True luxury isn’t measured by what you own,
but by the depth of your experiences...
Elevate meaningful moments with our exquisite confections.
OUR HISTORY: Pamela was a single mom raising 3 boys. She was known in her community for her creative "optical illusion" specialty cakes, elegant multi-tiered wedding cakes, and decorative cookies. Over the years, many people had told her that with her creative culinary talents she should go into business, but she'd never had the vehicle to do it.
Todd was a widower with 4 grown daughters. He was a long-time entrepreneur who had launched a Silicon Valley media agency and a CGI software company during the dot-com boom, started a motorcycle racetrack school running events in California and Nevada training thousands of riders, and a motorsports business that after 17 years was struggling to survive the tariff wars and collapse of the motorsports parts industry.
They met in 2017 and married the following year. Motorcycles had been a life-long passion for Todd, and Pamela had always wanted to ride. So it was only natural that Todd proposed to Pamela with a key to a Kawasaki Ninja 300 sportbike as an engagement gift on the rocks on the beach in Pacific City, Oregon. She was going to say yes anyhow...but this certainly sweetened the proposal offer.
Pamela had left her career in supply chain to work with Todd at his parts business, but knew she wanted to use her culinary skills to bring in extra money as she saw Todd stressed over the struggles in his business and suffering from chronic migraines. She suggested making and selling soft peanut brittle, a popular known delicacy in the Inland Northwest (she and her mother had for years made it to give away at Christmas). Todd researched the gourmet confections market space for her, and found it was a good opportunity for them to let Pamela pursue her passion while making extra money.
EARLY DAYS:
Pamela launched Robinson Soft Brittle in summer 2019 with some startup help from her parents, with Todd providing business advice and operational support. They did their first public event that July with a group called "CDA Makers" which hosts local artisan marketplace events, and were overwhelmed with the response, selling almost all the candy they'd brought in just 3 hours.
This was also where Pamela first met Stephen Granat (Abide Culture Coffee), a local small batch specialty coffee roaster, whose coffee would be used in their Triple Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Bark (Nicaragua roast) Caramel Macchiato Bark (Peru roast), and Java 72 Dark couverture-grade dark chocolate (Peru Roast). This was followed by the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Street Fair and Fall Fest at a local ski resort. At the latter event, although bringing several hundred pounds of soft peanut brittle, they sold out so quickly that they had to pull an all-nighter cooking candy right in the middle of the festival to make enough candy to finish the weekend. Clearly, they were on to something big.
The next step was creating their first original recipe creation: Chocolate Hazelnut Soft Brittle™. After dozen upon dozen of failed attempts they finally had a breakthrough and a delicious original creation...although it took over fifteen months to truly perfect the process. That was followed by several unique chocolate bark creations. Todd then suggested using Apple Brandy in English Toffee as Pamela was making him a treat, and their line of original liqueur-based toffee creations was launched to dramatic success.
CHALLENGES & FINDING A GROOVE:
As the 2020 pandemic brought challenges to everyone around the country, the Robinsons were no different. Through crazy hours and no days off, multiple side hustles from Ubering to InstaCart shopping to consulting gigs, and the support of an army of very loyal customers, the business survived and continued to grow.As the country recovered so did the business, where the Robinsons found something of a rhythm with the "feast or famine" flow of the confections industry, with slow winters, springtime with trade shows, bustling summers with farmers markets, fine art & wine shows and large festivals, and intensely busy fall seasons exploding into absolute insanity during the holidays. And in mid-2022 they made the decision to "move upscale" and started sourcing chocolate from Belgium taking their candy yet further upscale in quality, taste, and texture ("mouth feel" and melt of the better chocolate).
In December of 2024 the business launched a version of the Dubai Chocolate Bar (a global viral sensation originated by a chocolatier in Dubai), using not just the finest ingredients for the filling but also the very top couverture-grade milk chocolate in Belgium (considered one of the top 2 milk chocolates commercially available worldwide). This nutty-and-sweet bar has a filling of Pistachio paste, Tahini (sesame), and butter-toasted Kaitifi (shredded phyllo dough). An absolutely delightful flavor journey from start to finish with lovely complexity and remarkable textures, from the the crunch of the toasted Kataifi to the striking melding of nutty flavors of Pistachio paste with Tahini, joined by the silky-smooth flavor of the milk chocolate.
TODAY:
The business, renamed "Robinson Confections" to more accurately reflect a broader product lineup, now offers several flavors of soft brittle, many types of couverture-grade layered Belgian chocolate bark ("bark" is tempered chocolate with inclusions), their original creation line of nearly a dozen liqueur-based English Toffees, and a line of top-tier couverture grade dark chocolates ("couverture" is the top grade of chocolate available in the world) which are also keto and low-carb. They also offer several dairy-free, low-carb/keto, and vegan-friendly options.
[VIEW/DOWNLOAD TASTING GUIDE]As of early 2025, Robinson Confections occupies a 3200 square foot production facility in Hayden, Idaho with several retailers, a busy online business, and corporate clients across North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
INTERNATIONAL CHOCOLATE SALON AWARDS:
2021
Mexican Hot Chocolate - Gold, Bronze, and two honorable mentions (Best Spicy Chocolate)2022
Nutty Irishman Toffee - Gold, Bronze, and two honorable mentions (Top Artisan Toffee).
Caramel Macchiato - two Bronze awards and two honorable mentions (Best White Chocolate) White Russian Toffee - two honorable mentions (Top Artisan Toffee)
Java 72 Dark - honorable mention (Best Dark Chocolate Bar)2023
Lime Fresco Margarita Toffee - two Bronze awards and an honorable mention (Top Artisan Toffee)
A word from the Robinsons:
"We are so appreciative for the overwhelming response to our confections and the opportunity to do something we love that brings joy to people. This is our "why"...and we get to do it every day.
By buying our award-winning confections, you are directly supporting a family owned and operated small business, where we in turn employ people in our area and invest back into our community.
But in the end, our story is about how we can be a part of YOUR story...how we can make your life just a little bit better. Whether you’re sharing our candy with someone as a gift, received it as a gift, or are just enjoying a moment of true bliss with our confections, we are thankful that what we do here ultimately enriches your life."Robinson Confections: Redefining Luxury Candy
