Cotton candy company gets ‘fluffed up’

“Fairy floss,” cotton candy’s catchy moniker, has hit San Diego’s organic scene with a flair. Vanessa Corrales, owner of Get Fluffed Up, brings unique flavors of rose petal, lavender, peppermint, and churros to eager adults and kids alike.

In summer of 2017, Corrales even teamed up with You & Yours Distilling Co. for the unveiling of cotton candy cocktails, with Get Fluffed Up spinning the sweet treat for guests. Flavor pairings include: Pepper Martini served with Pepper Cotton Candy; Spicy Gimlet served with Jalapeno Cotton Candy; Fluffed Up Coffee served with Coffee Cotton Candy; and Flower Fields, served with Lavender Cotton Candy.

PACIFIC recently spoke with Corrales about bringing her specialty fairy floss to San Diego.

PACIFIC: How were you inspired to make cotton candy? Did you always love it from childhood?

CORRALES: Cotton candy is nostalgic for sure. I remember always getting cotton candy when going to carnivals and the circus when I was a child. I wasn’t much of a popcorn fan.

Australia actually inspired me to bring cotton candy to San Diego. I’ve always looked at Australia for food trends and realized that “fairy floss” wasn’t as popular yet here in the states so I decided that making fairy floss was the perfect fit for me.

How do you make it organic?

We use only FDA certified organic ingredients like sugar and organic flavors. We do not use artificial dyes or artificial flavors.

Tell us how you pick your flavors.

That’s the best part of my day - mixing and creating flavors. I like to match flavors depending on the season and events going on around the city, like Taco Fest where we did Horchata flavored cotton candy, or Valentine’s Day we had “We are Mint to Be” (peppermint).

How has the local response been?

Locals have been awesome! I’ve gotten emails asking me to make specific flavors and also thanking me for having a dye-free, organic option for their children. Adults have been the biggest fans though, they love the assortment of unconventional flavors that brings them back to their childhood.

Additionally, I’ve worked with local companies such as Nomad Donuts and You & Yours Distilling Co. to make the perfect flavors for their products.

Favorite cotton candy memory?

I remember going to the circus in Mexico and always getting one huge bag of cotton candy all to myself. I wasn’t too fond of sharing, so I looked forward to eating cotton candy and not so much the circus!

Personal favorite flavor?

Rose Petal-flavored cotton candy is by far my favorite.

For upcoming event with You & Yours, how did the pairings work?

I had a few cotton candy flavors already made that just happened to pair well with some of their cocktails and others we created specifically for this collaboration. We hope to work with a lot more local restaurants in the future to feature our unique cotton candy.

Any other upcoming things you’d like to tell us about?

There is a collaboration in the works with a local restaurant (details still to be released) to incorporate Get Fluffed Up Cotton Candy in their menu.

Additionally, we are working on the perfect packaging so we can start being on the shelves at local candy stores, coffee shops and San Diego boutiques.

For more information on Get Fluffed Up, including flavors and candy grams, visit getfluffedup.com.