Company Founder and Owner:         Jared Cohen

licoricecandytwist.com was founded by Jared Cohen, of Burlington, Iowa.  He writes his own personal experience as follows:

I was driving through Ohio last Fall on I-70, and I stopped at a truck stop to get something to munch on in order to help me stay awake at the wheel.  A display rack loaded with several interesting colors of gourmet looking licorice caught my eye.

I picked up a pack of Old Fashioned Red.  The twists felt soft and substantial, so I bought a pack, thinking I'd have a couple of sticks, and that would be the end of it.  I never liked licorice much, even when I lived in Finland.  (Finns are fanatics about their licorice.)

Anyway, a few miles down the road, I opened the pack, pulled a twist out, and took a bite.  My front teeth cut through the licorice like butter.  I was impressed by the flavor and texture.  I took another bite, and then another.  Soon the pack was half gone, and I thought to myself, "this is the best red licorice I ever tasted!"  I kicked myself for not buying more packs at that truck stop.

About six months later, I decided to host a web-site through StoresOnline.  At their seminar, I was told to pick a product I would be passionate about.  Driving home that night, I thought and thought, "what product could I be passionate about?"  Half-way home, I remembered that gourmet licorice experience I had back in Ohio on I-70 six months earlier.  Only problem was, I couldn't remember the brand name.  (I'm terrible at remembering names.)

So, when I got home, I did a Google Search.  I Googled Ohio's I-70 truck stops, and printed a hard copy of the list.  Next morning, I began my phone calls.  After a couple of dead end calls, a young female clerk finally answered, "wait a minute; I think I know what licorice you are talking about."

There was a long pause at the other end of the line, as she went and retrieved a pack off the shelf.  When she returned to the phone, she said, "I think this is what you're looking for."  She graciously read me the manufacturer's information over the phone.  I thanked her, and called Hickory Harvest immediately.

I ended up speaking with one of the company's owners, Mike Swiatkowski.  I explained to Mike how I wanted to sell his licorice over the Internet by hosting an independent website.  He expressed interest in my idea, even though they already had a website.

Mike explained that he receives e-mail requests and phone calls on a weekly basis from customers wanting information on where to buy I M Good and Hickory Harvest licorice locally (I learned that Hickory Harvest and I M Good are exactly the same gourmet licorice, but sold under different brand names.)  Unfortunately, Mike could never respond adequately to these customer requests.  He said, "as a manufacturer, we can only ship in bulk to distributors, who in turn, sell the licorice packs to thousands of 'brick and mortar' retailers throughout the United States."

licoricecandytwist.com seemed to be a long awaited solution to I.M Good and Hickory Harvest's on going customer relations dilemma; so on May 9, 2008, licoricecandytwist.com was born.

Mission Statement

licoricecandytwist.com is committed to providing a user-friendly and secure website environment for customers to receive the freshest possible gourmet licorice twist candy available at the best possible prices, delivered directly to customer's front doors.