Cotton candy is all grown up. No longer relegated to descriptive flavors like pink and blue, Fluffpops is reinventing the sugary treat for a more mature audience.
Spun in small-scale cotton candy machines designed by Fluffpops founder Yasmeen Tadia, the sweet-on-a-stick is far from the sticky mess of State Fair memories I associate with cotton candy. Thin, soft, fluffy, and a measly 6 calories, Fluffpops are basically flavored air.
The miniature dollops of cotton candy pack a real punch, melting in your mouth to leave the taste of pineapple, guava, strawberry, or, my favorite, lychee, on your tongue.
With 15 Fluffpop DJs who spin live at events, Fluffpops aren’t just about the flavor. Watching the technique used to wrap the tendrils of candy around the short wooden skewer is mesmerizing. Never spun bigger than a fist, the bites of sugar are ideal for endless snacking. (I ate 7 in a row and could have continued for hours.)
Yasmeen spins at every event, travelling across the country to promote her idea-turned-business inspired by her three-year-old son, Zain. When she couldn’t find any candy without dyes or preservatives to feed Zain’s sweet tooth, she decided to create something new.
Now, just under a year after making her idea a reality, the white cotton candy is being spun at parties and weddings across the country. Yasmeen can even spin Fluffpops around glow sticks, into cocktails, or as garnishes for coffee.
Yasmeen, who has a portable Fluffpop machine that she carries in her purse, will be launching new, seasonal flavors in the fall, including wasabi and Sriracha.
If you can’t get Fluffpops out to your next party (which you should), order a few Mini Masons – small glass jars filled with exotically flavored cotton candy – as gifts, thank yous, or even place markers. Each jar’s sticker is customized, so make sure to order them two weeks in advance.
Meredith Carey is an editorial intern at D Magazine. She will be a junior at Southern Methodist University with majors in journalism and Spanish.
