How It Started
Essential Candy was founded in 2018 by Tracy and Dean Ernst, who both have a dedicated mission to provide healthy, functional, and plant-powered alternatives to traditional hard candy.
Tracy’s personal experience with a close friend who was battling cancer prompted a deep desire to help them deal with the difficult side effects of chemotherapy treatments. This led to the creation of Essential Candy,
a company committed to providing comfort and support to individuals in need. By extracting plant botanicals and infusing them into every hard candy, Tracy and Dean set out to craft a product that could offer both a guilt-free treat and wellness benefits.
After positive feedback from Tracy’s friend and some experimentation with different blends and recipes, Tracy and Dean took their product to a small Farmers Market and sold out in 30 minutes.
Expansion and Growth in 2025
Essential Candy originally opened their first facility in Wellington, Florida – during Covid – which caused operational launch delays as the machines used in production were stuck on boats overseas – for almost a year! Despite those challenges, they persevered.
Tracy and Dean opened their second, and larger, manufacturing facility in South Carolina and are experiencing tremendous growth. In the continued spirit of helping others, they are currently focusing on a new blend that addresses cognitive care.
For every bag of candy purchased, the company donates a bag of its functional, better-for-you hard candies to cancer support groups, helping those affected by the challenges of cancer treatment. This commitment to giving back is central to the company’s mission, as Essential Candy seeks to make a meaningful impact on individuals and communities beyond the product itself.
Why Essential Candy Chose SupplierGateway’s EDC
Tracy and Dean discovered SupplierGateway’s Enhanced Digital Certification (EDC) via Amazon when they signed up as a distribution partner. As a small, woman-owned business, the EDC just “made sense”.
Tracy says, “The EDC from SupplierGateway was extremely helpful for us in terms of bringing visibility and credibility to our business, as retailers tend to look for and prefer suppliers who are certified. The application was quick, easy, simple and the cost was minimal.”
Advice to Other Small Business Owners on Their Entrepreneurial Journey
When asked what advice Tracy and Dean would offer to other small businesses, they provided some valuable insights:
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- Starting your own business is not for the faint of heart. It will be one of the hardest things you ever do. Maintain an optimistic attitude and prepare for the challenges.
- Make sure you have the right team/partners in place – it’s more important to have others who balance out different strengths and weaknesses than it is to have a group of “yes” people.
- Make sure you explicitly define roles and responsibilities and hire/partner with people who are smarter than you in their area of expertise.
- Lean on others for support and guidance in terms of networking, webinars, etc. Educate yourself and seek out advice from others.
- Have a solid business plan out of the gate with detailed documentation. That plan will continually evolve. It’s a “living/breathing” document. Make sure to have both short and long-term goals with committed timelines. This will help keep you motivated as you see yourself making progress.
- Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know – don’t look at “failures as obstacles or a negative experience. Take the wisdom and the lesson from the experience, apply it and move on.
- Remember to maintain a work/life balance – shut off your phone, focus on your family and remember your own needs outside of work. It’s very easy to get consumed by work 24/7 when you own your own business.
