Park City teen turns trail humor into boutique organic candy business

Lace poses with Park City PUPU products at a local retail display. The boutique organic candy line, which she co-founded at age 15, is inspired by the moose that wintered in her family's backyard for nearly two decades. Photo: ParkCity PUPU

Inspired by a backyard moose named Roxii, 15-year-old Lace co-founds Park City PUPU, a line of organic chocolate treats that poke fun at the wildlife remnants hikers know all too well.

PARK CITY, Utah — Every hiker in Summit County has seen them: small, oval-shaped droppings scattered along the trail that, at first glance, bear an uncanny resemblance to chocolate-covered almonds. For most visitors, it’s a moment of bemused surprise. For one Park City teenager, it was a business idea.

Lace was 15 years old when she co-founded Park City PUPU with her mother, launching a line of organic chocolate confections modeled on the moose droppings that dot local trails. The best-seller: organic fair-trade dark chocolate-covered gourmet almonds, sold in sleek glass tubes and branded with the tagline “Live. Laugh. Lighten Up.”

“We wanted something funny to lighten the mood,” Lace said. “Things were pretty heavy after COVID, and we thought this could bring some smiles.”

The concept grew out of a childhood spent alongside Roxii, a wild moose that wintered in the family’s Pinebrook-area yard for 17 consecutive years before her death several years ago. Lace said Roxii arrived every fall without fail, sometimes returning in spring with a new calf in tow.

“She would go away for a week or so, then come back with her baby,” Lace recalled. “One year, her baby got very sick and passed away in our yard. She bellowed and nuzzled it for three days straight before she left. They grieve. They are unbelievably loving mothers. Most people would never know that.”

It was Lace’s brother who first noticed the resemblance between Roxii’s droppings and chocolate-covered almonds — a joke that stuck. Years later, when Lace’s mother challenged her to explore entrepreneurship as a learning project, the concept came back around.

“She wanted me to understand what it’s like to work for yourself versus someone else,” Lace said.

From the start, Lace was intent on elevating the gag-gift format. Citing the “sophisticated palate and lifestyle” of Park City visitors, she sourced only organic and non-GMO ingredients and chose upscale packaging, including the glass tube that houses the original product. Park City PUPU is positioned not as a novelty item but as a boutique brand — one that happens to be shaped like moose dung.

Customer feedback has been strong, Lace said, with buyers responding positively to both the humor and the quality of the ingredients.

The line has since expanded. Park City PUPU recently added “Pony PU,” organic dark chocolate-covered tart cherries offered as a nod to the history of the American West and the plight of wild horses. A portion of proceeds from Pony PU sales goes to local horse sanctuaries; Saving Gracie’s was the first recipient.

Lace, now balancing the business alongside school and horse training, said the venture has been as much an education as a commercial endeavor. She said she hopes the brand also serves as a reminder of the wildlife that defines Summit County — and of one moose in particular.

“We dedicated it to Roxii’s memory,” she said. “We wanted a way to remember her while bringing smiles to people who find us.”

Park City PUPU products are available daily at The Market at Park City. The brand has partnered with Ritual Chocolate, Pink Elephant Coffee, and Mill Creek Cocoa Roasters for locally curated gift basket arrangements. Special orders and custom baskets are available by phone or text. The company is also pursuing placement in additional retail stores and hotel gift shops across the area. More information is available at parkcitypupu.com and through the brand’s Instagram, @parkcitypupu.