We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Teri Blais a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Teri, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Winter Park Pie Company hand crafts all of our pies with homemade, hand rolled dough and fresh fruit, nut and cream fillings that sets our pies apart from commercial, mass-produced pies. Our homemade dough is the foundation that bakes into a buttery and flaky crust that surrounds our delicious, homemade pie fillings. We put a lot of effort into making our crust so that every bite of pie is a melt in your mouth treat. Our pie crust is hand rolled and designed with an artistic touch. Many pie companies have ceased to make a lattice top crust, but we have continued to hand make our traditional lattice top fruit pies which creates a very appealing dessert. When customers open their bakery box and discover a beautifully crafted pie inside, they know that they are in for a delicious and memorable dessert! Our fruit pies are loaded with fresh fruit with minimal sugar, so the fruit flavor really stands out. Our Michigan Cherry Pie and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie are customer favorites and both flavors showcase an unusual tangy sweet and tart filling. Local Floridians are seeking out unique fruit flavors and can’t seem to get enough of our popular Strawberry Rhubarb pie! Teri Blais, Owner and Head Baker researches and creates all the recipes for the pies, so every pie we offer has its own unique, homemade flavor. Our Lemon Meringue, Chocolate Meringue and Key Lime Pies are made with a homemade graham cracker crust with special spices that compliments the creamy fillings and adds a burst of flavor and texture.
It is very rewarding to receive texts and Google reviews from our customers who write about how much they enjoyed our pies. After three years in business we are proud that we have maintained a average 5-star Google review rating from our customers who have raved about our delivery service, communication, and delicious pies.

Teri, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Teri Blais, founder and head baker at Winter Park Pie Company is proud to reside in Winter Park. Teri’s pies are a reflection of her 35 year relationship with the Central Florida area and its people. After many years of encouragement from friends and neighbors Teri decided in 2020 to share her love of baking with the Central Florida community. Growing up in Titusville, Florida Teri developed a love of delicious, homemade pies while baking pies with her mother. Her mom taught her many delicious pie recipes as well as the importance of family celebrations and holiday traditions.
Teri takes great pride in crafting each pie by hand while rolling homemade flaky pie dough and using fresh and flavorful ingredients consisting of cherries, raspberries, blueberries, apples and pecans, then baking them slowly until they are just right.
Many loyal customers have commented that the buttery and flaky pie crust that surrounds a “not too sweet” filling really makes the pies stand out. All of our pie recipes showcase the delicious flavors of freshly cut fruit, toasted nuts, premium chocolate, lemon and key lime without a lot of added sugar. Every pie is handmade for customers who place orders in advance on our website at www.winterparkpie.com. Winter Park Pie Company is an online bakery and we do not have a storefront. Our pies are delivered locally or we meet customers for pickup.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

During my early years in business I volunteered at a local non profit to educate students on the art of making pies. I eventually took a risk for Valentines Day in 2021 and organized a pie making and beer pairing class for couples. I sent emails to my client base and sold tickets on Eventbrite. This class sold out within a few weeks and the couples attending had a wonderful experience learning how to make homemade pie crust and make their own mini pies to take home. They also experienced different beer types and flavors paired with delicious homemade pies for dessert. This past Valentines Day I hosted a pie making and Mocktail class at Williams Sonoma in Winter Park where the students were treated to a dinner of Chicken Pot pie and sweet pies paired with Mocktails. This venture was a risk since I had to organize the marketing, find a location, research flavors for pairings, purchase decorations and purchasing the correct amount of ingredients and beverages for the event while not knowing how many people would participate . I now host this event every year and people are always looking forward to participating. I plan to host additional pie making events during the coming year since many people are searching for unique educational experiences.

Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses.

After graduating from the University of Florida with a Finance degree I tried a few different jobs in that area and really didn’t like the constraints of working with numbers in a cubicle. I wanted a creative job, and eventually got my license in cosmetology and became a hairstylist. I started working at Off Broadway Salon in South Orlando, and after a few years, I had the opportunity to purchase the salon due to the owner’s divorce, leading to a drastic reduction in revenue at the salon. I was anxious to own my own business, since I come from a family of entrepreneurs. I made an offer to the owners and started negotiating the purchase price. It was a very stressful time during the acquisition and transition of the business. By the time we had settled on a price, many of the employees had already left and I found myself in the position of having to totally rebuild the salon. I was very challenged with the new responsibility of gaining new employees, developing a marketing plan and organizing the computer software for appointments. while still maintaining my client base. I eventually gained a solid group of employees and helped to build their clientele through developing relationships, advertising and referral marketing. I was able to maintain this successful salon business for 14 years, and eventually sold the business 15 years ago when I needed to devote time to my family.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.winterparkpie.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/winterparkpiecompany
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/winterparkpiecompany
• Other: GOOGLE REVIEWS LINK https://www.google.com/search?q=google+winter+park+pie+company&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari&safe=active#lkt=LocalPoiReviews&trex=m_t:lcl_akp,rc_f:nav,rc_ludocids:14408496697644348268,rc_q:Winter%2520Park%2520Pie%2520Company,ru_q:Winter%2520Park%2520Pie%2520Company,trex_id:t6TIFf