Sweet success

  • Brooke Fisher<br>Enterprise editor
  • Monday, March 3, 2008 10:37am

SHORELINE — In retrospect, Carolyn Beaulaurier’s career choice should have been obvious — she loved eating Cracker Jack caramel coated popcorn as a child but thought the concoction could be improved.

“There was never enough peanuts,” Beaulaurier, 49, said.

After being urged by a friend’s father to sell the caramel corn she had been making and giving as gifts to friends and relatives, Beaulaurier went into business about four years ago and founded Simply Sinful Gourmet Caramel Corn. Her business is largely wholesale and she sells six varieties of caramel corn at Shoreline Central Market, Town and Country markets and Key Arena.

A new blend, the Boom Boom Room mix, was recently created by Beaulaurier for the Golden Globe Awards, which aired on TV on Jan. 16. The Boom Boom mix is not yet available at stores, Beaulaurier said, but may be available for retail after she consults with store managers.

“It was real quick; I had to come out with the product and get a new label done,” Beaulaurier said. “I wanted everything to be top of the line for celebrities.”

After meeting a woman at an airing of Northwest Afternoon — who knew the organizer of a private party in conjunction with the Golden Globe Awards — Beaulaurier was invited to share her caramel corn at the event. Beaulaurier and her husband traveled to Los Angeles to distribute free bags of caramel corn to celebrities. Her hope was that the product would receive a celebrity endorsement, she said.

“Nothing may come of this, but I figured it is a chance of a lifetime,” Beaulaurier said.

The Boom Boom Room mix includes macadamia nuts, which resemble “golden globes,” covered in white chocolate and gold luster dust (which is edible).

“We had one gentleman who said if he liked it he would make sure Oprah got a bag,” Beaulaurier said. “He opened the bag and said ‘Oh my, this is incredible; I will definitely have to make sure Oprah gets some.’”

Although Beaulaurier works on occasion as a suite attendant at Key Arena and Qwest field, she devotes a good 40 hours per week to making, packaging and distributing caramel corn. Although she originally cooked the caramel corn in the kitchen of her Shoreline home, Beaulaurier now rents kitchen space from a local organization. She spends about three days a week preparing small batches of caramel corn to ensure consistency, she said. A day’s worth of cooking results in about 250 bags of caramel corn.

After preparing the caramel corn, Beaulaurier stores it in plastic totes before bagging it in 8 and 6 ounce bags, and either storing it (it has a shelf life of four months) or delivering it to vendors. The most popular variety is the plain caramel corn, she said, which she varies in the different blends by adding nuts or even chocolate. The caramel corn menu consists of Original Sin, Simply Sinful, Classy Cashew, Awesome Almond, Macadamia Madness and Cassandra’s Choice (named after her daughter and drizzled with bittersweet chocolate).

After spending three months trying to figure out what to call her business, Beaulaurier settled on the name Simply Sinful after customers constantly told her the caramel popcorn was just that. The caramel corn sells for $4.99 at grocery stores, which is pricier than Fiddle Faddle, Poppycock and Cracker Jack, she said, but customers think it is worth the extra money. She strives to not “skimp” on anything, especially nuts.

“The one thing I didn’t want to do was skimp,” Beaulaurier said. “When I started out making this I decided I would never skimp on anything.”

Although Beaulaurier is the only “real employee,” she has friends and relatives who help when they can and when she needs assistance, especially during the holidays. The business is expanding, however, and she expects to soon add a friend to the payroll for marketing.

Together with her husband, Ward, and a mutual friend, they also sell the caramel corn at festivals, such as the University District Street Fair. And although her business may seem rather unusual, Beaulaurier says she has some local competition.

“There are several local caramel corn companies out there, but few who I believe make it from scratch,” Beaulaurier said. “They use an artificial mix and don’t make the caramel sauce.”

Ward Beaulaurier, 44, said his wife’s caramel corn was well-received at the pre-party for the Golden Globe Awards.

“We are looking to get it in front of more people,” Ward said. “The product kind of speaks for itself and sells itself.”

Although Beaulaurier said she would one day like to open a store to sell her caramel corn, for now she is satisfied with watching her small company grow. And only one thing could prevent future expansion of Simply Sinful Gourmet Caramel Corn.

“My ultimate goal would be for Hershey’s or Nestle to buy it from us,” Beaulaurier said.

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