Cotton Candy

Ning Tangku spent her working life as a teacher before she became the owner of Cotton Candy, a small-batch sweets maker in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The pivot wasn't a business plan; it was her son. His health issues meant she left the classroom to be a full-time mom, and the hours that opened up at home became the hours she now spends spinning sugar.

Her standard is simple and immovable: the product is certified organic, low-sugar, and sourced locally. "This is the thing that I will always want to keep it that way." No exceptions, ever, no matter how light and airy the finished cloud looks on the cone.

The moment that carries her through hard days comes from other parents. They come and tell her their kids can finally enjoy the product without really risking their life eating it. She hears that as a mother first. "I know that my product is really there to support the parents there."

What she is building goes past the spinner. She believes in providing transparency in everything she does, in making the healthy choice available to kids and to the generations after them, and in doing it in a way that keeps health and sustainability for the world in the same sentence.