Freeze-dried candy — beloved by TikTok — is the specialty at the new Sugar Crunch Market

Phil Kramer and Tommy Sandelier didn’t set out to become candy makers.

Two years ago, they were selling microgreens from Lindenwold, N.J. Looking to expand their business online, they bought a freeze-dryer — a commercial-grade, tabletop-sized oven — to turn the microgreens into powders that can be added to smoothies and other drinks.

“As soon as we got it, our kids said, ‘You have to freeze-dry candy,’” Sandelier said. Freeze-dried candy, the two dads learned, is big on TikTok.

Kramer and Sandelier put Skittles into the oven and watched them puff up and develop crunch as the water got sucked out under pressure. (“Freeze-dried” is a misnomer, since no freezing is involved.) Through trial and error, they figured out which kinds of candy would freeze-dry. They learned quickly that chocolate and peanut butter do not.

They started Sugar Crunch to market freeze-dried gummy worms, which Kramer and Sandelier call Puffoids; freeze-dried Skittles, which blossomed into an entirely new form called Scrunchums; and saltwater taffy, which blow up into Floofys.

» READ MORE: From microgreens to candy: The birth of Sugar Crunch

Pop an Orbitalz into your mouth, and you’ll taste a crispy Jolly Rancher candy. Skittles, when converted into a Scrunchum, gives you crunch. Floofys melt in your mouth with intensity, as you might imagine Styrofoam would. In a good way.

“We try to make them as big as possible but still a little robust, where they can hold up,” Sandelier said. “There’s this fine line where this stuff gets too brittle if it gets too big and airy, but we also want it to look impressive in the packaging.”

The two men met 25 years ago as students at the University of the Arts; neither has a background in science. Sandelier is a professional musician, while Kramer — who says he’s “big into ‘YouTube Academy’” to learn things — is in construction and real estate.

“We did an initial run and we saw the excitement with the kids, and then did a little market research,” Kramer said. “People thought we were crazy.”

At the Haddon Heights farmers market, they set out bags of the candy, under the label Sugar Crunch, next to their microgreens. Candy sales were brisk.

After contracting with wholesale distributor Casani Candy Co. and starting online sales, Sugar Crunch overtook the microgreens business, which they closed. Two months ago, Kramer and Sandelier opened the tiny Sugar Crunch Market at 905 Christian St. in the Italian Market, near Kramer’s childhood home. Their current line, sold in zip-top bags for $6 or $10, shares shelf space with boxes of commercially made candies, much of it imported, such as Turkish Taffy, Din Don Fruity Snacks, and Dubai chocolate.

“We’re doing the harder-to-find stuff to make it a little bit more of a unique place than just a normal candy store,” Sandelier said. They also designed a Sugar Crunch vending machine, which is now operating at Cherry Hill Mall. Their latest freeze-fried creation is the Twistik, a sour fruit roll-up.

The pair are also getting back into the healthful side of food. “I don’t know if we’re going to start growing microgreens again, but there are some local farmers that we know that took our spots in the farmers market,” Kramer said. “We would source from them and then freeze-dry to make some healthy bites.” They’re offering freeze-dried broccoli and fruits under the Two Cool Dads logo.

Sugar Crunch, 905 Christian St. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.