Student businesses are the heart of the UMass community. From handmade tailgate gear to homemade desserts, college students turn their passions into successful business ventures on the regular. One new student business that has taken Amherst by storm is Tanghulu Twins, owned and operated by two sisters with expertise in candied grapes.
Tanghulu is a candied fruit snack originating from China. If you have TikTok, you may have seen videos of people biting into a piece of fruit with a hard outer shell, creating a loud crunch noise when eaten. This is where twins Faith and Hope Pettengill first heard the mesmerizing crunch and decided they needed to try it for themselves. Thus @tanghulutwins was born.
After buying the ingredients and going through the trial and error process, the Pettengill sisters perfected the recipe for their delicious candied grapes. They decided to sell tanghulu through Instagram so that people all over town could see their product and watch customers’ real-life reactions to the crunch. On their Instagram page, they often post reels showing customers and friends taking their first bite. Seeing these reactions, who wouldn’t want to try these sweet, crunchy grapes?
Of course, I had to order from Tanghulu Twins before writing this article. It was a super easy process, and my order was made and delivered within a couple of hours. Although I watched the videos on their Instagram before ordering, I had no idea what to expect when trying tanghulu for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised by the loud crunch noise and a burst of sweetness after biting into my first grape. Tanghulu is unlike any other sweet treat I have had before — my roommate described it as “an experience” after eating her first piece.
The menu offers different flavors every week including watermelon and blue raspberry, a fan favorite. Their tanghulu is dusted in crushed-up Jolly Ranchers and presented on a bed of candy, so the sweetness doesn’t stop at just the grapes. The twins offered a special Valentine’s Day menu that consisted of candied strawberry skewers, and chocolate-covered strawberries, along with their classic candied grapes. Because this menu was such a hit, they will be making chocolate-covered strawberries an everyday item as well. “We also have tried multiple different fruits, however, we are still perfecting our other fruits with the tanghulu,” Hope said.
As sophomores at UMass, the Pettengill twins have been working hard to master their time management skills — balancing school work with tanghulu-making and late-night grape deliveries is no easy feat. “Tanghulu Twins has taught me that time management is everything,” Hope said. “When you have a really busy day, it’s not a bad thing; it’s a good thing to be able to get everything on your list checked off and know that others are satisfied with the product we are putting out.”
As their small business continues to grow, Tanghulu Twins plan on releasing new flavor combinations and products. The sisters have already fulfilled over 200 orders since starting the business, and are excited for many more candied grapes to come.
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