Sucre, joins the show to share her journey starting her gourmet cotton candy and glitter bomb business while driving back from her honeymoon. Hear how to launch new flavors, pivot from in-person events to eCommerce, strike gold on TikTok, use psychology in your marketing, and the most underrated food spots in Cleveland. This episode covers everything from cotton candy to onions. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• Has Emily always had an affection for confection
• How did she come up with the idea for Art of Sucre
• Why did she decide to go with cotton candy
• How much taste-testing do she and her team do
• Where did the idea for the glitter bombs come from
• How do you keep going when times are tough
• What’s a quirk Emily has
• Bamboozled!

Connect with Emily at ArtOfSucre.com and on social media @ArtOfSucre and @EmilyHarpel.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Cotton Candy
  • [0:30] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:39] Connect with Emily at ArtOfSucre.com and on social media @ArtOfSucre and @EmilyHarpel
  • [2:10] The Cotton Candy and Cool Glitter Bomb Queen from Cleveland
  • [2:54] Has Emily always had an affection for confection (nice)
  • [3:04] Shoutout Cleveland, Akron, and Northeast Ohio!
  • [3:31] Gotcha
  • [4:24] What are donut walls
  • [4:45] Cake Pops
  • [4:52] Instagram, Pinterest
  • [5:27] How did Emily come up with the idea for Art of Sucre
  • [5:58] Psychology, Graduate School (Grad School)
  • [6:21] Paycheck
  • [6:31] Bit my tongue so hard
  • [7:06] Rental Car, Uber
  • [7:37] LLC (Limited Liability Company)

• The Art of Sucre Story
  • [8:14] Shoutout, Drew!
  • [8:19] How did Emily’s friends and family react to her starting Art of Sucre
  • [8:45] Entrepreneurs
  • [9:19] Significantly!
  • [9:34] Greg Branstetter – Wild Business Growth Podcast #18: President and Founder of Hippo Direct, Our Family Business
  • [9:52] Cannot talk today
  • [10:34] Why did Emily decide to go with cotton candy
  • [10:44] Social Media
  • [11:32] Not a clown!
  • [12:08] How much taste-testing do Emily and her team do
  • [12:40] Office Ladies
  • [13:05] How many flavors have Emily and her team created
  • [14:09] Caramel Green Apple
  • [14:16] Caramel Apple Sucker or Lollipop
  • [14:40] Pop Rocks
  • [14:55] The Office
  • [15:06] How long does it take to develop and launch new flavors
  • [16:02] Ayayay
  • [16:25] Where did the idea for the glitter bombs come from
  • [17:56] CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods)
  • [18:02] Does Emily watch The Bear
  • [18:38] How has the packaging journey been for Art of Sucre
  • [20:04] Cotton Candy, Tears, and Headaches by Emily Harpel
  • [20:27] What’s the biggest difference between in-person events and eCommerce
  • [20:39] Stress
  • [20:48] Employees
  • [21:22] Shoutout, Dana!
  • [21:28] Wedding Planning
  • [21:51] How do you handle working weekends and nights
  • [23:16] How do you expand your team
  • [23:31] Shoutout, Emma Biermann!
  • [24:50] Yoda
  • [25:04] Spit it out, Max
  • [25:20] How do you grow to millions of followers on TikTok
  • [26:08] Manufacturing
  • [26:21] Rainbow Glitter Bombs, Neon Rainbow Glitter Bombs
  • [26:54] Wild Business Growth Podcast
  • [27:19] Told you (not so smoothly)
  • [27:32] The kids do say that
  • [27:44] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23
  • [27:46] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
• Inspiration & Creativity: Psychology & Marketing
  • [29:00] How do psychology and marketing work together
  • [29:56] Startup
  • [30:09] How do you keep going when times are tough
  • [31:14] “Everything happens as it should”
  • [31:25] Had to keep in the slight error(s)
  • [31:39] So close
  • [31:50] Prooth = proof + truth
  • [32:03] Headspace
  • [32:09] How do you think with the consumer in mind
  • [32:39] Emily’s personal TikTok & Instagram
  • [32:51] Content
  • [33:24] Creating a content

• The Unusual: Pet Peeves, Quirks, and Weird Talents
  • [33:41] Bazinga
  • [33:57] What is Emily’s biggest pet peeve
  • [34:26] What is a Weird Talent she has
  • [34:32] Late Show with David Letterman
  • [34:44] Bunny Ears, Show Choir
  • [34:58] “Loop De Loop” from SpongeBob SquarePants
  • [35:03] What’s a quirk Emily has
  • [35:38] Leeanna Gantt – Wild Business Growth Podcast #247: Dosage Designer, Founder of tooktake
  • [35:51] Trader Joe’s
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [36:18] Bamboozled!
  • [36:44] What’s Emily’s favorite donut flavor
  • [36:59] Krispy Kreme
  • [37:08] Marble Room, Luxe
  • [37:19] PREACH
  • [37:48] Mason’s Creamery
  • [38:27] Marco Island
  • [38:43] Marco Polo
  • [39:35] Connect with Emily at ArtOfSucre.com and on social media @ArtOfSucre and @EmilyHarpel
  • [40:05] What are Emily’s Final Thoughts
  • [40:08] Nike
  • [40:45] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [41:07] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [41:09] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [41:11] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [41:16] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, NFL RedZone, Big Mouth Billy Bass, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more Wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Emily Harpel on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. And get artsy & sweet with Art of Sucre together. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!