An 18-year-old Hebron native is shipping freeze-dried candy to Disney World, Disneyland, Six Flags and about 30 states from a storefront on Houston Road in Florence.
Aubrie Sink, a University of Kentucky student, runs Freezin' with Aubrie out of 4997 Houston Road, where 11 freeze dryers hum and about 14 employees pack orders for theme parks, zoos and retailers nationwide. The business sells more than 100 freeze-dried items, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported on Aug. 21.
The operation started small. At 8, Sink was delivering newspapers around her Hebron neighborhood. At 12, she learned to make jam and apple butter from her grandmother, then sold jars at flea markets and craft shows under the name "Jammin' with Aubrie." She had planned to save for a car. Instead, she spent the money on a freeze dryer.
It took six months to convince her mother, Cristina Sink, to let her buy the machine. Cristina told the Enquirer she was hesitant about her daughter spending hard-earned jam money on equipment they knew nothing about. She eventually bought a bag of freeze-dried Skittles from Amazon to test the concept.
"Good thing, too. Now we have 11 freeze dryers!" Cristina said.
Skittles were the first candy Aubrie ever freeze-dried. She experimented with Peeps, Nerds Gummy Clusters, Jolly Ranchers and gummy worms as freeze-dried candy went viral on social media around 2020. Demand outgrew the family's home kitchen, pushed them into a commercial kitchen and eventually into the Florence brick-and-mortar.
Cristina Sink, who previously taught college courses online, left that job to work full-time in the business after logging more than 100 hours a week helping make candy and attend events.
The wholesale side grew from local accounts outward. The Cincinnati Zoo was Freezin' with Aubrie's first wholesale customer, followed by Jungle Jim's and Kings Island. Word of mouth at Kings Island led to Cedar Point, and the list kept expanding to include Six Flags, Knott's Berry Farm and Kalahari.
The Disney deal came together after Sink's aunt, who serves as sales and marketing director, met a Disney Parks buyer at a trade show. Freeze-dried treats now sit in gift shops at the exits of Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom and Mission: SPACE at Epcot. Disney is the company's most recognized partner, though not its largest customer by order volume, according to the Enquirer.
Large orders for Disney and Kalahari take two to three weeks to prepare. Ice cream orders can stretch to a month.
In a July 28 visit by the Enquirer, employee Kaleb Janiszewski, 19, sorted Starburst candies onto a tray at the Florence store, one of the daily tasks that keeps the operation moving.
Sink told LEX 18 on June 10 she hopes to expand to Disney Cruise Lines and launch a dirty soda food truck. A second store location is also on her list, though no timeline has been announced for either plan.
