IT started with ice cream but now, Kande’s Delights is tapping into childhood nostalgia with a sweet new twist on cotton candy. Once a street-side indulgence spun fresh outside in a small pushcart, the sugary treat is now being reimagined, packaged, and brought to store shelves by the brand, keeping the magic of childhood alive.

After a few years focused solely on ice cream, the business has branched out through a new partnership with Home Choice. Together, they launched a new company called Kande’s Manufacturing and Distribution, which will handle a broader confectionery line, starting with cotton candy, the childhood favourite.

“Really, it is the brainchild of me and Muncey (managing director of Home Choice Kareema Muncey). She’s a child at heart, and she loved the whole cotton candy idea, and she came up with the notion to make it in the bag,” CEO of Kande’s Delights Kevin Dean explained to the
Jamaica Observer.

Using his intellectual property, Dean designed the packaging, and the bagged cotton candy officially launched in January 2025. He has indicated plans to expand the company into full-scale distribution. And despite the name ‘Kande’s’ epitomising candy, he noted that once the cotton candy finds its place in the market, the brand will venture beyond the confectionery space. The team also plans to roll out cotton candy in distinctly Jamaican flavours, including sorrel, passion, mango, lychee, and watermelon.

“As soon as we get more traction of the product in the market, we are aiming for a year from now,” he said.

But the journey to this point began 10 years ago, when Dean started the business from his home kitchen, driven by a realised need for more naturally flavoured ice cream in the local market. After noticing that other vendors were using artificial flavouring, Dean saw an opportunity to offer something different. In 2015, while still employed full-time, he launched the ice cream business as a side hustle, inspired by a friend from Trinidad, who suggested the first flavour: Coconut with real grated coconut, now known as “Coconut Jelly Bits”.

With no prior experience, Dean turned to the “school of YouTube” to learn the craft. Making ice cream with a blender in his home kitchen, he spent hours perfecting the texture and consistency, initially supplying friends, family, and small special events. Eventually, he acquired an ice cream machine and expanded his offerings to include Choco Coffee Crave, Pistachio, and Raspberry Ripple, which is now the brand’s top-selling flavour. Kande’s Delights and has since gone on to develop 24 new natural flavours. The company now supplies 16 oz containers to major supermarkets islandwide, while other sizes are offered to hotels and restaurants. The business also expanded into flash-freezing ice cream on demand, using liquid nitrogen and a cold stone tabletop, allowing customers at events to receive customised flavours made in real time.

“In 2017, I realised I could do that for point-to-point sales — make a particular ice cream on demand,” Dean said.

This shift enabled more flexibility and creativity. Today, the live ice cream set-up is a staple at pop-up events, staff parties, and Christmas functions. Dean has even created novelty flavours like bacon flash freeze ice cream. He later introduced non-dairy ice cream and sorbets, noting that these market segments are not yet saturated. The business, which began in Dean’s Kingston kitchen, ventured into a manufacturing space in Ocho Rios in 2023 to tap into the tourism sector; however, after facing some challenges, the team has since returned to Kingston.

“I know I have a winning product. I know I’m adding value to the communities, and I kept going,” Dean told the Sunday Finance.

Kande’s products are now available in major supermarkets islandwide in 16 oz containers. All other quantities are made to order via the company’s website, with delivery or pick-up options. As the company expands its offerings from ice cream to cotton candy, there’s only more to be seen as the brand continues to evolve and sweeten Jamaica’s taste for locally made treats.