JulieAnn Caramels is open from 9-2 just four days a week (Monday-Thursday), so when I had the rare opportunity to leave work early on a Tuesday, I jumped at the chance, and headed straight here! They are located in a large business center right off I-15 in Sandy. There is plentiful parking, and while this is, first and foremost, their factory, they are happy to assist customers too! They have a separate entrance for non-employees, and you'll enter a room with some seating and product displays, then ring a bell for assistance.
I was greeted immediately, and sadly failed to catch her name, but the woman who helped me was great! I let her know I had purchased their caramels previously (primarily from Harmon's), and was interested to see what else they had available, though did not have anything specific in mind. She left for a moment, and returned with their product and price list, along with a handful of caramels to sample. They have forty flavors of wrapped caramels, but they also offer many other goodies: caramel sauce, rice krispie treats, s'mores, popcorn, and chocolate covered pretzels, all including their fabulous caramel in some manner, and many in a variety of flavors. I hemmed and hawed over all the possibilities, then finally asked if I could get one of each flavor plus a single rice krispie. I imagine this wasn't the simplest task, but again, I was assisted cheerfully and as quickly as possible.
While I waited, another customer entered, and I believe she was assisted by Rowena, the owner. Rowena was so friendly and kind to both of us, and already loving their products, it made me even happier to support such a lovely person's business.
As far as the caramels themselves go, they are soft old-fashioned style, and portioned quite large (not that that prevents me from eating five or six at a time!). Of note, they do offer bags of "Bites," which are about half the size, in a few basic flavors. But if you want all the crazy cool varieties, you'll just have to go for the full size. And there are some really fantastic and unusual options! Sure, they've got the standards, and I particularly love any with nuts or salt, but some of my favorites are the real creative ones: coconut lime (so tangy and fresh and not too sweet!), coffee (fancy frappe-style drink in candy form), and ALL the spicy ones: Carolina Peach Reaper (this one was almost painful!), Mango Habanero, and Passionfruit Ghost Pepper. I am not normally a fan of spiced sweets. I don't hate 'em, but they aren't something I actively seek out. In this case, however, they are the perfect balance of spicy-hot flavor with often-near too sweet caramel.
My selections were about a pound, so $22.50, and a great deal as I felt like I was leaving with a heavy bag of magic treats. The rice krispie was $3 and fairly small. It WAS delicious (and adorable on a popsicle stick), but in the future I'd probably just get (ALL) the caramels (though I'd like to try one of their s'mores!). This would be the perfect place to pick up gifts, party or wedding favors at an entirely reasonable price. If you are stuck on a particular flavor or product, I would call ahead as they did not have everything on the list in stock, and some items are available only seasonally. But if you happen to be in the area, just go and check it out and get you some delicious locally made goodies! read more