In The Spotlight: Solid Wiggles
The jelly shot all grown up.
Welcome to The Spotlight, where we feature brands known in certain circles and not lost to the popularity of the algorithm. Here you’ll find reviews of small businesses and conversations with founders.
The first time we saw Solid Wiggles was at a coworker’s husband’s 40th birthday party.
Sitting next to a slice of fig and truffle pizza, these gorgeous, quirky jelly shots had the attention of everyone in the room. We previously filed jelly shots away under the same category as keg stands and beer pong: they were a party trick of the past.
Solid Wiggles is making the case that this filing was a mistake.
Founded in 2020 by pastry chef Jena Derman and mixologist Jack Schramm, Solid Wiggles brings jelly shots into the present.
They’re a bit of a choose your own adventure:
Jelly shot or jelly cake?
Boozy or non-alcoholic?
Moscow mule or margarita?
Today's Spotlight is a conversation with Jena Derman and Jack Schramm, the founders of Solid Wiggles, who are making the case that jellies belong at the kids’ table, the dorm parties, and the grown-ups’ birthday. Here's what they had to say about reclaiming a written-off form and the craft behind a really good jelly shot.
WS: Jelly shots have lived in kitsch and college-party territory for decades. What did you see in the format that made you think it belonged at a grown-up table?
The great thing about jellies is that they're universally beloved. Every age bracket, every culture has something wiggly and delicious. It's everywhere from kids’ lunch boxes to fine dining dessert plates. There's no reason for college parties to have a monopoly on combining booze and jelly!
We started Solid Wiggles in 2020 during the peak of the pandemic, folks were starved for joy and whimsy, and we felt like this was a perfect treat to lift spirits.
WS: What does a flavor or design have to prove before it makes the cut?
One of the core tenets of the business is that every product we make must be both beautiful and delicious. With that said, we're at the point with Solid Wiggles where we've moved beyond the bespoke one-off into more of a large scale production house.
In addition to being beautiful and delicious, it needs to be replicable by our team so they can make hundreds and hundreds of them at a time.
WS: Where do you source the molds, ingredients, or references that shape Solid Wiggles into something nobody else is making?
Every tool and ingredient we use is widely commercially available. Our "molds" are hotel pans and 6" cake pans, certainly nothing fancy there. There are plenty of folks across the world making incredibly beautiful artistically driven jellies.
The secret sauce that makes Solid Wiggles unique is our combined experience and technique oriented approach. My background in high-end cocktail bars means we're clarifying juices for ultra-flavorful, crystal clear jellies that serve as the blank canvas in which we inject our art. Jena's background in large-scale pastry and commercialization means that the texture of every bite is perfect, whether we're making one tray or dozens at a time.
WS: Where does Solid Wiggles go next? Are there flavors, formats, or occasions you're circling but haven't released yet?
The next step for Solid Wiggles is getting the product into the hands of new fans! Our main focus right now is getting the packaging just right so we can ship our cut shots direct to consumers, rather than only shipping our cakes or shipping whole trays of shots to professional kitchens to unmold and slice.
We love Solid Wiggles so much we want everyone to try them!
Their first cookbook Solid Wiggles: Recipes and Techniques for Phenomenal Jelly Shots and Cakes drops June 23. Preorder now or shop the jellies yourself here. And be sure to follow along on Instagram.
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