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Meet Tricia Arce of Toasted Mallow in East Valley

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Tricia Arce.

Tricia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
It started with a contest at my employment where we would have monthly baking contest that consisted of a secret ingredient. The month of Feb the secret ingredient was marshmallows where we had to incorporate marshmallows into a dessert. I myself have never liked marshmallows so I wanted to know how to make a marshmallow and researched it online. After reading multiple recipes I went and bought my first mixer, measuring spoons and ingredients and made my first marshmallow. It wasn’t a successful first try, there was marshmallow everywhere but I was determined to make a marshmallow. After a few days trying I finally had a strawberry marshmallow that was, in my opinion amazing. What pushed me to continue making marshmallows was five months prior I had lost my best friend, my grandmother, and I was her care taker for 5 years and in the last year taking care of her was daily and unfortunately dementia took her from me. Everyday my grandmother was part of either it be a phone call, visit, doctor visit, grocery store or hospital towards the end. When she passed I then had this daily void of where she was supposed to be and nothing to fill it until the making of marshmallows where I felt a sense of calm and purpose. Cheesy as it sounds I absolutely feel this was my grandmothers gift to me to help heal the pain of her loss. I then became obsessed about marshmallows and how to create more flavors and desserts. My wife suggested putting them up on Etsy and to my surprise sold weekly, we then started doing local farmers markets and that sparked curiosity, then we did a Kickstarter to prove the concept of the product and over exceeded our goal. A year after making marshmallows I decided to quit my job and do marshmallows full time with my wife who created all the marketing for our company and the look of our marshmallows. I took my 401K and used it to open a retail location that allowed customers to come in and enjoy a gourmet S’more toasted in front of you in a handmade graham cracker S’mores Bowl and homemade marshmallows. After a year of opening our store location we had to expand the location to accommodate the customers and online orders. Thankfully we did, in June of 2016 Insider an online social media page posted about our store location and we became viral which opened a few doors for us. We were on the Cooking Channel “Unique Sweets” in Jan of 2017 and I wrote a how to marshmallow book called “Marshmallow Heaven” with photography by another local artist Joanie Simon that was published October 2017. We as a family owned business, with our daughter managing our online orders and front of the store, we are doing everything possible to get our names out there. This past holiday season some of our products were at TJ Maxx on the east coast and hopefully we will see our products in more store locations for the holidays 2018. I want to be the best at marshmallows and I love putting smiles on those faces that enjoy them, that’s the ultimate reward.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road, lol I find myself saying “all I wanted to do was make marshmallows”. Owning a small business is a lot more than making the product and selling it. When owning a small business there is overhead, supplies, payroll, shipping cost and taxes. Doors are open where are the people, how do we get them in our store, what do we do to entice people to come in, what new thing can we create to cause a social media buzz, how do we remain successful. This is what I wake up to every morning trying to figure out how to be better than yesterday. First we were too small of a location so we expanded and now we are too small again and need a bigger kitchen and more seating for the awesome customers that come and hang out enjoying our desserts. The joys of going viral and having such a demand but only so many hands on deck and needing equipment to make the processes easier. Summers are always a difficult time for small businesses due to the lack of customers coming in and shipping cost due to ice packs being added.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Toasted Mallow – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I create all the marshmallows in the company and oversee the kitchen with all the baking and creating. We specialize in creating a handcrafted artisan marshmallow made without using corn syrup due to a lot of customers especially kids being allergic to corn. We love everything marshmallows! We believe it takes a lot of love, passion and creativity to elevate something as simple as a marshmallow. When you try our handcrafted gourmet marshmallows, you’ll know right away these aren’t the grocery store kind! We offer over 35 flavors throughout the year, they’re 100% corn syrup free, we offer a large selection of gluten free marshmallows and they are made with kosher ingredients. Our shop is designed to give you the best marshmallow experience! We want you to feel welcomed, excited and have fun enjoying our sweet treats. Our shop is divided into a cafe for you to enjoy as long as you want and a shopping area to take some home and share. I am most proud of the growth we have had in 3 1/2 years of being open, the amazing team that supports my marshmallow dreams, the passion that shows in the product and being recognized nationally for reinventing a childhood favorite. I believe what sets us apart from others is our large selection of flavors, the size and quality of our marshmallows and our attention to details including customer service because without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I love.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our plans for the future will hopefully include more valley locations hopefully 2018 we will see growth. We want to dominate the marshmallow world with our sweet confections and be placed in more locations.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Joanie Simon

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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