Imagine you have a friend who lives on the other side of the country and she’s just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Maybe she recently lost a loved one or found herself out of a job.

You’d give anything to be able to be with her; give her a hug, hold her hand, let her know you’re there for her.

What if you could send her a little comfort? Maybe some chicken soup?

Thanks to Spoonful of Comfort, you can.

The liquid comfort arriving on your doorstep is the brainchild of Marti Wymer, CEO and founder of Spoonful of Comfort, which is located in Salt Lake City. The idea developed after a call from her mother, telling her that she was terminally ill.

“The worst part about hearing the news was that she was living thousands of miles away at the time, and I couldn’t be there in person to comfort her and show her how much I cared,” said Wymer. “I felt so helpless being so far away. I jumped online to send her something. There were tons of options for flowers, candy and fruit. But nothing felt appropriate for this situation. I immediately thought ‘What do you send someone who is sick? Chicken soup of course!’ but I couldn’t find any.”

That’s when the idea was born. Wymer said it would “literally wake me up at night,” and she knew it was something she had to do.

“Tragically, I lost my mother six weeks later. In my grief, I thought what better way to honor her than to start this company in her name. It’s been 10 years since then and to this day, we still package every gift with the same care and attention we did back then.”

Wymer started her business in her home.

“We had a local commercial kitchen in Sarasota where these darling Amish ladies made the soup for us initially,” said Wymer, who has since moved to Utah. “Then I would bring it home along with the rolls and cookies and pack up each individual care package, handwrite the notes, then drive it to the post office to ship out myself every day. We started super small and did a number of local deliveries at the time.”

The recipes Spoonful of Comfort uses for its soup, which now include butternut squash, tomato basil and vegetable soup, were created by her company, and have changed very little.

The soup is still made in small batches, and the vegetables and chicken are hand cut, and it contains no preservatives. While the soup is still hot, it’s poured into large, old-fashioned Mason jars. It’s then flash frozen to a low temperature. It’s packed to ship in the company’s own insulated system to ensure it arrives cold and ready to heat and eat.

“Customers rave about how fresh the soup is when they eat it,” said Wymer.

No comfort from

the Sharks

Last year, Wymer and her business partner appeared on “Shark Tank,” trying to convince the Sharks to invest in Spoonful of Comfort for a minority interest. They were turned down, and while it appeared they’d been chewed up in the process, Wymer said things turned out well in the end.

“The reality of ‘Shark Tank’ is that it was a great experience for our company,” said Wymer. “Unfortunately, modern editing created a dramatic storyline that made it look worse for us than it actually was. Viewers were only exposed to a about eight minutes of the 90 minutes we spent in the Tank with the Sharks. They were actually much more complimentary of the business than anyone was ever able to see.

“Regardless of how we were portrayed, we are thankful to the Sharks and the producers. The exposure and awareness the show created has helped drive tremendous popularity of our packages for multiple occasions and new corporate customers like Google, Apple, Goldman Sachs and Southwest Airlines.”

Over the years, it seems Spoonful of Comfort has found its niche.

“We are definitely the go-to ‘get well gift’ vehicle for so many of our customers,” said Wymer, “but once they send it for that occasion, we notice that they come back and continue to send it for so many other occasions, like new baby, sympathy, away from home, and all the major gifting holidays.

“Our Christmas/holiday season butternut squash soup with gingerbread cookies and rolls is very popular. We started with gourmet chicken soup, but have expanded into multiple other soup flavors that are appreciated for birthdays and other celebratory occasions just as much as ‘comfort’ occasions.”

Truly delicious

chicken noodle soup

Since Spoonful of Comfort sent me one of its custom soup packages, I can attest to its fresh, homemade taste.

The box arrived here at the Times News office in Mahoning Township beautifully packaged. It even came with a ladle tied with a bright yellow, polka dotted bow. Each item within was individually boxed, including the soup, which was also packaged in a cold storage bag. The care package included a half-dozen dinner rolls and a half-dozen chocolate chip cookies.

I wanted to give Spoonful of Comfort a try because I liked the idea of it. Once I fell in love with the packaging, I was even more excited, even though I was skeptical about how good a prepackaged soup could taste.

Pretty darn good, actually.

The broth was rich and flavorful, but not salty, which seems to happen frequently with chicken soup. It was filled with thick chunks of white meat and tasty homemade noodles, and the vegetables were crisp tender and not at all overcooked. Honestly, this soup was better than some I’ve been served right in many homemakers’ kitchens.

Don’t get me started on the rolls, which tasted like they came right out of my mother’s oven. I had to keep myself from polishing off all six in one sitting.

The cookies were also yummy, and definitely tasted homemade.

If the recipient won’t be eating the soup right away, it can be refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen.

This is truly a hug in a box.

The Spoonful of Comfort isn’t cheap, but it is comparable to sending flowers or a fruit basket. Prices start at $69.99. While it’s not a gift I would be likely to send myself, I wouldn’t hesitate to send it to a friend or family member who needs a little comfort.

For more information, visit spoonfulofcomfort.com.