New freeze-dried candy and fruit business partnering with Renaissance
TIFFIN, OHIO – April 28, 2022 – Freeze Dried Ohio, a start-up freeze-dried foods company specializing in homemade candies and produce, announced today that it is establishing its kitchen in Downtown Tiffin in partnership with the Renaissance of Tiffin at 129 S. Washington Street. The machine was installed and up and running in early April, and product is being sold at Molyet’s Farm Market and JAM’s Monthly Markets.
Owners Mary and Jeremy Franks grew up in Tiffin, graduated from Columbian, got married, and then Jeremy served in the Marine Corps. After Jeremy was discharged, Mary attended Heidelberg University and then ran two other small businesses out of her home. The pair purchased a freeze-dried machine for their family and fell in love with how the process affects the flavor.
“We are so excited to make this available in Tiffin and northwest Ohio,” said Mary Franks. The freeze-dried process makes food super light and crispy, and it enhances the flavor. We plan on sourcing local produce as much as possible, and we can’t wait for people to try our homemade caramel and peanut butter puffs, too.”
The Franks were assisted by the Small Business Development Center at Terra State, which provided certified small business counseling free of charge. They also entered a partnership with Dave and Amber Spridgeon of the Renaissance of Tiffin to use their kitchen space to get their small business off the ground.
“We believe this is a project our whole family can participate in, and we want to add to the local food movement in Tiffin,” said Jeremy.
Tiffin Mayor Aaron Montz commented: “Congratulations to Mary and Jeremy. It’s amazing to see the entrepreneurship in this community continuing to flourish and successful businesses helping new ones get started. It’s this spirit of connection and support which makes us unique. We wish them all the best.”
For more information, please check out Freeze Dried Ohio’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FreezeDriedOhio.
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About Downtown Tiffin
The revitalization of downtown Tiffin began in 2011, when a group of community members came together to for “Tiffin Tomorrow”, with the goal of promoting and encouraging economic development in downtown Tiffin, and creating plans, programs and actions to ensure long-term vitality and prosperity. In 2014, the city of Tiffin contracted with SIEDC to act as the downtown organization and “Tiffin Tomorrow” came under the SIEDC umbrella as the “Downtown Development Committee,” which serves as the governing board of the downtown organization. In 2015, Tiffin joined Heritage Ohio’s Ohio Main Street Program. For more information, click here.
