Paradigm Foodworks was founded in 1982 - born of a love of food, particularly chocolate - I began selling bulk chocolate to local restaurants, bakeries and candy makers.

Prior to becoming a chocolate entrepreneur, I taught High School math for several years and played with chocolate on the side. This avocation blossomed into a full fledged business, rapidly drawing me into a desire to create products with what I was selling.

Paradigm's first products were chocolate sauces, laced with liqueurs, then caramel sauces, fruit sauces, curds, and so on and so on... This was FUN!
With a few volunteer helpers I cooked in a commissary kitchen in the evenings until the building we were subleasing was scheduled for demolition to make way for a strip mall. Suddenly Paradigm had to find a real business location. Employees were hired and a business plan was formed.

Once in the new building we began to add more products. Scone Mixes, with Curds and jams to spread on them...and then Waffle Mixes. Not just breakfast Waffles, but Dessert Waffles - Fudge, Gingerbread and Harvest Wheat. Over the years, Paradigm acquired 2 other smaller companies, and in that way, added a host of other products to our line of Specialty Foods. By the early 90's we had nearly 100 products that we manufactured.

During the early years of wholesaling bulk chocolate and making sauces we were offered the opportunity to add a few retail chocolate items to the mix. As time passed the candy division increased rapidly, overshadowing the bulk chocolate department and creating a need for much larger quarters, to house and protect all the varied chocolate and novelty candy items that we were beginning to stock for all of our stores.

These days, Paradigm is home to close to 8000 different candy items ranging from rich handmade truffles, to hysterically funny (and sometimes demented) kids novelty candy toys.

In October, 2004 Paradigm purchased a 20,000 sq. ft building to make a home for not only the candy but our growing production needs. (Below are images of our manufacturing facility). Today we manufacture upwards of 500 Specialty Sauces for other companies, have won awards for our Lemon Curd, Raspberry Sauce, Blueberry Muesli, Raspberry Fudge Sauce, and Mustards and continue to expand the Candy Division to satisfy the growing demand for specialty and old fashioned candies.

Lynne Barra
Founder

All of the Paradigm's Products

Production personnel and bottling equipment