Bliss Candy Company started in 2006 after people kept asking Cynthia Timpa to make toffee and bring it to work.
“The requests got to be so massive that I was spending more time making toffee on my days off than anything else,” she recalls. “Forget laundry and cleaning, I had toffee orders to fill!”
Eventually she presented the toffee to a Houston retailer with hopes of him putting it in his chain of stores, and within a few months, the product was in more than 50 stores across Texas.
“The recipe came from my mother, but I never had much interest in learning the craft until I became an adult, moved away from home, and realized that really good, buttery, crunchy but not teeth-breaking toffee was hard to find,” Timpa says. “And thus was born the candy maker I never intended to become.”
Now she and her husband, Sammy, have a storefront in Brenham, Texas, and have extended their candy offerings to include truffles, panned candies, caramels and popcorn, incorporating the various toffee flavors into the popcorn.
Timpa recently took some time to talk about her favorite candy, her dreams of being a flight attendant and what concerns her most about the industry.
If you were stranded on a deserted island with only one kind of candy, what would it be?
If stranded on an island with only one candy, it would have to be toffee! There is NOTHING better than butter and chocolate!
What’s the last cool thing you saw online?
I recently saw online a video of miles and miles of electric company trucks convoying their way to Florida in relief efforts. It was inspiring!
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a flight attendant. I’m so glad now that did not work out.
What issues concern you most about the confectionery industry and why?
My concern about the confectionery industry involves the over-use of preservatives in candy kids eat. Thankfully, this is being addressed now in a positive way, but we have more work to do.
What’s the last book you’ve read?
The last book I read was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
What is your pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is slow internet and dropped phone calls.
If given the chance to choose anyone, with whom would you like to collaborate?
I would love to collaborate with Ed Kruse, one of the founders of Blue Bell Ice Cream.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I’ve ever had came from my Dad: “Work as a team member, don’t make yourself a burden to others, and always give back.”
What excites you most about your job?
The most exciting part of my job is seeing the joy and excitement when people buy something that brings them pure joy! I love this industry.
