“We really focused on our social media presence early on, which was another huge part in helping us grow.”

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Nina Rodecker created Tasty Clouds Cotton Candy Company inspired by “LIHI” – a Filipino term for pregnancy craving – and it soon became the pioneer in catered cotton candy services. Tasty Clouds exploded leading her to the #1 spot in Startup Nation’s 2010 Leading Moms in Business Competition and #1 overall in the 2009 Top Home Based Business Competition. Cotton Candy creates nostalgia of childhood memories. Tasty Clouds caters everything from Hollywood galas and weddings to charity events and corporate parties.

MO: Why Cotton Candy?

Nina: I had a craving for freshly spun cotton candy when I was 2 months pregnant. It proved to be difficult to find, and what I could find really wasn’t very appealing: either way too dense or not fresh. I had a very clear idea of how it should be prepared and presented, so that night I came up with the idea of making it myself and turning it into a business.

MO: You and your company have received many awards including being selected among the America’s 100 Top Young CEOs to launch Our Time’s Buy Young Initiative – A daylong event at roundtable discussion and panels hosted by U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Capitol Hill and The White House to promote young entrepreneurship. Why do you think Tasty Clouds stands out so much?

Nina: Well, one part is that we really created a niche market for ourselves and were able to run with it. Winning the awards early on gained us lots of press attention which we were able to parlay into lots of great networking contacts and strategic partnerships with other successful businesses. Another part is the connection we have with our clients, customers, and fans. We really focused on our social media presence early on, which was another huge part in helping us grow. Aside from that, we also realized the fact that it wasn’t just about the product, it was that we that we were able to spread joy and be a part of people’s live in such a positive way. I think that really reflects back on us and helps to cultivate many of the various different business relationships.

MO: You are working on growing the business to a much larger scale. What challenges have you faced through expansion?

Nina: Putting the right team together was the probably biggest challenge. We learned some lessons through the growing pains it caused, but we learned from it and now we have a great team in place for the next stage.

MO: You are known for your high quality products and unique ways of serving this nostalgic treat. Can you tell us about some of your most unique servings?

Nina: Our Signature Cotton Candy Martinis creates a lot of buzz and is a huge hit as signature drinks at special events. We’ve made floral arrangements, centerpieces, and wrapped cotton candy around shrimp and foie gras. We even did an art show were we had huge cotton candy clouds suspended from the ceiling for the attendants to pick at.

MO: You currently offer Cotton Candy, Snow Cones, Caramel Apples and Sweet Sticks. What other products do you plan on expanding to?

Nina: We’ve done a “soft launch” of our Sweet Heaven Clouds Gourmet Marshmallows but really plan to give that a lot of attention in the next year.

MO: How have you utilized social media to engage your client base?

Nina: Engaging our fans through social media as been huge for us. We’ve done questions and polls as to what custom flavors they would like to see next, promos, special offers, events and news to clients. We also enjoy opening up a discussion on current trends that are not necessarily business-related to keep a real connection with our followers.