Southern Indiana Living SeptOct 2012

Living the
SWEET
Life
Cotton Candy whiz Bill Burch can’t get enough sugar
Story // Sam C Bowles
Like most people, Bill Burch loves snack foods,
but Bill has taken that appreciation to the
next level by making a career out of it.
“When I was in high school, I used to make
peanut brittle,” Burch said, “I had the Charlie Brown
Cookbook when I was young and liked to make candies
and stu like that.”
Burch has been in the grocery delivery business
for over 35 years now, stocking grocery stores of all
sizes with all kinds of snacks. His primary employment
is with the Davis Cookie Company for whom
he distributes a variety of products, but he has also
worked with Webb’s Butcher Block for the past couple
of years.
“I’ve called on just about all the ‘Mom and Pop’
stores within a 50 mile radius of Louisville.”
In fact, that is precisely how Burch met his wife
Gayla, who used to work at a small grocery store in
Borden.
More recently, however, Burch has expanded his
involvement in the grocery business to include not
just distribution but production as well.
His current venture, a new company called Marengo
Candy Barn, makes and packages the light-as-air,
melts-in-your-mouth, perennial favorite cotton candy.
“I have always loved cotton candy and wanted a
cotton candy machine,” Burch explains. “And I actually
had the machines for two years before I really
got started making the stu , but I knew if I bought
them I’d eventually get it going.”
Since he already owned a building in downtown
Marengo (the former home of the Marengo Farm and
Home Supply), Burch decided it would be the perfect
location to setup his cotton candy production and
packaging center.
“I looked at the town and what else I could put in
this building that would be viable for the community,”
Burch said. “And so far we’re headed in the
right direction.”
In the beginning, it was Burch and his wife Gayla
along with their friends and business partners Larry
and Judy Applegate making and packaging all the
cotton candy, which is being branded under the
name “Sweet Fortune.” Now, however, after just a
year in business, they have four part-time employees
who work as orders come in and their product
can already be found in numerous business locations
throughout Southern Indiana and beyond.
Selling more than 40,000 units in the Àrst year,
Burch and his partners hope to double that number
for their second year of operation.
“My goal is to get the employees we have up to
full-time. So everyday we’re seeking new customers
and distribution outlets. It just takes a little time,”
Burch explained. “All it takes is one chain like Kroger
or something like that, and things really take o .”
Burch also has some creative ideas to expand the
business, including working with organizations by
making custom batches to be sold for fundraisers.
In addition, he sees great potential in custom orders
made for di erent schools or athletic teams, where
the cotton candy is made to match the school or team
colors.
“We’ve got lots of ideas for the future.”
If you would like more information about Sweet
Fortune Cotton Candy, Bill can be reached by phone
at (502) 594-1907. •
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