Skip to main content

Sweet Success for Emery County 'Forbidden Fruit' Purveyor

The 2012 Emery County Fair in Castle Dale, Utah marks ten years since Darcey Powell discovered an opportunity to establish an innovative homemade caramel confections business.  

“I decided to rent a booth at the fair to sell plain caramel apples, something that every fair should have available,” said Powell. “The apples were so well received… I earned several hundred dollars and bought a new appliance for my kitchen! I pondered the thought of what could happen if I embellished the caramel apples with other toppings.”



Subsequent to her discovery, Powell established The Forbidden Fruit, a caramel confections manufacturer and distributor based in Cleveland, Utah.

Since the business was established in 2004, The Forbidden Fruit has flourished from a small home-based business into a well established sweet shoppe with a full commercial kitchen and boutique.  Powell has created fifteen caramel apple flavors including “Strawberry Splendor,” “Glazed Pecan”  and “Chocolate Toffee” which can be found online, in the sweet shoppe or through various vendors.  The Forbidden Fruit also specializes in gourmet chocolate candies and specialty items for holidays, weddings, and special occasions such as the birth of a new baby.

During the first few years of operating The Forbidden Fruit, Powell was a full-time college student and later became a third grade teacher for Sally Mauro Elementary School in Helper, Utah.  By 2007, The Forbidden Fruit had  grown to a point where Powell decided to stop teaching in order to give the business her full-time attention.

After receiving some assistance from the Business Expansion and Retention (Bear) program, Powell was  referred to the Price Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for additional direction to further expand the business.  SBDC Director, Ethan Migliori helped Powell generate new avenues for growth including; acquisition of a commercial kitchen, increased distribution to new business vendors, website optimization, and helped Powell access funding opportunities. “The SBDC helped me discover that my ‘sweet idea’ could be more than just a hobby,” said Powell.   “They taught me that I could take the business to greater heights and offered me the tools to make it happen.”

In 2010, Powell moved The Forbidden Fruit out of her home and into a commercial kitchen—a major milestone that created an opportunity to sell products to other businesses and food suppliers.  Presently, Powell’s caramel apples and candy confections can be found at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Associated Food Stores on the Wasatch Front, Western Nut Company in Salt Lake City, and at county fairs and large events hosted throughout the state.   Powell has also helped her business grow through the development of new and innovative products such as the “Halloween Witch” the “Bride and Groom” set, and several other signature apple collections that can be purchased on the website and shipped anywhere in the continental U.S.

In recognition for Darcey Powell’s achievements as an entrepreneur, the Price Small Business Development Center has selected The Forbidden Fruit to receive a small business recognition nomination for the second quarter of 2012.  For more information about The Forbidden Fruit visit www.caramelapplesandmore.com.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SLCC Automotive Repairs

Click to enlarge. Attention: SLCC Students, staff and faculty! Many SLCC automotive programs need vehicles to work on in these areas: 30 point inspections Oil changes Tire rotation Engine repair Brake systems repair Automatic and transmission repairs Air conditioning repair Electrical troubleshooting & repair Suspension & steering system repair Auto-body repair and painting (on a very limited basis) Please be advised that any repairs are done at the discretion of the instructors due to the subject areas they are teaching.  Because we are using your vehicles for training purposes, we offer members of the College discounts on parts and labor. Parts are at our cost plus 15% and the service fee is $20 per hour based on industry time standards (if the industry assigns an hour for a repair, that's all you're charged for, regardless of how much time it takes the student). We can also offer these services to non-college personnel on a limited basis with...

SLCC All Access

Did you know you can access SLCC lab software for free from your own computing device?   Come learn how SLCC is supporting BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) with All Access. The goal of All Access is to provide any time, any place, and any device access to college computing and lab software SLCC students, faculty and staff.  All Access works on almost any device from a PC or Mac, to tablets and smart phones.  With All Access you can use programs like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, AutoCAD, MatLab, Mathematica, MyITLab, NetBeans, and online Library Databases.  We also provide you with online storage space so you can save your files in the cloud and have access to them wherever you are.  Anyone is welcome to this session where we will cover the basics of All Access, give you some tips and tricks for getting the most out the system, and we’ll also have some people there to help get your computer set up.  When and where: ...

SLCC Alumnus and U.S. Diplomat to Speak at 2025 Commencement

Salt Lake Community College’s 2025 Commencement speaker Branigan Knowlton will share his perspectives drawn from a 12-year career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. In serving his country, Knowlton has honed his foreign relations and diplomacy skills in Hong Kong, Mexico, Colombia and Italy. Knowlton is also a proud Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) alumnus (2002).     Knowlton currently serves at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Before reporting to the embassy, he was detailed to the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport as part of the Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellowship program. In Bogotá, Knowlton worked for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, and in Hermosillo, Mexico, he worked for the Bureau of Consular Affairs. His first assignment abroad was in Hong Kong, where he worked for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.     "I've actively sought opportunities that push me into the unfamiliar, even when ...