BIDDEFORD (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Robin Kennedy was in her early twenties when she started baking goodies in her parents' basement, selling them wholesale.That side project continued to grow and just a few weeks ago, Robin opened her very own retail space in Biddeford.
At Robin's Confections, she makes Maine favorites like peanut butter balls and fudge. Chocolate covered Oreos in all sorts of flavors, and chocolate dipped everything else fills her shelves. Whatever Robin doesn't make, she sells from local vendors, like sugar-free candy and mini cookie homes and animals that fit on a coffee mug.
Robin's flagship item came out of what she, and her stepfather call necessity, and was the start of her business six years ago.
"My step-father has a distribution business, snack foods and such, and he couldn't find enough Maine made goodies like peanut butter balls, Needham's, stuff like that," says Robin.
"So I said, 'Robin how would you like to make Needham's?'" Bob Gartland recalls. Robin was happy to, incorporating that special ingredient: potatoes.
"I actually didn't know what Needham's were when my stepfather asked me to start making them. When I found out one of the ingredients was mashed potatoes I was completely disgusted," Robin laughs. Now, in a variety of flavors, Robin sells plenty of Needham's once she explains the potato is just a binder.
"People come in all the time so excited to find Needham's, and when they find out that we hand mash our potatoes and that we still hand cut and dip every piece, they're really thankful and really happy," says Robin, happy to help usher in that sense of nostalgia in her brand new store, Robin's Confections.