Licorice meets the gourmet market

Mark Humphrey

Rande and Curtis Colburn of Glendale hope that one day patrons will

walk into their local Starbucks, and along with the fresh biscotti

and the scones of various flavors will be licorice.

The brothers, recent graduates of Union College in Lincoln, Neb.,

moved to Glendale last year and started the Licorice Exchange, an

Internet-based company that sells gourmet licorice.

Both majored in business administration with an emphasis in small

business management, which goes a long way toward aiding their

start-up company.

“After we graduated from school, my brother and I wanted to go

into business and I told him to do some research,” Rande Colburn

said. “When he came back with the licorice idea, my first reaction

was, ‘Are you crazy?’ But it has really worked out so far.”

The Licorice Exchange does not, however, focus on traditional

black and red licorice -- though there is an option to buy it on the

company’s website.

Instead, the company has gourmet licorice from all over the world

purchased from importers.

Among the countries that the company gets licorice from are

Germany, Australia and Finland.

“The licorice from the different countries taste different because

of their varying origins and ingredients,” Curtis Colburn said. “For

instance, most of the licorice from Holland tastes salty, while

licorice from other countries may be soft, chewy or almost like hard

candy in texture.”

The Licorice Exchange and its website have been up and running for

about six months now and, according to the brothers, the hardest part

of starting their small business has been gaining exposure.

They have been passing out free samples and fliers all over

Glendale, particularly in coffee shops like Java Time, at the corner

of Glendale Avenue and Doran Street and next week plan on passing out

more samples at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

One of the main goals of the Licorice Exchange and its founders is

to eventually form partnerships with coffee shops and chains in the

area.

“When I was in college, I used to eat licorice with coffee and

found out that the two go really well together,” Colburn said. “Then,

after reading articles saying the same thing, I thought we had a

chance to take advantage of something new and unique.”

However, the company will not be taking this step until it creates

more professional and specialized packaging for its products.

The brothers are brainstorming with people in the marketing field

to package and create product lines, perhaps separating lines of

licorice by their countries of origin.

It’s risky, but rewarding.

“Sometimes you need to go into something small but has a lot of

growth potential,” Colburn said. “And we’re small enough at this

point that we’re still able to send personal thank-you notes to each

and every customer.”

In the meantime, the brothers hope to one day secure a storefront

and move beyond the Internet and perhaps expand to markets like San

Diego and Seattle.

Reaction to the Licorice Exchange has been positive thus far, with

sales increasing every month and customers voicing satisfaction with

the company’s unique offerings.

“We have customers from other countries who are grateful that

we’re able to provide them with licorice they may have eaten as

children in their native countries that they can’t find anywhere else

in America,” Rande said. “We feel that it’s important for us to

provide that nostalgic avenue.”

More information can be found at Licorice Exchange’s website at

https://www.licorce exchange.com.