Celebrate National S’mores Day With Creekside Mallow Co.

Photos Courtesy of Leslie Rodriguez Photography

Story By Ash Golangco

After enjoying a backyard campfire, Russ Nelson’s daughter Grace suggested that their family should start a s’mores store. Nelson and his wife’s reactions weren’t “no way,” but “awesome – what would the hook be?” 

Their interest was piqued. Nelson had been the general manager at Schwan’s Food Delivery for some time, and, after his experience in the independently operated company, he aspired to run his own business. Plus, the kids wouldn’t give up. “When the kids come up with an idea, we’d play along,” Russ said. “This seemed to not go away.” 

Thankfully, the sticky idea really stuck, especially after they decided that an awesome homemade marshmallow would be their ‘hook.’ Making marshmallows from scratch wasn’t a lifelong passion at that point – they were just discovering it. “We weren’t familiar with the fact that we could even make marshmallows,” he recalled with a laugh. 

His wife and daughter spent weeks testing recipes until they finally found the winner. Friends acted as testers, often telling them, “This is something new!” or “These are great, you should sell these.” 

So, they did! Their very first paid gig was at a library fundraiser, where they catered an entire s’mores bar with different types of chocolates and flavored marshmallows that you could roast right at the table. 

They began getting requests for weddings and birthday parties, before meeting new colleagues and mentors at the Idaho Small Business Development Center. With some guidance, they began expanding into the food retail industry.

The journey has had a lot of challenges. “When you [start with] raw ingredients [and give a finished product] to the consumer, it’s an entirely different game,” such as acquiring a UPC code and attaching it to a label. Although there’s always a new obstacle to overcome, the family overcomes it together – including their son-in-law, who helps with the business often. 

With National S’mores Day on August 10, you might be wondering – what are some of the most unique, delicious s’mores you can enjoy? One of the Nelson family favorites is a lemon marshmallow coupled with lemon curd and white chocolate on a graham cracker. “It’s not the [flavor profile] I’d normally be drawn to, but it’s incredible.” 

Another favorite for Russ is their raspberry marshmallow with Ghirardelli raspberry-filled dark chocolate squares and a graham cracker, created while they were vacationing in McCall. 

Thank you, Nelson family, for sharing your story with us! If you’d like to give these s’mores a try, you can spot Creekside Mallow Co. marshmallows at many local Idaho grocery stores today.