Local Couple And Their Kids Turn Fun Family Challenge Into Deliciously Sweet Side Hustle

What do you get when you take a bumper crop of strawberries, the problem-solving chops of a creative, home-schooled seven-year-old, and a question, wondered out loud by a forward-thinking parent?

Lollipops.

That's what.

And the makings of a great little family business.

Let me explain.

A few years back, Bucksport residents Jason and Angela Bishop were having a conversation about what to do with a bumper crop of strawberries that had grown up on their property over the summer.

"We were getting a mixing bowl a day! We planted 10 plants, and it just overtook part of the lawn," Jason Bishop recalled. That's when his son, who had been listening nearby, chimed in with a suggestion.

"Eli said, 'I know!' and he went and got this cookbook that I had that had strawberry lollipops."

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Bishop's wife homeschools their 3 children, says their eldest loves to read.

He must have been thumbing through cookbooks at some point and remembered that recipe.

So the family tried out the recipe with their berries and decided it needed a little something extra, so they played around with it until they got the right formula.

Then they started to wonder what else they could make, aside from just strawberry lollipops?

"And then this thought crossed my head...it's not where we are now, but it's the seed that started it all...I wondered if I could pay for Eli's college in lollipops. Wouldn't that be hilarious?"

So the couple put their heads together and created a family-base, homemade candy company and website. At first they gave away the sweets to friends, family and co-workers. Later, they started to sell small batches of their treats.

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Incorporating the names of their sweet children, Gideon (who is one), Miriam (who is 4), and Eli (who is 7), Gimie Candy was created, featuring all-natural sweets, handcrafted by this little family from Bucksport, Maine.

The Bishops use only natural ingredients and make every lollipop by hand.

You can follow Gimie Candy on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to keep up to date with all their new flavors and products.

"We've been selling them and shipping them all over the country! We're going to sell it online, or if someone has a shop, stock them, or at some of the fairs around."

Bishop, who's been involved in the craft chocolate community for several years, says the focus of the online shop is the lollipops for now, but they have plans to add some marshmallows and caramels to the mix at some point soon.

"Raspberry Hibiscus and Blueberry Lavender are our two big crowd pleasers. Those are the favorites. Honey Vanilla, Sea Salt Caramel, Ginger Peach, and Sour Cherry...We use local honey, we use Maine wild blueberries...the strawberries and raspberries we try to use from our garden."

"We sell them primarily in packages of a dozen. One thing we do is we have this little 4x6 card that talks about our business, which we put in our shipments. On the back side of it, it says 'This lollipop's happy to see you,' and we tape a flavor that's coming up for next month on it. So it's like a surprise."

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For February, they'll have some Valentine's Day-inspired flavors coming out, which include Passion Fruit, Rose Pear, and Hot Honey.

"We do monthly flavor drops. We usually keep 6 flavors and swap about half out monthly. When people order, we add an additional flavor from the coming month."

"We're amazed by people's reactions. When you think about them, they're just silly little lollipops, but everyone's been very complimentary."

Best of luck to the Bishops. And good job, Eli, for coming up with that sweet idea, which will hopefully pay off in all sorts of big ways for your future!