Nicola Stanton was living at home with her parents in Lake Macquarie during the early months of the pandemic, bored, when inspiration struck.
A "freeze-dried candy" advertisement from the US popped up on TikTok.
Intrigued, the childcare worker started to do some research. Childcare centres weren't reopening any time soon, so she had time on her hands.
"I jumped onto Google to see how I could get a freeze-dryer machine in Australia," she said.
"An American website had freeze dryers and a medium-sized machine was over $5000.
"I thought there was absolutely no way I could afford a machine, especially with no job, but thankfully I was able to get a helping hand from my Grandma. I am so grateful for her because I wouldn't have a business if not for her helping with that initial purchase."
She called that business The Freeze Queen, and opened a shop, The Freeze Queens Emporium, in Cardiff just last week.
While doing her research she had noticed there was one freeze-dried lolly business in Queensland and another in Western Australia.
"I knew there would be a market here in NSW. I remember thinking to myself, 'wow, I could be third in Australia and first in NSW if I want this business'," she said.
"I spoke to my local council to check if I could sell lollies from home; with the word 'yes' from council and of course my parents as I was still living at home, I got in contact with the company who sells the freeze dryers from the US.
"It was a lot of communication back and forth before I received my final quote which was just on $9000.
"The next day I purchased my first machine. Eighteen weeks later it arrived and my business opened in January 2022.
"Two months later I had already made over $10,000 in sales and so I ordered my second machine."
Nicola's second freeze-dryer arrived in March 2022 and she decided it was time to try selling at a local market.
She and Adam Rayner "started dating" in April and he helped her to get The Freeze Queen ready for a June market debut.
Adam grew up in Nelson Bay while Nicola moved to Lake Macquarie from Tamworth when she was 16 and attended St Paul's Catholic College at Booragul.
"The night before the market I was so overwhelmed - I was worried I didn't have enough stock, and would people even show up? We turned up and it was wet and raining but we smashed it," she said.
"I was in shock. Everyone loved us. We were proud of what we had achieved, so we booked in two markets a month from June to December to see how it would go.
"Our name got around Newcastle quickly and eventually we needed a third machine to keep up with the online orders, the local deliveries and markets. I couldn't stay at my parents' place with a third machine so Adam and I got our own place.
"Our third machine arrived in July."
A TikTok video that reviewed The Freeze Queen's lollies received more than 1.6 million views last November. It convinced Nicola to give up her casual job to concentrate on her business.
"We received over 2000 orders in less than three weeks and we reached six figures in less than a year. I honestly couldn't believe it," she said.
"It took us three months to make all 2000 orders and during that time we purchased our fourth machine, and Adam and I turned The Freeze Queen into a company.
"We then made the decision to open a shop in Cardiff. We needed something big enough for all our machines and a good-sized retail space as we were outgrowing our space at home."
Nicola and Adam now had a baby to factor into the equation as well. Huxley was born in May 2023 and loves meeting customers at the markets.
The top-selling Freeze Queen lollies are Skittles and Nerd clusters. Nicola and Adam also sell freeze-dried Crown Zappos, Pascall Pineapple Lumps, Uncle Toby's Roll Ups, Werther's Original Chewy Toffees, Chunky Funkeez Clouds Mix, Caramilk Mousse Cake, Wizz Fizz Sherbert Cones, Big Boss Musk Sticks, Allens Red Frogs, Haribo Gold Bears, Streets Rainbow Paddle Pop, Mars Bar Pods and more.
"We have a freeze-dried lolly/chocolate/ice-cream and fruit wall, and over 40 pick 'n' mix options including lollies from NZ, the US and the UK."
What is a freeze-dried lolly, you might be wondering? It's quite simple - the lollies are placed on a tray, inserted into the freeze-dryer, and "snap frozen" for a couple of hours.
"Then the heating pads turn on and the treats lose all their moisture from the heat," Nicola explained.
"Ice-creams do not melt and they keep their shape as there is no moisture. We still get customers asking if they have to put the ice-cream in the freezer when purchasing. We laugh and explain the process.
"Lollies can take 12 to 18 hours, ice-cream and fruit take up to three days."
Nicola and Adam have just ordered two larger freeze dryers to accommodate the increased demand online, in store and at markets.
"We get asked - because they have been freeze dried - if the calories have been frozen out of them but no, we wish, that would be nice," she said.
"We do get a lot of older customers who can't eat Fantales or Red Ripperz any more because of how chewy they are, but now they can enjoy them again as our products are light, airy and melt in your mouth."
