The Columbus Woman Who Built a Better Buckeye

Some people think you can’t improve on the peanut-butter-and-chocolate mix of Ohio’s buckeye candy. We’re guessing they haven’t delved into the 75-plus flavors of stuffed buckeyes Alicia Hindman sells online and at her shop in Columbus. 

“No one has really played around with the classic buckeye before and taken it further,” says Hindman, better known as The Buckeye Lady.

Working as a school counselor during the pandemic, Hindman donated proceeds from buckeyes she made and sold to help those in the service industry. When people wanted to keep buying the candies, she wondered how to make buckeyes a full-time business.

The answer was stuffing them. Her first version featured M&Ms and is one of her bestsellers as well as a gateway for those reluctant to dig into exotic flavors like honey lavender or carrot cake. Hindman offers 13 year-round varieties and dozens of seasonal flavors, and yes, they all have a peanut-butter-and-chocolate base. (There is also a charitable component supporting dog rescues.)

“There are some people who might argue it’s not a buckeye if it has extra ingredients in it,” she says. “We’re just making it better.” thebuckeyelady.com