A video of a talented young Egyptian making art from candy floss went viral on social media last week. Ever since, the young man, 26-year-old Mustafa Mahmoud, has seen demand for his candy floss skyrocket. “Before the video went viral I used to take rests from my work. But now you can see for yourself how things have grown,” Mahmoud says, pointing to the crowd of people waiting for his candy floss. He travels every day from his home in the Sharkia governorate to sell candy floss in front of Ain Shams University in Cairo. He begins by thoroughly cleaning his cart, then starts making candy floss in inspired shapes. Hygiene is very important to him, and every day the candy floss machine is thoroughly cleaned. Mahmoud creates shapes like flowers, hearts and butterflies in candy floss. “I developed my designs from the simple to the more complicated — from a small flower to a large butterfly,” he says. All the colours used are natural and safe, he says, and are added to the sugar used to make the candy floss on a daily basis. Mansour Ezz is the director of the Fekra company that employs Mahmoud and owns the machines. The company was established one year ago. It employs a total of 25 young people like Mahmoud. The workers are paid around LE1,800 a month, plus overtime. They also receive LE1,000 bonuses every three months, Ezz says. Mahmoud holds a technical diploma, but drawing is his hobby. After working for a time in a clothing company, colleagues told him about the candy floss idea and the company developing it. “I found that I could make a living this way and at the same time develop my talents in a new way,” Mahmoud says. The price of the candy depends on the area where it is being sold, Ezz explains. When sold in a mall it costs more due to overheads like rental fees. Candy floss sold for LE5 in front of Ain Shams University costs around LE3 in other areas. “We want everyone to have the chance to buy this product,” Ezz says. The writer is a freelance journalist.
