Candytopia is a place like no other. It was first brought to California last year by Candytopia's founders Jackie Sorkin, Zac Hartog, and John Goodman, and now are making their grand appearance in New York City on Aug. 15 (open until Nov. 15) and San Francisco on Sept.r 6 (open until Nov. 30). Prior to entering the exhibit, I had no idea what to expect, but I was mind blown by the creativity and expression conveyed through each room.
Not only were there a plethora of Instagram-worthy photo ops (like a pool full of marshmallows), but they also had a cool system called "Sugar Rush" in which you sign up with your name, email, and phone number to receive a unique QR code that you could scan throughout your journey making professional group pictures that much simpler.
The interactive candy wonderland consists of various rooms with distinguished themes like underwater, art gallery, playground, etc. Each room had a treasure box of free candy along with a fully staffed, attentive crew ready to snap all the photos and boomerangs your heart desires. The fact that they were so willing to snap pictures of my friend and I was convenient and something that I noticed a lot of care was put into.
I was given the privilege to interview the founder of Hollywood Candy Girls, Candy Queen, and co-founder of Candytopia, Jackie Sorkin on-site, and here's how some of it went down.
H: Can you give a quick run-through of the space and a description of what Candytopia is for the people who have never heard about it?
J: Candytopia is an immersive, experiential candy wonderland. A lot of people throw out the word: pop-up but my partners and I think that we’re more of a mini theme park. We actually call ourselves ‘the mini theme park.’ We created a new kind of attraction in the world—a new kind of entertainment and we’re very excited about it.
H: What inspired you to create Candytopia? What was your vision for it?
J: So I’ve been creating these experiences in Asia. I started in Taiwan (‘Hollywood Candy Queens Kingdom’) and then, two years ago opened up in China (‘Candy Darling’). And really, my dream was to be in the US and to launch a candy exhibition/experience here at home. It was really timing, patience, and persistence. I met the right partners; US was ready for this kind of entertainment in the last year or two. It was an amazing relationship with my partners: John & Zack—we have incredible synergy.
The goal of this place is literally just to make people happy. I think when people ask “Why do you want to do that?” I mean as the candy queen, I own a company Hollywood Candy Girls; I own a fun foods catering company. My life is parties, sweets; I make people happy through sweetness and really the message here is come, lose your mind, escape your problems, have a wonderful time for an hour or so. It doesn’t really have to make sense and that’s our point—we do it all through candy and sweets.
H: Do the places in Asia and the US that you have created have the same concept?
J: No, it’s very different. The concepts change depending on where we go. Here it’s more experiential and interactive—it’s catered to the U.S. market. It’s a lot more Instagrammable moments, moments for social. You know the great thing about this place is you don’t have to have Instagram or be on social to enjoy it. That’s the difference. A lot of these places it’s just about the photo—you don’t need a photo if you want to jump in the marshmallows, if you want the rainbow unicorn pig to fart confetti on you. We just want you to have fun. It’s really just about the escapism—escaping the world and coming into this place.
H: Personally, what is your favorite room?
J: My favorite is the gallery where you could really appreciate our artistry. My team and I have worked 100s of thousands of hours creating these masterpieces. People don’t really know what candy art is. It’s a new form of art we created. Candy is my medium. I was obsessed with it as a child; I was told I couldn’t have it and then I made a life out of candy—which is kind of crazy.
H: So what are you most excited for people to see here at Candytopia?
J: I’m most excited for them to just experience this kind of quirky, wacky place that doesn’t make sense. I think that life doesn’t have to be so serious all the time. Come lose your mind with your friends. Jump in marshmallows, take pictures, you can be serious later—we can cry later because we all have drama and struggle. This is literally a place that transports you into our wonderland.
H: What are the future plans for Candytopia and where is Candytopia heading next?
J: Candytopia has an incredible growth model; our business plan has been very successful so far. We launched in Los Angeles and went crazy, exceeded all goals and expectations. Now we’re in NYC selling out dates already and we’re opening in San Francisco in a few weeks which is psycho. I mean it’s crazy because it’s an aggressive model but we know we can achieve it. San Francisco is selling out, New York is selling out—for me it’s a dream come true.
I was broke eight years ago. I’m just a chick who had a dream, that hustles with a lot of passion and persistence. I have the right people in my life who believe in me. I had a lot of people in my life who thought my ideas were dumb, nonsense but I used that as fuel. My father passed away; I do it for him.
H: If you could be one candy, what would you be?
J: I love gummy bears. You know why? Everybody loves gummy bears—they’re cute, they’re adorable. Nobody hates on a gummy bear. I always say that I’m everybody’s friend. My thing here is that I love people so much—connecting, children. Gummy bears are like that. Right? They’re cute, you love a gummy bear. I’m a gummy bear!
Jackie is such a sweet person with creativity and innovation running all through her bones. Not only did I leave Candytopia with 300 more photos and videos one my phone but, I left Candytopia feeling revived and inspired by her passion and drive. I don't want to spoil the entire wonderland for you, so find out what exactly Candytopia is all about in person soon!
#SpoonTip: Grab your tickets before they run out for both the NYC and SF's Candytopia!