It started with a conference table.
It was the only table long enough to hold every induction burner and stove Jerry Zhou needed to start testing recipes. Jerry was starting his third company, after a couple of startups that taught him more than they earned, and he couldn't afford for this one to fail. His little brother, then in middle school, would come by after school, and the two of them would cook formula after formula until the candy finally came out right.
One lollipop, one lesson
The reason Jerry was at that table goes back to his father's candy factory, which he visited after graduating from UCLA.
Jerry's father held a master's degree in food science, and for about ten years, his factory made one lollipop, the Twinkle Pop, for one grocery chain. Ten years is a long run for any candy maker. But a factory built around a single product and a single customer has little room to adjust, and when costs kept climbing, the factory closed.
Jerry had been struck by how beautiful those lollipops were. He kept two things from that factory: the lollipop and the lesson. Sparko still makes Twinkle Pops today.
Made for the moment
Jerry went back to those Twinkle Pops with one question: why did people love them? The flavor was great, but flavor wasn't the whole answer. The lollipops looked as good as they tasted, so they kept showing up at parties, weddings, and launches. People don't just eat candy. They light up.
In 2014, while he and Melody were dating, Jerry started Sparko Sweets around one idea: every lollipop should be made for the moment it arrives in.
Jerry had gone to art school as a kid, and photography had always been part of his life. So he asked a new question: what if a lollipop could hold a picture? Sparko learned to set edible images inside the candy, so a couple's photo or a company's logo could shine through the sugar. The team started designing shapes for the people and brands they worked with. Every order became a chance to make someone's moment a little more Sparko.
Side by side
Those nights at the conference table became Sparko's recipe, and that recipe became its first facility, which Jerry built from scratch in Los Angeles. Every custom lollipop is made to order there.
By 2022, Jerry and Melody were married, and Melody came on full-time as Co-CEO of Operations. Today they shape every idea and every batch side by side. Jerry thinks in images, from the photography to the website. Melody thinks in systems, and she never lets a detail slip. She rebuilt how Sparko produces, schedules, and ships, and brought production yield to 99%, so almost nothing goes to waste. Together, they turned a creative experiment into a company that families and brands trust with their biggest days.
- Jerry Zhou, Founder and Co-CEO
- Melody Hsu, Co-CEO of Operations
A new home in the Arts District
In 2026, Sparko bought a building in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles and began building a new facility there. When it opens in 2027, Sparko will be able to make candy faster, check every batch more closely, and take on ideas it couldn't attempt before. Jerry and Melody chose the Arts District on purpose. They wanted Sparko to work among artists, designers, and makers, because the people around you shape what you create.
More than a decade after that conference table, Sparko still develops every new candy the same way: one batch at a time, until it's right.
Made for moments that had to look right
Over the years we have made custom lollipops for weddings, product launches, and red-carpet moments. We have made custom pops for The Weeknd, Dior, Don Julio and Netflix, and for brand activations that had to look as good as they tasted. Every custom run starts as a blank mold and becomes something made only for that moment.
What we make
Five collections, each made in the same studio.
Sparko at a glance
- Founded: 2014, Los Angeles
- Specializes in: Branded lollipops, event favors, custom designs
- Custom lead time: 1 to 2 weeks, made to order in our Los Angeles facility
- Facility: Never handles wheat, gluten, nuts, dairy, soy, egg, or sesame
- Certification: Kosher certified
- Notable clients: Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Dior, Coors Light
"I want every lollipop we make to be the part of the day people remember."
Whatever you're celebrating or launching next, we'd love to help make it Sparko.