Expanding sweet services: Brandini Toffee going international

From almond toffee popcorn to almond toffee bites, Brandini Toffee has been serving sweet treats to the Coachella Valley for years. Now this brand, that’s locally grown, is becoming internationally known. "These are exciting moments at Brandini where we feel like reinvigorated like we’re just getting started," said Brandon Weimer is the co-founder of Brandini Toffee. Weimer helped start this company during high school while making homemade toffee in his parents’ kitchen. Since then, Brandini toffee’s popularity has grown across Southern California. Now, his team is introducing its products to new markets at Costco’s across North America. "We’ve hit some luck this year with distribution with Costco, which many know we’ve worked Costco for many years," Weimer said. "And this year will be our largest distribution across a handful of states in the southwestern region and all the way to Mexico. Brandini Toffee currently employees dozens of workers. Weimer says this increase in distribution could mean even more local employment opportunities. "Like to think this will end up with a larger team overall," he said. "As many know, this is such a seasonal area and so our goal is to keep the larger team on a year- round basis." Brandini’s immediate goal when it comes to fulfilling these new Costco orders is producing thousands of pounds of popcorn a day. The long-term goal: balancing new international business while staying loyal to the longtime locals that they’ve been serving sweet treats to for years. "We really want to stay true to our core values and pillars of the brand be a product of the Coachella Valley," Weimer said. This story was written and reported by Kai Beech.