Give the gift of locally made, award-winning gourmet confections
By Jillian Chandler
Photo by Adventure Bound Media
In the summer of 2019, the North Idaho community was first treated to the delicious and artfully crafted soft brittle of Robinson Soft Brittle—a premium boutique confectionery based in Hayden.
With a dream of one day turning her talent for baking into a full-time business, Pamela Robinson’s passion would flourish into a fulfilling career. She and her husband Todd, an entrepreneur, would put Todd’s business skills to the test. Before long, Pamela would find herself the founder and owner of Robinson Soft Brittle, where she has been utilizing her culinary skills to delight the taste buds of those around her—both near and far.
“Our first product (soft peanut brittle) debuted in July at the Coeur d’Alene Makers Market event at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, where we nearly sold out,” recalls Pamela. “A week later, we sold so much at the Downtown Coeur d’Alene Street Fair that we knew we were on to something big. A few weeks later, at the 2019 Schweitzer Fall Fest, we brought hundreds of pounds of candy to sell. But by Saturday night we realized we were going to run out. So, we drove back to Hayden and worked through the night, getting back in time to grab two hours of sleep before heading back up the mountain. We knew this business idea had legs.”
In the beginning, the focus was on soft peanut brittle (a Pacific Northwest favorite). The pair then launched their own unique creations including liqueur-based English toffees, several unique specialty chocolates, and new original soft brittle flavors. And their customers have been eating it up!
The couple is excited to share their new eGifting platform, BrittleGift.com. Launched May of this year, their award-winning confections are delivered right to the recipient’s door—and in beautiful fashion. As you open the elegant gift box, you’ll unearth Robinson Soft Brittle delights, individually wrapped, beneath the black-and-white striped tissue paper. Truly a special—and thoughtful—gift for its recipient.
The platform is ideal for small business owners to large business corporations, or anyone looking to gift someone with locally made North Idaho gourmet confections. “This type of site is especially good for reaching work-from-home or remote work team members,” adds Todd.
The service bridges the growing distance between companies and their clients and remote work staff. Pamela emphasizes, “Those who connect on a personal level succeed at the ‘infinite game’ by cementing personal bonds, making clients feel valued and team members feel recognized and appreciated.”
Though eGifting has come with challenges, from left-over balances, checkout issues, or even having to add funds, the Robinsons have eliminated those obstacles with their specialized platform: The purchaser sets the price and size of the gift and personalizes the greeting, or selects one of their pre-uploaded company-branded cards. The recipient is then notified via any of several channels and gets to custom-design the gift box contents from a selection of unique original confections, and inputs their mailing address. The gift box is hand-packed within a few days and shipped directly to them. Options range from $35 to $85, including expedited nationwide cold-pack shipping, and custom-branding is available. “It’s quick, easy and secure,” assures Pamela.
The Robinsons look forward to what the future holds for them and their North Idaho business. They survived the pandemic with amazing support from the North Idaho community, and they are excited to grow regionally with retailers and through their new online platform.“We simply cannot say enough about what it means to be a business owner in Northern Idaho,” shares Pamela. “Every level of ‘Idaho entity’ seems to have an attitude of wanting to see us succeed as an Idaho small business.”
She adds that she finds the local farmers market artisans willing to work together to help each other succeed, as many small business owners alert each other to great opportunities for income and exposure, offer help and collaboration, and redirect spending to support each other.
“We are ultimately thankful for our friends and family who supported us both emotionally and financially, our local community and officials, and for the grace of God in getting us where we are now.”
Their confections are available for purchase through select area retailers across the Pacific Northwest, at special events, or online. Will-call pick up for locals is by appointment.
Robinson Soft Brittle, LLC
208.610.1880