Est. 2019 · Minneapolis, MN
Our story
One copper pot, one stubborn idea, and a long history of eating the failures.
The beginning
One copper pot, one stubborn idea
Whimwhirl started in 2019 in a rented corner of a community kitchen on Pleasant Avenue. The two of us — a former baker and someone who had just learned that they owned more candy thermometers than friends — wanted to make lollipops that tasted like actual fruit instead of like a Fruit Roll-Up's cousin.
The first batches were a disaster. The sugar crystallized into grit. The spirals collapsed like bad pottery. We learned by ruin: that honey from a small apiary behaves differently in hard candy, that humidity on a July afternoon ruins a pull, and that no matter how carefully you measure, the thermometer gets the final word.
By the end of that first year we had eleven flavors we were willing to put our name on, a stall at the neighborhood market, and a habit of writing down what went wrong in a notebook we still keep.
What we mean by "unusual"
We think in combinations, not flavors
"Unusual" doesn't mean weird for weird's sake. It means we start with a question: what does mango taste like when there's basil in the room? What happens to rosewater if cardamom is whispering in the background? A lot of those experiments fail, and the failures go straight into the notebook, not the jar.
The ones that survive feel obvious in hindight — which is how we know they work. A good flavor pairing shouldn't feel like a trick. It should feel like something you didn't know you were missing.
That's also why we don't do reproductions of famous candy bars and why we don't list ingredients. The fun of a Whimwhirl purchase is partly the guess. We'd rather you taste first and ask questions later.
See the current lineup
A short timeline
How we got here
2019
First batch in a community kitchen. Eleven surviving flavors. A notebook full of ruined sugar.
2021
A weekend stall at the neighborhood market. The Guessing Game debuts — and we learn that people will absolutely pay to be confused, on purpose.
2023
Gift boxes, the first wholesale partnership with a local café, and the move into our own small shop on Pleasant Avenue. Pickup by appointment only — we like knowing who's coming.
2026
Six core candies, a rotating seasonal lineup, and still no automated puller. We get asked about scaling every month. The answer is still no.
Small on purpose
Why we stay small
A production line would mean consistent spirals and twice the output. It would also mean the same swirl on every stick, the same flavor every time, and a kitchen that doesn't smell like a kitchen.
We make between forty and eighty lollipops per batch. Some days we make three batches. Some weeks we make nothing new at all, because the season isn't giving us what we want.
That means occasional sold-outs, a waitlist for custom orders, and prices that reflect what it costs to make candy this way. If you want all six flavors in one box, tell us early. If you want to wait for the next batch of something, that's a fine deal too.
See how we make it
Where to find us
2740 Pleasant Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408. Pickup is by appointment — we're a two-person kitchen, so a quick message first means we'll have your order wrapped and waiting instead of you knocking on a closed door.
Questions, custom orders, event candy, or just want to argue about whether the basil belongs on the strawberry side? We'd love to hear from you.
Curious about the current batches?
We post what's cooking in our monthly Batch Notes email, and we reply to every order request within two business days.
Get in touch