Sweet smell of success for Whitehead confectionery business

Out of the thousands of products to be judged, SeaSugar Handmade Confectionery was awarded a 1-star Great Taste Award for its Green Apple and Spearmint sweets.

Described as “innovative” and “fun”, “moreish” and “with a clean and satisfying taste which lasts the entire length of the eating process”, the sweets contain 100% natural ingredients with nothing artificial added.

Judged by over 500 of the most demanding palates, Great Taste is a respected accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers.

Linda McGibbon, of SeaSugar Handmade Confectionery, said: “I qualified as a chef many years ago and although I moved into other areas, I retained a love of cooking and having a sweet tooth, I made confectionery items such as toffee, fondants, jellies, mallows and nut brittles as well as hard candies, as a hobby for years.

“I tried out a number of lines at local markets and found that the most successful were the hard boiled sweets which I could produce without the addition of anything artificial. I use only natural fruit extracts and colours and I think that’s what makes them so appealing.”

There were 10,000 Great Taste entries this year and of those products, 141 have been awarded a 3-star, 878 received a 2-star and 2,520 were awarded a 1-star accolade.