Meet John Buoniconti

Today, we’d like to introduce you to John Buoniconti.

Hi John, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Well, I am 48 years old so how I got here is a bit of a long story. I was orphaned at the age of ten. Both of my parents passed away from cancer. I was raised by my aunt and uncle in Westfield, MA. We grew up pretty poor, and yet, somehow, life was still fun as a kid. We made do, and honestly, it was a big driver as I got older. I wanted to do better for myself and my family. 

I was the first person in my family to attend college, and although I didn’t get my degree, it was a very educational experience. Shortly after moving to CO, I had a call to do more for the cancer community. So, I participated in various charity walks and eventually started my own 501c3 nonprofit to help uninsured cancer patients. 

Over the next several years, I walked more than 25,000 miles and raised over a quarter million dollars for half of families throughout our country. Unfortunately, all of that walking messed up my feet and knees. So, my charity walks are pretty limited these days. I was fortunate enough to buy and sell a business in 2014; that is when my candy dream came alive. 

It took my wife and me about a year to find the vintage equipment that we needed to make the candy products that we wanted to make. Then, after a lot of research, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Colorado Candy Company and the corresponding website were not being used and were available. So, then we spent lots of nights in the kitchen coming up with our base formulas. 

We make hard candies, brittles, and our course, our famous thin ribbon candy. We are one of just a handful of candy makers in the country that still hand-spun thin ribbon candy. We also make custom and private-label candy. My favorite part about making candy is that I can do it with my family. That really makes me smile. 

As with most small businesses, Covid was hard, and we teetered on the edge of going out of business, but we were able to adjust and keep on going. 2024 is a big year for the business. We have made our biggest reinvestment yet into the company and are getting custom boxes made so that we can ship our thin ribbon candy around the country. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Running a small business is very difficult as there are many hurdles when you don’t have economies of scale on your side. 

Then you throw in Covid, which brought our business and family to the brink of bankruptcy. Thankfully, we were able to adjust our business model and are finally coming out on the other side. We need a really great 2024 holiday season, and our ship will be sailing smoothly again. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
I had always thought that I had no artistic ability. 

I cannot draw, paint, sing, or play music. But then I discovered candy and thin ribbon candy, and all of that changed. I now have people telling me how beautiful our candy is, and that is really amazing to me.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My wife Heather is my biggest supporter and has always had my back. 

Even when things got really tough, she said if this is your dream, we will make it happen. And we have. She has made many sacrifices so that we could keep our family business going, and for that, I am so grateful. 

Pricing:

• $8-18

Contact Info:

• Website: https://coloradocandycompany.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: @Coloradocandycompany
• Facebook: @Coloradocandycompany
• Youtube: @Coloradocandycompany